Ex-gang leader testifies on LI-Queens link

A former leader of the MS-13 street gang testified in federal court on Monday that a 2007 drive-by shooting in Flushing was part of a quid-pro-quo murder arrangement between Queens and Long Island-based crews to wipe out rivals and confuse police.

Javier Iraheta, who has pleaded guilty to murder and was testifying under a cooperation agreement, said that his Flushing gang wanted to get rid of the Bloods, and the gang from Huntington in Suffolk County faced competition from the Latin Kings. So they decided to do each other's hits.

"We wanted to get rid of rivals and take over the neighborhood by committing murder," Iraheta said. "The plan was for them to do a [killing] for us in Flushing so we could go do a [killing] for them in Huntington."

Oscar "Taz" Fuentes, 30, of Huntington Station, and Julio Chavez, 25, of Huntington, are charged in federal court in Brooklyn with murder in aid of racketeering for the May 18, 2007, killing of Maurice Parker, 21, in front of a bodega in Flushing.

Iraheta testified that he wasn't present at the killing, but gave the two men his car to use as part of the deal between the Huntington and Flushing gangs. He said that when looking for targets, MS-13 gangsters cruised the neighborhood looking for Bloods, based on the color of their clothing and their "territory."

"Sometimes, we weren't sure," he said.