MS-13 Has Presence On South Fork, Police Officials Say

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini’s efforts to take down the notorious gang MS-13 in western portions of Suffolk County may hit a little closer to home on the East End than originally suspected.

During a visit to Southampton Rotary last month, Mr. Sini told Rotary members that there are significant numbers of MS-13 gang members in areas like Central Islip, Brentwood and Greenport—and the gang even has a presence on the South Fork, though its numbers are low.

According to Mr. Sini, roughly 400 members of the gang are located in Suffolk County. Compared with the nearly 1.5 million people who live in Suffolk County, Mr. Sini said the numbers are “not of epidemic proportion.” But he noted that members of the gang have “no regard for human life” and said they engage in violence just for the sake of violence.

“We have to eradicate this gang from our communities,” Mr. Sini said.

MS-13 is the common name of Mara Salvatrucha. According to the FBI website, the gang is made up mostly of Salvadoran nationals or first-generation Salvadoran-Americans, but also includes immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and other Central and South American countries. It has as many as 10,000 members nationwide in at least 42 states and the District of Columbia, according to the FBI.

Mr. Sini, a Democrat who announced his candidacy for Suffolk County district attorney in May, did not return several calls over the past couple of weeks to speak about specific numbers of gang members on the South Fork and where they are located.

Southampton Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki confirmed on Monday that MS-13 has a presence on the South Fork, particularly in the areas of Riverside, Flanders and Hampton Bays.

Although Chief Skrynecki said he did not have specific numbers, he said his department is currently in the process of ramping up its intelligence and looking to gather information about problem individuals and gangs.

“At this point in time, because this policing strategy is relatively new to this department, I would not want to comment on numbers—but we are aware of the presence,” he said. “This is deserving of much more research.”

Chief Skrynecki said his department is working with police departments in Suffolk County and Nassau County, and the State Police, all sharing data to crack down on MS-13 and other gangs. Mr. Sini said working with other departments is crucial in the eradication of gangs, especially MS-13.

Over the past 30 days, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement worked with Homeland Security, the Suffolk County Police Department, the Nassau County Police Department and the New York City Police Department, among other groups, to crack down on the numbers of gang members on Long Island, according to a press release from ICE.

During those operations, agents arrested 45 individuals who were confirmed members of gangs such as MS-13, the Latin Kings or the 18th Street Gang, the release said, and 33 of those individuals were arrested in Suffolk County alone.