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Narcotics Trafficking

Police & Fire
Hudson Valley Guns, Drugs Trafficking Networks Busted, 7 Arrested, AG Says Hudson Valley Guns, Drugs Trafficking Networks Busted, 7 Arrested, AG Says
Hudson Valley Guns, Drugs Trafficking Networks Busted, 7 Arrested, AG Says Large gun trafficking and narcotics networks were busted and seven suspects were arrested during raids in the region. The networks and suspects were operating out of Dutchess County, mostly in the Poughkeepsie area, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James. The arrests were made on Wednesday, Feb. 14 throughout Dutchess County. According to James, the gun trafficking network sold ghost guns and assault-style rifles and the narcotics trafficking network distributed counterfeit oxycodone pills containing deadly amounts of fentanyl in Dutchess County.  The takedowns recovere…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
Pair Of Hudson Valley Drug Dealers Behind Bars Following 10-Month Investigation, DA Says Pair Of Hudson Valley Drug Dealers Behind Bars Following 10-Month Investigation, DA Says
Pair Of Hudson Valley Drug Dealers Behind Bars Following 10-Month Investigation, DA Says Two Hudson Valley men are behind bars following a months-long investigation into drug sales in the region. Orange County residents Steven Gordon, age 58, and John Maines, age 66, both of New Windsor, were held on various weapons and drug charges following a warrant search of a home. Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler and Town of New Windsor Police Chief Daniel Valeri said both men were the focus of a 10-month investigation into narcotics trafficking throughout the town of New Windsor and surrounding areas.  New Windsor Police investigated in collaboration with the: Ora…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Police Officer, Hudson Valley Man Nabbed For Planning To Distribute Fentanyl, Heroin: Feds Police Officer, Hudson Valley Man Nabbed For Planning To Distribute Fentanyl, Heroin: Feds
Police Officer, Hudson Valley Man Nabbed For Planning To Distribute Fentanyl, Heroin: Feds A police officer and a Westchester man face years in prison for conspiring to distribute narcotics, officials announced.  New York City Police Officer and Bronx resident Grace Rosa Baez, age 37, and Yonkers resident Cesar Martinez, age 43, were both arrested on narcotics distribution charges, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced on Friday, Oct. 20. According to federal officials, between Monday, Oct. 9, and Thursday, Oct. 19, Baez and Martinez had several conversations about wholesale narcotics trafficking with a "confidential source" worki…

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
Police In Northern Westchester Help Nab Suspects Of Local Narcotics Ring Police In Northern Westchester Help Nab Suspects Of Local Narcotics Ring
Police In Northern Westchester Help Nab Suspects Of Local Narcotics Ring A months-long operation into a local narcotics trafficking organization in Northern Fairfield County resulted in four arrests and the seizure of large amounts of drugs and cash, police said.  The arrests resulted from the execution of 18 search warrants and an arrest warrant by the Brookfield and Danbury Police Departments on Wednesday, March 8 that stemmed from a months-long investigation into a local narcotics trafficking organization.  The investigation, known as "Operation Trinity Café," began when police responded to a non-fatal overdose in Brookfield and learned that Da…

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
14 Hudson Valley Gang Members, Associates Charged With Racketeering, Narcotics, Other Offenses 14 Hudson Valley Gang Members, Associates Charged With Racketeering, Narcotics, Other Offenses
14 Hudson Valley Gang Members, Associates Charged With Racketeering, Narcotics, Other Offenses The FBI and other law enforcement officials in the Hudson Valley raided numerous homes in a warrant sweep charging 14 members of a street gang for committing various racketeering, narcotics, and firearms offenses.  The "takedown," took place in Orange and Dutchess counties on Thursday, Dec. 1, focusing on Poughkeepsie and the city of Newburgh, said Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. An indictment charges several members of the Young Gunnaz Gang, aka “YG," with acts of violence. This includes Kashad Sampson, aka “Shoca,” a YG leader who is charged w…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
DEA Bust Nets 15,000 Fentanyl Pills During NY Traffic Stop DEA Bust Nets 15,000 Fentanyl Pills During NY Traffic Stop
DEA Bust Nets 15,000 Fentanyl Pills During NY Traffic Stop One person was arrested and approximately 15,000 fentanyl pills were seized as part of an ongoing investigation into a fentanyl trafficking organization.  The seizure took place on the Manhattan side of the Lincoln Tunnel on Wednesday, Sept. 28, when DEA agents stopped a New Jersey woman. The drugs were found when the DEA Task Force was conducting surveillance as part of an ongoing investigation into narcotics trafficking when they allegedly observed Latesha Bush, a 48-year-old Trenton, New Jersey, resident carrying what appeared to be a black tote bag wrapped around a large object as …

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Fugitive MS-13 Member Extradited From El Salvador To Face Murder, Other Charges In NY Fugitive MS-13 Member Extradited From El Salvador To Face Murder, Other Charges In NY
Fugitive MS-13 Member Extradited From El Salvador To Face Murder, Other Charges In NY An MS-13 gang member accused of taking part in the brutal killing of a 20-year-old man on Long Island has been extradited to the United States. Jose Jonathan Guevara-Castro was extradited from El Salvador on Tuesday, Aug. 9, nearly a month after the country’s top court gave the green light, the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District announced. Guevara-Castro, also known as “Suspechoso,” had been detained in El Salvador since August 2020, weeks after he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Central Islip for the murder of Kerin Pineda. The former Freeport High School student’s body …

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Leader Of Hudson Valley "Southside" Street Gang Charged With Murder, Firearms Offenses Leader Of Hudson Valley "Southside" Street Gang Charged With Murder, Firearms Offenses
Leader Of Hudson Valley "Southside" Street Gang Charged With Murder, Firearms Offenses An alleged street gang leader in the Hudson Valley is facing life in prison after being charged with murder and firearms offenses, federal prosecutors announced. Ardae Hines - also known as “Young Money,” and “YM” - a leader of the Orange County “Southside” street gang in the city of Newburgh, is facing multiple charges for his role in the 2016 murder of Deandric Little. Prosecutors said between 2014 and June 2017, the “Southside Gang” operated around the intersection of South Street and Chambers Street in Newburgh. According to the indictment, to gain funds for the gang, protect the gang’…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
$1.1M In Cash, Drugs, Gun Seized From Orange County Couple Accused Of Cocaine Trafficking $1.1M In Cash, Drugs, Gun Seized From Orange County Couple Accused Of Cocaine Trafficking
$1.1M In Cash, Drugs, Gun Seized From Orange County Couple Accused Of Cocaine Trafficking A Hudson Valley couple accused of trafficking cocaine in New Jersey was busted with $180,000 in drugs and more than $1.1 million in cash, authorities said. Orange County residents Marius Schwerberg, 65, and his wife, Nancy Schwerberg, 43, were charged in a felony complaint filed in the Town of Montgomery Court with first-degree criminal drug possession on Oct. 21, Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced. The money constitutes the largest amount of cash recovered during a narcotics search warrant in Orange County history, Hoovler said. The charges were the resul…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Drug Ring Members Enter Pleas In Wide-Ranging Narcotics Case In Area Drug Ring Members Enter Pleas In Wide-Ranging Narcotics Case In Area
Drug Ring Members Enter Pleas In Wide-Ranging Narcotics Case In Area Five people, including a major cocaine supplier, pleaded guilty to various felony charges for their part in a large narcotics operation that supplied drugs throughout the area. The five, who were members of a wide-ranging group that supplied drugs in Rockland and Orange counties included firefighters, a former police officer, and self-styled outlaw motorcycle clubs. They were taken down during a multi-agency operation dubbed "Operation Bread, White, and Blues," on Feb. 5. When the raids went down, community members and fire departments were shocked when former Middletown fire Lt. Paul …

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Gang Leader Admits To Murdering Man During Card Game In Area Gang Leader Admits To Murdering Man During Card Game In Area
Gang Leader Admits To Murdering Man During Card Game In Area A gang leader is facing life in prison after admitting to murdering a man and injuring two others while robbing a card game being played on the sidewalk in front of a laundromat in the area. Skylar “S-Dot” Davis, 22, a “Southside” gang leader, pleaded guilty this week to his role in a racketeering conspiracy, and to murdering Samuel Stubbs during a robbery as he was playing cards on Lander Street in 2015. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said that as part of his guilty plea, Davis - who was already in prison for weapon and drug charges - also admitted to committing or helping to commit an addi…

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by Zak Failla
News
New Indictment Served To Ex-Cop In Area Accused Of Killing Four New Indictment Served To Ex-Cop In Area Accused Of Killing Four
New Indictment Served To Ex-Cop In Area Accused Of Killing Four A new indictment has been filed against a former police officer in three Westchester municipalities and one in Dutchess who may face the death penalty after allegedly being involved in the murders of four men in Orange County in 2016. Late in 2016, Nicholas Tartaglione, a former Briarcliff Manor police officer, was charged in a five-count indictment for his participation in a drug conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and for the murders of four men, all of whom lived in Middletown. This week, a new indictment was filed against Tartaglione, charging him with four cou…

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by Zak Failla
News
Mobster From Hudson Valley Destroys Evidence, Obstructs Justice, Feds Say Mobster From Hudson Valley Destroys Evidence, Obstructs Justice, Feds Say
Mobster From Hudson Valley Destroys Evidence, Obstructs Justice, Feds Say A member of the Genevose Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra already charged with the stabbing death of a Westchester man is now facing new charges for destroying evidence and obstructing justice, prosecutors announced. John Tortora Jr., known as "Johnny T," was arrested in August by FBI agents and Yonkers Police in connection with the 1997 death of 29-year-old Richard Ortiz in Yonkers. Tortora, 61, of Yonkers, had previously been indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy, murder in the aid of racketeering and murder for hire. He was arrested on Aug. 3 and has been remanded in cus…

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by Zak Failla
News
FBI Nabs Suspect In Hudson Valley La Cosa Nostra Mob Hit FBI Nabs Suspect In Hudson Valley La Cosa Nostra Mob Hit
FBI Nabs Suspect In Hudson Valley La Cosa Nostra Mob Hit A member of the La Cosa Nostra organized crime family is facing murder charges in the cold-case fatal stabbing of a Westchester man, prosecutors announced. John Tortora Jr., known as "Johnny T," a member of the Genovese Crime Family, was arrested by FBI agents and Yonkers Police in connection with the 1997 death of 29-year-old Richard Ortiz in Yonkers. “The arrest of John Tortora should remind everyone that justice delayed is not justice denied," FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said. "Whether a crime was allegedly committed decades ago or just days ago, the…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
10 Hudson Valley Gang Members Face New Charges 10 Hudson Valley Gang Members Face New Charges
10 Hudson Valley Gang Members Face New Charges Nearly a dozen members of a Newburgh street gang face additional racketeering and firearms charges, according to the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, David M. Hoovler, the Orange County District Attorney, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI, Ashan M. Benedict, the New York Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and Aaron Weaver, the Acting Chief of the City of Newburgh Police Department, announced add…

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by Jon Craig