JP gang member had long list of people he wanted dead, but the hitman he tried to hire was a federal informant

A federal judge yesterday sentenced Boylston Street gang member Jaime Rivera, 20, to nine years in federal prison for a murder-to-hire plot and for distribution of cocaine, the US Attorney's office reports.

Rivera pleaded guilty last fall, acknowledging that he offered to pay somebody $2,500 to murder a rival for the guy's role in a brawl on July 4, 2015 that left Rivera with a gunshot wound to the arm - and another Boylston Street member with multiple stab wounds. Unfortunately for him, it turned out the guy he offered the money to was a wire-wearing federal informant.

According to a federal sentencing memorandum in the case, the guy Rivera wanted dead was busy stabbing Rivera's Boylston Street pal, Frandys Ortiz - who separately got 8 years for his part in the drug dealing - so Rivera shot him, after which one of the rival's associates shot Rivera.

Rivera, who also boasted of shooting somebody's eye out, took his prospective hitman for a ride around the city nine days after the fight to firm up arrangements for the hit:

On July 13, 2015, the defendant drove around Boston with the CW [cooperating witness] pointing out various housing projects where he wanted people killed, including Academy Homes, D Street Projects, St. Joseph’s Housing Development and H-Block. At one point in the conversation, Rivera cautions the CW that he does not want any “leg shots.”

RIVERA: But I need you to hit these niggas up though bro. I don’t need any leg shots bro … if you gonna do leg shots don’t even do it nig-

Although Rivera pleaded guilty, his lawyer and federal prosecutors disagreed on their recommendations to Judge Rya Zobel on how long Rivera should serve.

Assistant US Attorney Rachel Hermani argued for at least 14 years:

Jaime Rivera is associated with the Boylston Street gang. He has no employment history, and it appears that the defendant has earned his livelihood selling drugs and firearms. He has not identified any mental health issues or substance abuse issues which would in any way explain or mitigate his conduct.

But Rivera's lawyer, Stylianus Sinnis, argued for leniency and no more than five years.

Rivera, he said, was still a teen when he committed the crimes, and teen minds are still not fully formed, he argued.

Mr. Rivera was 18 when he committed the instant drug offense and 19 when he committed the murder-for-hire. Quite simply, he lacked the maturity and judgment of an adult.

As important, Rivera had been seriously screwed up by his father, who introduced him to marijuana and who spent years denigrating the teen, telling him he would never amount to anything, as well as beating his mother.

Sinnis continued that the one time Rivera got away from his father - when his mother scraped together $5,000 to send him to a boarding school in Utah - he did very well, racking up a 3.5 GPA. He included a letter from his mother:

The first time my son tried marijuana, it was because his father offered it to him. His father discouraged him from going to school. He constantly told Jaime that he could not amount to anything because of his race; that because he is dark skinned, he would end up either dead or in jail.

Also, the attorney continued, the idea to kill the rival came from Ortiz, who began talking to the informant about it just two days after his stabbing and Rivera's shooting. Rivera, he wrote, did not talk to the informant about a possible hit until a week later.