MTA Officer Arrested, Accused of Conspiring to Distribute Drugs from China

A conspiracy to buy and distribute illegal drugs from China began to unravel in October when agents intercepted a package at Kennedy Airport, according to federal officials who appeared in court today with the Metropolitan Transit Authority police officer they have arrested.

The package originated from Shanghai, China. It contained approximately one kilogram of a substance that tested positive for Ethylone, which is similar to MDEA, also known as “Eve,” and MDMA, also known as “Molly” or “ecstasy.”

It was addressed to a business at a UPS store mailbox in Newburgh, NY.

An individual using the name “Ali Smith” had rented that mailbox, using a fraudulent New York State driver’s license. Investigators say that license contained a photograph of Bey Dominick, the Middletown resident arrested yesterday.

Apparently From October 2013 to August 2014, a person or persons using the names “Bey Dominick,” “Dominick Beq,” and “Ali Smith” sent more than $29,000 in Western Union wire transfers from the United States to banks in China, investigators said.

Meanwhile, a man using the name “Ali Smith” and the fraudulent driver’s license also rented a mailbox at another UPS store, in New Windsor, NY. From January 2014 to December 2014, approximately 17 packages from China were delivered to a business with that New Windsor address.

Earlier this month,, law enforcement officers learned that another package was in transit from China to the New Windsor mailbox.

They obtained a search warrant; searched the package and found that it contained about one kilogram of a substance that tested positive for Ethylone; removed it; resealed the package and gave it back to the UPS store for delivery.

Yesterday, with the store under surveillance, investigators say Dominick entered the UPS store, signed for the package under the name “Ali Smith” and walked out, at which time he was arrested.

At the time of his arrest, Dominick possessed his police badge and a firearm, investigators allege.

Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James T. Hayes, Jr., the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), and Barry Kluger, Inspector General of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“MTA”), said the defendant was arrested yesterday and presented today in Manhattan federal court before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Maas.

Dominick, 43, of Middletown, NY, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute narcotics. He is a police officer with the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (“TBTA”), which is part of the MTA.

The charge which carries a maximum term of 20 years and a mandatory term of three years of supervised release. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

• News Alerts: Subscribe to a free email newsletter:

BEDFORD-KATONAH • BRONXVILLE-EASTCHESTER-TUCKAHOE • CHAPPAQUA-MOUNT KISCO • HARRISON • LARCHMONT-MAMARONECK • NANUET • NEW CITY • NEW ROCHELLE • NYACK-PIERMONT • OSSINING-CROTON • PEARL RIVER • PEEKSKILL-CORTLANDT • PELHAM • PORT CHESTER • PLEASANTVILLE-BRIARCLIFF • RIVERTOWNS • RYE • SCARSDALE • SOUTHEST-BREWSTER • TARRYTOWN-SLEEPY HOLLOW • WHITE PLAINS • YORKTOWN-SOMERS