Kidnapped L.I. Teens, Then Killed Them Here
Two brothers belonging to the same street gang admitted in court on Monday, Feb. 3, to executing two teenage rivals at a Ridgewood warehouse in August 2004, law enforcement sources said.
Florida residents Alvaro (a.k.a. Boobi) Cabral, 28, of Apollo Beach and Jason Cabral, 36, of Riverview- both of whom are members of the Ñetas gang-entered guilty pleas to the murders of Anthony Marcano and Fabian Mestres, both 17, during Monday’s hearing before District Judge Joanna Seybert.
Alvaro Cabral’s then-girlfriend- Stephanie DiCarlo-Cabral, 29, of Riverview, Fla.-also pled guilty at the hearing to related robbery and weapons possession charges.
Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of life behind bars later this year, according to federal law enforcement sources.
“These were brutal, senseless gang murders,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E. Lynch stated on Monday. “The defendants stuffed the victims into the trunk of a car in the dog days of August and then drove them to their execution.”
Reportedly, the double homicide took place on Aug. 10, 2004. Federal agents said the Cabral brothers-who were based in Suffolk County at the time-initially plotted to kill Marcano due to his affiliation with the rival Latin Kings gang.
Law enforcement sources stated Jason Cabral directed his cohorts in the Ñetas gang to lure Marcano to a home in Brentwood, L.I. Marcano arrived at the location on Aug. 10, 2004 with Mestres, who was identified as a “Pee Wee” member of the Latin Kings.
Upon entering the location, prosecutors said, Marcano and Mestres were ambushed by gang members and restrained with duct tape. Their property-which included drugs, cash and jewelry-was removed by the suspects.
Shortly thereafter, it was reported, the two teenagers were forced into the trunk of a car, then driven to a warehouse in the vicinity of Seneca and Flushing avenues in Ridgewood.
Not long after their arrival, federal agents said, Marcano and Mestres were each fatally shot in the head by an associate of the Cabrals, Luis Benitez.
Officers from the 104th Precinct discovered the two bodies-each of which was still bound-behind the warehouse the following day.
Following an extensive investigation, federal agents arrested Benitez and the Cabral brothers were in May 2012 for the double homicide. Benitez pled guilty on Nov. 7, 2013 to two murder charges and is awaiting sentencing.
Lynch thanked the Suffolk County Police Department, the FBI’s Tampa Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida and the NYPD for their assistance in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole Boeckmann and Christopher C. Caffarone prosecuted the case.
