'Cold-Blooded Killer': Reward Offered For Capture Of Hung Tien Pham, Wanted In 1991 Chinatown Murders
BOSTON (CBS) – Investigators are asking the public to help track down Hung Tien Pham, who is wanted for killing five people 30 years ago. Police describe the deaths as "brutal execution-style murders" in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood.
The FBI and Boston Police announced during a Tuesday press conference that a $30,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can provide information leading to Pham's conviction.
Investigators said that on January 12, 1991, Pham entered an illegal gambling den on Tyler Street in Boston and shot six men while they were playing cards. Only one person survived, and he was able to identify Pham, Nam The Tham, and Siny Van Tran as shooters.
Six days after the shootings, an arrest warrant was issued for Pham on five counts of murder, one count of armed assault with intent to murder, one count of conspiracy, and one count of carrying a firearm without a license.
Pham, however, was never arrested. Instead, he allegedly left his two children and their mother, and drove to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Investigators said he then went to New York and boarded a flight for Hong Kong on February 1, 1991.
Boston Police also suspect Pham in another murder that occurred four days before the massacre in Chinatown.
Tham and Tran were arrested in China a decade after the murders, and returned to the United States. In 2005, they were convicted of murder and are serving five consecutive life sentences.
Pham is now 60 years old. He uses aliases that include Hung Suk, Hung Pham, Pham Hung, Hung-Tien Pham, Chung Hung Fan, Hung Tien Fan, Ah Hung, Fan Chung-Hung, Tien Pham Hung, and Hung T. Pham.
The FBI said he has held a variety of jobs in recent years, and was known to be "a big spender who liked flashy cars and cognac."
"As alleged, this cold-blooded killer has been on the run for 30 years, and we're hoping this reward will incentivize anyone with information on Pham's whereabouts to come forward so we can we bring him to justice for his role in one of the bloodiest massacres in Boston's history," said Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division. "The six victims and their families who suffered so much deserve nothing less, and we will not rest until Pham has been held accountable for these horrific crimes."
Anyone with information on Pham's is asked to call the FBI at 1-800-225-5324, their local law enforcement agency, or their nearest American embassy or consulate.