Thread: Spring Valley cops, feds arrest dozens in drug sweep

Spring Valley cops, feds arrest dozens in drug sweep
By STEVE LIEBERMAN
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: August 29, 2007)

SPRING VALLEY - Village police and federal agents have arrested 44 people on felony drug-related charges, immigration violations and in other crimes, including robberies and an alleged murder-for-hire plot, officials said yesterday.

Investigators said they seized guns, knives and $50,000 as a result of a nearly yearlong undercover operation centered on drug dealing near local bars.

The confiscated drugs included 42 pounds of marijuana, more than a kilo of cocaine, 8 ounces of crack, 10 grams of heroin, hashish, methamphetamines and 7 1/2 ounces of hallucinogenic mushrooms, officials said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office also is investigating potential charges, including one case in which a man is accused of plotting to kill a relative. Spring Valley police uncovered that case during the investigation.

Investigators, led by the Spring Valley Police Department and its anti-crime unit, included federal agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, plus the Rockland Intelligence Unit and the Rockland District Attorney's Office.

The probe started by focusing on several possible members of the violent MS-13 Salvadoran street gang operating among the immigrant community, but eventually delved into several loosely affiliated drug-dealing enterprises, Spring Valley Police Chief Paul Modica said yesterday.

"Maybe one or two guys in the beginning were hard-core gang members," Modica said. "What we got was a major drug case and, where we could prove a case, we charged people with robberies and assaults. We got immigration involved. We found many of those involved were here illegally."

Officials arrested most of the suspects during the past month, usually picking up several at a time in order to keep the investigation as secret as possible.

While 28 people were charged with immigration violations, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took at least seven people not charged in the drug operations into custody for potential deportation as illegal immigrants.

Much of the drug dealing and associated crimes occurred near five bars that cater to the community's immigrant population. Four of the bars - El Valley Bard, El Kiosko, El Palermo and El Guatamalteco - are on Main Street with a fifth, BJ's Tavern, on Maple Avenue.

"One of the significant aspects of this case is they were able to infiltrate the bar scene where drugs were being sold primarily to the Latino community," District Attorney Michael Bongiorno said.

Bongiorno and Modica said some of the people involved either as witnesses or part of the illegal activity are undocumented and will not deal much with strangers.

"They hesitate to deal with strangers, and witnesses are less likely to help because some of them are undocumented," Bongiorno said. "In some ways, it is invisible. That makes it more difficult to investigate and prosecute cases in the community."

Bongiorno said the investigation also showed that drug dealing infiltrates all communities and leads to other crimes, like robberies, burglaries and thefts.

"This is not a reflection on the entire community," he said. "It shows there is a small segment involved in the drug trade, like other communities across the country."

The Spring Valley anti-crime unit, led by Detective Sgt. Dan McWilliams and including Detective Ted Hughes and Officer Jim Noble, spearheaded the effort for the Spring Valley Police Department. McWilliams is the department's liaison to the DEA task force based in Westchester.

The state's Operation IMPACT anti-crime program allowed Spring Valley to work with federal and state agencies. Operation IMPACT targets violent crime and drug areas.

Modica said stopping drug dealing and street robberies remained the department's top priority for the past several years. Most street robberies occur near these bars and just after closing time, he said.

"This investigation is simply the tip of the iceberg," Modica said.

Reach Steve Lieberman at slieberm@lohud.com or 845-578-2443.

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs ... 023/NEWS07

WOW home of the mayor who went out and solicited illegals on a Sunday
to work at a city project.

Kinda had to know this was coming after the story first leaked out