LI Men Busted On Drug Charges Along With Rapper Fetty Wap: Feds

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — Three Long Island men and a New Jersey corrections officer were part of a group of six indicted on federal drug charges along with rapper Fetty Wap, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Friday.

The men were charged with conspiring to distribute and possess controlled substances, and five of them used guns “to protect” the distribution ring, prosecutors said. The indictment alleges that from about June 2019 through June 2020, the men doled out over 100 kilograms of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine across Long Island and New Jersey. They got the drugs on the West Coast and then used the United States Postal Service, a well as drivers with hidden compartments in their vehicles to transport them across the country to Suffolk County, where they were stored, according to prosecutors.

Those charged include: Anthony Cyntje, a 23-year-old Passaic New Jersey correction officer, Anthony Leonardi, 47, of Coram, his brother, Robert Leonardi, 26, Of Levittown, PA, 30-year-old William Junior Maxwell II, who is the rap artist known as “Fetty Wap” and lives in Patterson, NJ, Brian Sullivan, 26, of Lake Grove, and 26-year-old Kavaughn Wiggins, who goes by “KV” and lives in Coram.

The drugs were distributed to dealers who sold them on Long Island and in New Jersey, according to prosecutors. Anthony and Robert Leonardi, as well as Sullivan and Wiggins, bought` and transported the drugs from the West Coast to the East Coast where they were processed, stored, and ultimately resold, prosecutors said. Maxwell was “a kilogram-level redistributor” for the drug trafficking organization and Cyntje brought kilos of cocaine from Long Island to New Jersey, according to prosecutors.

Search warrants executed during the investigation resulted in the recovery of about $1.5 million in cash, 16 kilograms of cocaine, 2 kilograms of heroin, and numerous fentanyl pills, prosecutors said. Recovered weapons included two 9mm handguns, a rifle, as well as .45- and .40-caliber pistols and ammunition, according to prosecutors.

The chart-topping Maxwell is best know for songs like "Trap Queen" and "My Way."

In a statement to Patch, his attorney, Navarro Gray of Hackensack, NJ, said he is praying that the arrest is "all a big misunderstanding."

"He does see a judge today and we're hoping he gets released so we can clear things up expeditiously," he added.

Cyntje’s attorney, Patrick Brackley of Manhattan, said he is going to vigorously defend the charges and described him as a “good kid.” When asked how his Cyntje got mixed up in the criminal allegations, Brackley said: “It's a very good question. That's what we're trying to figure out.”

Cyntje does not have any long-term association with Maxwell and is not included “in that part of the case.”

“The allegations are very narrow against my client,” he said. “He was not claimed to be an associate of the rapper.”

Attorneys for Wiggins, Leondari, and Sullivan did not respond for a request for comment. The names of the other men’s attorneys were not available.

United States Attorney Breton Peace said that the men “transported, distributed and sold more than 100 kilograms of deadly and addictive drugs, including heroin and fentanyl, on Long Island, deliberately contributing to the opioid epidemic that has devastated our communities and taken too many lives.”

“We will continue to work nonstop with our law enforcement partners to keep our neighborhoods safe from the scourge of dangerous drugs and gun violence,” he said.

He thanked the postal inspection service for its help during the investigation.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll said the pipeline of drugs in the investigation “ran thousands of miles from the West Coast to the communities here in our area, contributing to the addiction and overdose epidemic we have seen time and time again tear people's lives apart.”

“The fact that we arrested a chart- topping rap artist and a corrections officer as part of the conspiracy illustrates just how vile the drug trade has become,” he said. “I want to commend the work of our Long Island Gang Task Force and our law enforcement partners for working day in and day out to get these deadly drugs off our streets.”

District Attorney Tim Sini said the men “ran a multimillion-dollar bicoastal drug distribution organization with Suffolk County as their home base.”

“They were wholesale drug dealers who pumped massive quantities of narcotics into our communities,” he said. “As our investigation revealed, they would frequently use cutting agents to process just one of those kilograms of drugs into as many as four even before it was distributed to lower-level dealers, so the magnitude of this operation was enormous. Thanks to law enforcement’s efforts, this prolific supply chain has been cut off. I thank the Eastern District for partnering with my office to prosecute these individuals and hold them accountable.”

Suffolk police Acting Commissioner Stuart Cameron called the indictment “another example of law enforcement working together to take down a major drug trafficking ring that brought more than 100 kilograms of illicit narcotics to Long Island and New Jersey.”

“Holding these six individuals accountable, most of whom were using firearms to protect their drugs, will have a significant impact on the drug supply in Suffolk County and will help us in our continuing effort to combat the opioid epidemic,” he added.

Sullivan was arrested on Sept. 30 and ordered detained pending trial. Anthony and Robert Leonardi, as well as Cyntje, were arrested on Oct. 13, and ordered detained pending trial. Wiggins was arrested on Oct. 27 and ordered detained pending trial. Maxwell was arrested at CitiField on Thursday and was also held without bail, Newsday reported.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Kubetz asked for a delay to the speedy trial statute that requires the government bring a case to trial 70 days from a defendant's initial court appearance, the outlet reported. "I also understand that defense counsel would like the opportunity to engage in plea negotiations with us," he said.

If convicted, the six men face a maximum of life imprisonment, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.