FBI Seeks Bay Area Leads For 1991 Boston Chinatown Massacre Suspect Hung Tien Pham; $30K Reward Offered
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Agents with the FBI San Francisco office are seeking possible leads in the Bay Area as they seek to arrest a man suspected in the execution-style murders of five people in Boston 30 years ago.
Authorities said 60-year-old Hung Tien Pham is wanted in the murders of five men at an illegal gambling den in Boston's Chinatown on January 12, 1991, an incident that became known as the Boston Chinatown Massacre. Pham is also suspected of another murder that took place four days before the quintuple homicide.
The FBI alleges that Pham fled the country before an arrest warrant was issued and his last known location was in Thailand in the mid to late-1990s.
Agents said Pham was a known associate of the Ping On crime syndicate and had ties to San Francisco, along with Chicago, Philadelphia and Toronto. Pham has family in the Bay Area, along with South Korea and Vietnam.
At a news conference on Tuesday marking three decades since the killings, agents announced a $30,000 reward in the case.
"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."
Two other accomplices in the killings were found in China and were brought back to the U.S. following extensive diplomatic negotiations in 2001. The accomplices have since been sentenced to multiple life terms in prison, agents said.
Pham is described as standing 5'2" to 5'4" tall, weighing 115 to 135 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He is fluent in Vietnamese, Chinese and English and has been known under multiple aliases. Agents said he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), their local law enforcement agency or their nearest American embassy. Tips can also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov.
