Busted
47 arrested; drugs, cash confiscated in Monmouth's biggest bust in 25 years


Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 11/2/07
BY MICHELLE SAHN
STAFF WRITER


An undercover officer bought a large quantity of cocaine about a year ago, and that purchase led to arrests of 47 people, seizure of more than $1 million worth of cocaine and heroin and the dismantling of a ring supplying drugs in the Monmouth County area, authorities said Thursday.

Several of the suspects taken into custody in what Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin called the county's biggest drug bust in the last 25 years are believed to be members of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation street gang.

Authorities said they've seized about 32 pounds of cocaine, more than 6 1/2 pounds of heroin, four semiautomatic handguns, two bulletproof vests and approximately $95,000 in cash in making arrests over the past three months.

The joint investigation by county, federal, state and local law enforcement brought down a multistate narcotics network that sold drugs in Long Branch and the surrounding area, and included suppliers working in California, Florida and New York, authorities said.

The defendants are being held on bails ranging from $25,000 to $4 million.

The investigation — dubbed Operation Honeycomb because of the way the mid- and upper-level suppliers stored their drugs in safe houses — was conducted by the county Prosecutor's Office Narcotics Strike Force and Gang Investigations Unit; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey Division; State Police; Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and the Long Branch, Red Bank, Marlboro, Howell, Keansburg, Neptune and Asbury Park police departments.

"They used areas that were what we considered their honeycomb — where they felt secure in their criminal world, and they tried to really hide the true identity of the criminal activity," said Special Agent Douglas S. Collier, a spokesman for the DEA.

Some of those stash houses were on one-way or dead-end streets, and the dealers chose those places because they believed it would help them avoid law enforcement, said Collier.

Alleged ringleaders


On Monday, William Duran-Paulino, 27, of the Dominican Republic, who currently lives in New York; Wilfredo Recio, 36; Juan Taveras, 41, both of the Bronx; Elvin Golon-Casiano, 36, also known as "Geuri Recio," of the Bronx; and Nicholas Brito, 27, another Dominican living in the Bronx, were all arrested in the Bronx.

Wilfredo Recio and Brito commanded and controlled the New York nexus of the drug network; Duran-Paulino and Taveras worked for them, Collier said.

On Oct. 26, Martha Rosario-Chispe, 38, of Panarama City, Calif.; Stephanie Machaudo, 25, of North Hollywood, Calif.; and Hector Carabali-Cevallos, 35, of Ecuador who currently lives in New York, were arrested on the New Jersey Turnpike in Mount Laurel. They were in a rented vehicle and they were driving from Florida, authorities said. About 15 pounds of cocaine and six pounds of heroin were seized from the vehicle, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

The same day, Francisco Morales-Chispe, 35, of Los Angeles, was taken into custody in the Bronx.

Two weeks earlier, police had seized $60,000 in cash from Rosario-Chispe, Machaudo, Carabali-Cevallos and Morales-Chispe in New York City, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

Valentin's office said six key participants were arrested Sept. 28:

Ricardo Padro, 30, of Neptune, believed to be a member of the Latin Kings gang, was taken into custody in West Long Branch with a loaded .380-caliber handgun and approximately one ounce of cocaine, authorities said.

Tyson Abel, 31, and Katherine Russo, 24, were arrested at their Neptune City home, where police confiscated a loaded .38 caliber Beretta and 68 bricks — or 3,400 bags — of heroin, authorities said. At the time of his arrest, Abel was free on $300,000 bail after he was taken into custody on Aug. 10 in Ocean Township with about nine pounds of cocaine, authorities said.

Alejandro Burgos, 27, believed to be a member of the Latin Kings, was arrested at his Long Branch home, where police seized two loaded handguns, two bulletproof vests and approximately seven ounces of cocaine, authorities said.

Ramon Rodriguez, 34, of Long Branch, who authorities say is a Latin King, was arrested in his hometown and police confiscated about a half-ounce of cocaine from him, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

Michael Smith, 21, was arrested at his Neptune home. He was free on bail. On Aug. 5, he and his girlfriend, Barbara Miller, 32, of Neptune had been arrested in Long Branch and police seized about 200 grams of cocaine from them, authorities said.

On Sept. 25, Luis Negron, 33, of Carteret; Angel Aviles, 34, of Newark; and Luis Maldonado, 43, of Newark, were arrested in Newark, with about 2.2 pounds of cocaine, authorities said. When police searched the Roselle home of Negron's girlfriend, Luz Torres, officers found another 4.4 pounds of cocaine, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Torres was also arrested.

All told, 25 of those arrested were charged with possession with intent to distribute. Another 21 face possession charges and one other is charged with obstruction of justice.

Search for one suspect


Police are still searching for a Perth Amboy man, Edward A. Santana, 30, who they say is also a key member of the narcotics distribution network. He is wanted on a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Santana is described as a Hispanic male, who is about 6 feet tall and weighs between 160 and 180 pounds. His last known address is on Parker Street, Perth Amboy. Anyone with information about Santana's whereabouts is asked to call Detective Todd Rue of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office at (800) 533-7443.

"This operation is a classic example of how successful partnerships with federal, state and local law enforcement can benefit our community," Valentin said in a prepared statement. "Operation Honeycomb successfully identified and arrested the local and national drug distributors and eliminated multiple sources of narcotics destined for the streets of Monmouth County."

"Operation Honeycomb is a great example of cooperation among all law enforcement agencies, particularly the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office," Gerard P. McAleer, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration New Jersey Division, said in a prepared statement.


A list of all arrested are on link below.



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