78 charged in crackdown on
Newburgh drug gangs
Sarah Bradshaw • Poughkeepsie Journal • May
14, 2010
NEWBURGH — In neighborhoods, including one
nicknamed “Blood Alley,” cash is exchanged for
crack and heroin.
Violent clashes occur between rival gang members
over drug territories.
Children initiated as gang members act as police
lookouts and carry weapons.
Since March 2007, federal, state and local law
enforcement agencies have been building files
against City of Newburgh gang suspects and their
associates.
The indictments stemming from their three-year
investigations, dubbed Operation Blood Drive and
Operation Black Crown, read like scripts for crime
movies.
At a news conference Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s
Office unsealed two federal indictments against 78
suspects, accusing them of drug trafficking.
Confidential informants, undercover officers and
physical surveillance helped law enforcement
officials infiltrate the drug rings.
Some of the charges carry maximum penalties of life
in prison if the suspects are found guilty .
“The drug problem has overwhelmed the city, and
the cycle of violence that always comes with gangs
and drugs has reached crisis proportions,” Preet
Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of
New York, said in a statement.
Bharara added, “Today, we bring new hope to the
City of Newburgh.”
The operations were conducted and coordinated by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. A
ttorney’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement; New York State Police; Orange
County District Attorney’s Office; Orange County
Sheriff’s Office; and the City of Newburgh Police
Department.
Nationally affiliated Newburgh Bloods and
Newburgh Latin Kings gangs were charged with
conspiracies to distribute and possession with the
intent to distribute crack cocaine, powder cocaine
and heroin.
Of the 78 suspects, 60 reputed Newburgh Bloods
and associates face charges, including their alleged
leader, Anthony “Double-O” Boykin, 27, of
Newburgh.
Of the Newburgh Latin Kings gang, 18 reputed
members and associates were named in an
indictment including suspected leader 23-year-old
Wilson “King Gunz” Pagan of Newburgh.
A strike Thursday by several of the law enforcement
agencies forming the Hudson Valley Safe Streets
Task Force apprehended 19 of the 78 suspects.
Forty-four suspects were already in custody.
The remaining 15 suspects are still being sought by
police.
The task force executed search warrants during the
arrests, seizing a machete, shotgun, three
handguns, thousands of dollars in drug proceeds
and crack at the defendants’ homes.
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Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains, praised police,
saying in a news release, “Violent gangs have no
place in our communities. Today’s arrests should
go a long way towards disrupting gang activity
throughout Orange County and the entire Hudson
Valley.”
The City of Beacon and City of Poughkeepsie police
departments, Dutchess County Sheriff ’s Office and
others assisted in the arrests Thursday.
Most of the gang suspects and associates were
Newburgh residents, ages 18 to 51.
Poughkeepsie resident Clifton Catts, 32, was named
in the Bloods drug-trafficking indictment.
City of Poughkeepsie Police Capt. Steven Minard said
Thursday’s crackdown on gangs shows other
criminals what law agencies can do if they work
together.
He cited the 2006 multi-count indictment against 13
members of the Partners N Crime Poughkeepsie
street gang as another example.
“I think that with our fairly close proximity to
Newburgh, it’s very possible that gang members
frequent both cities,” Minard said. “By having
(Newburgh gang members) off the streets, it will
help us have less possibilities of gang violence
here.”
The Bloods suspects taken into custody were sent to
federal court in Manhattan while the Latin Kings
suspects were processed in federal court in White
Plains.
Newburgh led the state in violent crimes per capita
in 2008 and could do so again this year, Rep.
Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, said in a release.
Hinchey, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and
Newburgh Mayor Nick Valentine will host a crime-
prevention roundtable with community leaders and
local activists at 5 p.m. today at Newburgh City Hall,
83 Broadway.
Thursday’s federal indictment alleges the Bloods
used codes such as “food” or “plate” during
meetings, discussing the killings and assaults of
other members and nonmembers.
They are accused of controlling South Miller,
Lander, Farrington, Lutheran and Van Ness streets
with the primary objective to sell crack. Their supply
often came from Manhattan or the Bronx, it is
alleged.
Minors were used to commit crimes such as
distributing drugs, acting as lookouts, carrying
weapons and engaging in violent acts, the
indictment claims.
Bloods committed, attempted and threatened acts
such as beatings, stabbings and shootings to
protect and expand their drug operations, including
against rival gangs such as the Latin Kings,
according to the indictment.
On the East End of Newburgh, on the streets of
William, Broadway, Washington and Clark, the
Hispanic gang Latin Kings is alleged to have
operated a crack- and heroin-trafficking operation.
This gang is accused of charging “rent” or large fees
to those not in their gang to distribute narcotics in
their neighborhoods in addition to performing the
same violent acts as the Bloods to protect their
territory.
During the investigation of the Latin Kings,
members and their associates sold narcotics more
than 45 times to law enforcement officers and
informants, officials said.
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These transactions often were recorded with audio
and video.
In a statement, City of Newburgh Chief of Police Eric
Paolilli said the crackdown on gang-related
activities will dissuade potential gang members due
to the “long federal prison sentences that these
defendants are facing.”
James Hayes Jr., the special agent in charge for the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pledged his
office will use “all of its investigative tools and
unique capabilities to disrupt and dismantle gangs.”
Reach Sarah Bradshaw at
sbradshaw@poughkeepsiejournal.com or 845-
437-4811.
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