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Middletown resident Robert Dunham, 46, a former firefighter in Mechanicstown in Orange County, pleaded guilty on Thursday, April 25 to first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy, both felonies. He reportedly also admitted to his role in selling and distributing cocaine.
In February, police arrested nearly two dozen suspects that involved two separate conspiracies, one of which primarily involved members of “outlaw” motorcycle clubs trafficking cocaine.
The second involved the sale of narcotic pills which were represented to contain oxycodone, but which contained fentanyl, a highly addictive and frequently lethal narcotic, the DA's office said.
According to prosecutors, Dunham and former City of Middletown Fire Lt. Paul Smith were in the middle of both rings.
The name of the enforcement action that brought down the drug empire, "Operation Bread, White and Blues," referred to the co-conspirators use of the term “bread” to mean money they obtained through the sale of narcotics, “white” to represent the cocaine which was sold, and “blues” to represent the blue colored pills which were being trafficked.
When he is sentenced, Dunham faces up to 25 years in prison. No sentencing date has been announced. Smith pleaded guilty earlier this month to operating as a major drug trafficker.
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