By Sarina Trangle
Three former New York residents pleaded guilty Monday to murdering two members of a rival street gang and dumping their bodies behind a Ridgewood warehouse in 2004, federal prsecutors said.
Alvaro “Boobi” Cabral, 28, and Jason “J-Live” Cabral, 36, brothers involved with the Ñetas street gang, pleaded guilty to luring Anthony Marcano, a Latin Kings member, to a Long Island house Aug. 10, 2004, where they bound Marcano and “pee wee” Latin Kings member Fabian Mestres with duct tape and stole their drugs, money and jewelry, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District.
The Ñetas stuffed the Latin Kings into the trunk of a car and drove to a Ridgewood parking lot, where they fatally shot the two 17-year-olds, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Stephanie “Sicily” DiCarlo-Cabral, 29, an associate of the Ñetas gang, pleaded guilty to robbery and using a firearm in connection with it, , prosecutors said.
Her attorney, Lee Ginsberg, said that under DiCarlo-Cabral’s plea agreement, authorities determined that she played a minor role.
“She wasn’t accused of doing anything directly to the victims. She wasn’t even accused of being present when the victims were shot. She was a co-conspirator,” Ginsberg said, noting that she pleaded guilty to possessing the gun and knowing of the others’ plans to use it in the robbery.
Ginsberg said DiCarlo-Cabral, her husband Jason Cabral and his brother moved from the metro area to Florida a while after the killings. Another Ñetas members, Luis “Lae” Benitez, previously pleaded guilty to murdering the rival gang members, prosecutors said.
Attorneys for the other defendants either declined to comment or could not be reached for comment.
Jason Cabral, the Ñetas’ leader, devised a plan to rob and kill Marcano because of his affiliation with the Latin Kings, according to prosecutors.
After pilfering money, jewelry and drugs from Marcano and Mestres, the Ñetas brought the men to 18-19 Flushing Ave., where Marcano was shot in the head and back of the neck and a bullet was fired into Mestres’ head.
The next day, the Queens district attorney said workers at the nearby Brooklyn Steel Warehouse Co. discovered the bodies with the victims’ hands bound behind their backs in a patch of tall weeds.
Loretta Lynch, the Brooklyn U.S. attorney, called the murders brutal and senseless.
“The defendants stuffed the victims into the trunk of a car in the dog days of August, and then drove them to their execution,” Lynch said in a statement. “We hope the victims’ families can take some measure of solace in knowing that the individuals who are responsible for their sons’ murders have been brought to justice.”
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
