Major Hudson Valley Drug Distribution Ring Busted

NEWBURGH, NY — A major narcotics distribution ring operating in Newburgh and Orange County was busted by law enforcement. State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Tuesday that a 172-count indictment charging 16 members of a large, violent narcotics trafficking ring was unsealed in Orange County. The indictment alleges co-conspirators with conspiracy, criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Each defendant faces up to 25 years in prison.

Schneiderman said this takedown of the drug distribution ring sends an unmistakable message.

“We won’t let our communities live in fear,” he said. “Our investigation uncovered a sophisticated drug trafficking ring that we allege peddled cocaine, heroin and violence on the streets of Newburgh and throughout New York.”

Schneiderman said the opioid crisis and the violence that often comes with it has been catastrophic for small cities and suburban and upstate communities across New York.

The bust, dubbed “Operation Yellow Brick Road” by authorities, partially due to ringleader Damion Jackson’s street name of “Toe-Toe,” is the eighth major drug bust since Schneiderman launched his SURGE Initiative in April 2017.

SURGE stands for Suburban and Upstate Response to the Growing Epidemic and is a targeted crackdown on the state’s growing and often violent heroin, opioid and narcotics trafficking networking operating in suburban and upstate communities.

Over the course of the 10-month-long investigation, Operation Yellow Brick Road recovered the following:

• Bulk heroin, and hundreds of doses of heroin in individual glassine envelopes, some marked with brand names such as “Focus,” “Shine” and “X-men”
• Bulk cocaine used to make thousands of individual doses for resale
• 1 kilo of methamphetamine
• 40 pounds of marijuana
• 3 handguns
• 1 sawed-off shotgun
• 1 shotgun
• At least $36,000 in cash

The investigation included hundreds of hours of physical surveillance and wiretapping, hidden cameras, GPS devices, undercover agents and cooperating witnesses. During the course of the wiretapping, conspirators frequently utilized coded and cryptic terminology in an attempt to disguise their illicit narcotics trafficking, such as referring to 10 glassine envelopes of heroin as a “bundle,” and 50 glassine envelopes of heroin as a “brick,” authorities said.

The members also often discussed the quality of heroin they purchased from their suppliers and would often comment on the “tan” or “yellow” appearance of higher-quality heroin. During the course of the investigation, electronic surveillance revealed that these 16 defendants acquired large amounts of narcotics from New York City and Paterson, NJ in order to sell them in Newburgh and Orange County and throughout New York, authorities said.

Several of the defendants named in today’s indictment are alleged to be members of the 600 Gang, a violent street gang that has plagued the streets of Newburgh for the past several years. The 600 Gang — named after a Chicago-based Crips Gang known as the 600 Black Disciples — allegedly engaged in the street-corner “open air” sale of heroin and crack cocaine in Newburgh. These defendants include Monique Bentley, Frederick Blue, Kevin Maldonado, Demetrius Kelly, Ethan Santana, Tykwon Burks and Kenny Maldonado-Irizarry.

In addition to selling narcotics, several of the 600 Gang members allegedly purchased, sold and possessed illegal firearms used for protection and enforcement of their narcotics operation. During the course of the investigation, three handguns, one sawed-off shotgun and one shotgun were recovered. As a result, Kevin Maldonado and Kenny Maldonado-Irizarry face additional charges in the indictment for criminal sale of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon and other related offenses.

Authorities said several members of the criminal network focused their operation on the purchase and resale of cocaine, while others primarily purchased and resold heroin. The investigation uncovered that Dwaine Tate, Andrew Hutchinson and Dwaine Watson obtained large quantities of cocaine from Kennedy Richards, their supplier in Paterson, NJ, for resale in Orange County.

Once they obtained the cocaine, they would adulterate the cocaine with cutting agents such as baking soda to double their profits, or they would “cook” the powder cocaine into crack-cocaine; Tate, Hutchinson and Watson would then sell the cocaine to their own customers or to other members of the organization including Oneil Mitchell, Adrian Hutchinson, Steve Cohen and Damion Jackson, who would then resell to their own customers. Damion Jackson, a.k.a., “Toe-Toe,” allegedly sold both cocaine and heroin to John Boughton, who then resold the narcotics to his own customers in Ulster County. Jackson, along with his partner, Steve Cohen, also allegedly supplied heroin to the higher-level members of the 600 Gang, including Frederick Blue, Monique Bentley and Kevin Maldonado. Blue, Bentley and Maldonado would then allegedly resell the heroin to their own customers or to other members of the 600 Gang, including Demetrius Kelly, Ethan Santana, Tykwon Burks and Kenny Maldonado-Irizarry, who resold the heroin to their own customers.

The indictment, unsealed before Orange County Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown, charged the following 16 individuals with 172 crimes, including second-degree conspiracy and various counts of A-felony level and B-felony level criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance. Each defendant, if convicted, faces between 8-1/3 to 25 years in prison.

Those charged in today’s indictment include:

• MONIQUE BENTLEY, a.k.a. “Cola,” of Newburgh
• FREDERICK BLUE, a.k.a. “Fredo,” of Newburgh
• JOHN BOUGHTON, of Poughkeepsie
• TYKWON BURKS, a.k.a. “Chop,” of Newburgh
• STEVE COHEN, a.k.a. “Lonkie” of Newburgh
• ADRIAN HUTCHINSON, a.k.a. “Travis,” of Newburgh
• ANDREW HUTCHINSON, a.k.a. “Jimmy,” of Newburgh
• DAMION JACKSON, a.k.a. “Toe-Toe” of Newburgh
• DEMETRIUS KELLY, a.k.a. “Meech,” of Newburgh
• KEVIN MALDONADO, a.k.a. “Kels,” of Newburgh
• KENNY MALDONADO-IRIZARRY, a.k.a. “Ken Block” of Newburgh
• ONEIL MITCHELL, a.k.a. “O,” of Newburgh
• KENNEDY RICHARDS, a.k.a. “Prezzy,” of Paterson, NJ
• ETHAN SANTANA, a.k.a. “Edai,” a.k.a. “L.A.,” of Newburgh
• DWAINE TATE, a.k.a. “Devil,” of Newburgh
• DWAINE WATSON, a.k.a. “Short Boss,” a.k.a “Slash,” of Newburgh

The investigation, led by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force, was in partnership with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, City of Newburgh Police Department, Orange County Drug Task Force, Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Photo caption: Weapons and cash seized during drug distribution ring bust. Photo credit: Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office.