Violent gang leaders in Dorchester, Roxbury, to go away for at least 10 years

The US Attorney's office in Boston reports the leaders of the Hendry Street and Woodward Avenue gangs pleaded guilty Friday to a variety of drug and gun charges that will see them hustled off to a federal penitentiary for at least ten years.

Jonathan DaSilva and Alexis Hidalgo (pictured, right) were among 29 people arrested in 2013 in a crackdown by federal officials and Boston Police amid rising complaints about violence in the Bowdoin/Geneva and Uphams Corner neighborhoods.

In addition to the arrests, authorities seized $400,000 in cash, guns, jewelry, gold and silver bars and several luxury vehicles.

In 2012, Boston Police had to risk the entire investigation unraveling when they learned DaSilva had given a subordinate the OK to shoot a member of a rival gang - in the lobby of Roxbury Municipal Court. Fortunately, DaSilva suspected somebody had ratted him out, rather than the truth, which was that police were listening into his phone calls.

According to the US Attorney's office:

From August 2011 through January 2013, Hidalgo and DaSilva, the respective heads of the Hendry Street and Woodward Avenue gangs, ran a lucrative drug trafficking business distributing crack cocaine, cocaine, marijuana, and oxycodone which was in turn distributed in Boston, Brockton, and Maine.

Hidalgo and DaSilva operated their drug business out of two primary locations: a house at 37 Hendry Street in [Dorchester] and a house known as “the Trap” at 36 Woodward Avenue in [Roxbury]. Customers seeking crack and marijuana would go to 37 Hendry Street to purchase drugs from gang members who stored the drugs and cooked cocaine into crack in the second floor apartment. In August 2012, 37 Hendry Street was shut down by the City of Boston as a result of numerous neighborhood complaints of drug and gang activity.

“The Trap” at 36 Woodward Avenue, which was run by DaSilva, operated as a round-the-clock distribution center for crack, oxycodone, cocaine and marijuana. When 37 Hendry Street was shut down, Hidalgo transferred his crack business to 36 Woodward Avenue.

An affidavit filed in the case by a Boston detective said gang members were so brazen they continued to sell drugs out of Hendry Street even after BPD stationed a cruiser right outside; it was only when ISD boarded up the building that they moved - to Woodward Avenue.

Prosecutors say Hidalgo has agreed to a sentence of 12 to 14 years in prison; DaSilva to 10 to 14 years. Had they gone to trial and been convicted, the could have faced sentences up to life.

Detective's affidavit in the case.