49°
Nassau County District Attorney announced the arrests on Tuesday, Dec. 17, following an investigation into a drug operation that allegedly sold heroin to customers from Nassau, Suffolk and New York City.
The heroin sold was connected to 15 overdoses - 13 in Nassau County and two in Suffolk County. Three of the overdoses in Nassau were fatal. Of the ring’s 74 customers, 54 have been identified as coming from Nassau County, 16 from Suffolk County and five from New York City.
The drugs were allegedly sold from the parking lot of the Gateway Shopping Center in East New York, Brooklyn for more than six years.
Singas said that during the four-month investigation, alleged ringleaders Luis Rivera and Orlando Rodriguez – who are charged with operating as major traffickers – allegedly sold between 1,300 and 2,600 bundles (13,000 to 26,000 individual doses) of heroin monthly to 74 different customers, including 13 alleged street dealers charged in the indictment.
Of those alleged dealers, Joseph Melito is also charged as a major trafficker, Singas noted.
The dealers charged allegedly traveled from towns on Long Island, including Garden City, Valley Stream, Bellmore, Albertson, Wantagh, and Hicksville, to the Gateway Shopping Center to purchase heroin from Rivera and Rodriguez, who are believed to be cousins.
During the investigation, Rivera and Rodriguez’s alleged profits averaged approximately $30,000 per week and totaled $230,000 in heroin and cocaine sales.
In total, 88,000 individual doses of heroin worth approximately $1,276,400; 1,024 grams of cocaine valued at $102,400; and $1,214,093 in cash were seized during this investigation. Additionally, three bank accounts with $262,900 were frozen.
“This massive operation has dismantled the largest known heroin trafficking operation in Nassau County, disrupting the flow of this deadly poison into our communities,” Singas said. “Heroin from this syndicate has been linked to at least three fatal overdoses, and we know that putting these alleged traffickers out of business will save lives. I commend our partners for their outstanding collaboration in this operation, and for their unstinting commitment to ending the opioid epidemic.”
Among those arrested and charged with crimes that include the criminal sale of a controlled substance, conspiracy, operating as a major trafficker, criminal possession of a controlled substance includes:
- Luis Rivera, 40, of Brooklyn;
- Orlando Rodriguez, 36, of Brooklyn;
- Joseph Melito, 30, of Albertson;
- Nicolette Barba, 36, of Brooklyn;
- Emily Hlavaty, 55, of Syosset;
- Peter Humann, 44, of Huntington;
- Christine Kaempf, 37, of North Bellmore;
- Judy Miller, 51, of Brightwaters;
- Michael Gashonia, 36, of Wantagh.
“We are in the midst of a serious nationwide addiction crisis, and every single bust makes a difference. I applaud our dedicated law enforcement officials and the Long Island Heroin Taskforce for their collaborative efforts and success in taking down these major drug traffickers, dismembering the largest known heroin trafficking operation in Nassau County,” Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said. “We are not taking our foot off the gas. Together, we will continue our commitment to rid our streets of this poison and keep historic low crime rates in Nassau County.”
Singas noted that the investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are likely.
“It is alleged that this criminal enterprise flooded Nassau Country street with heroin, with Rivera being connected to more than a dozen overdoses, three of which resulted in death,” Peter C. Fitzhugh, special agent in charge of HSI New York, added. “Law enforcement continues to come together with the common goal of protecting our communities and ridding the streets of those bringing in the highly addictive and, in some cases, deadly drugs.”
Click here to follow Daily Voice Nassau and receive free news updates.
