Task force arrests 41 in upstate drug bust

By CHUCK BENNETT and DOUG AUER
Last Updated: 2:30 PM, September 22, 2010
Posted: 1:29 PM, September 22, 2010

The state attorney general’s Organized Crime Task Force has busted up a violent drug-running gang from Albany following a seven-month investigation.

Forty-one reputed members and associates of the "Bloods" — including a Brooklyn man and a Long Island man — are charged with corruption and drug dealing for allegedly peddling tens of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine, heroin and marijuana on the streets of the state’s capital and surrounding towns.

Collared in the dragnet were Ronald "Nino" Wright, 32, of Long Island, who authorities say green-lit a hit on an Albany gangleader, and Collin "White Boy" Campbell, 31, of Brooklyn.

"These arrests deal a major blow to violent gang activities that have afflicted communities from the Capital Region to Long Island," said Attorney General Mario Cuomo.

The gangsters apparently used gangland connections to establish a "narcotics pipeline" that shipped drugs from Brooklyn and Long Island to Albany, Lake George, Schenectady and Troy, among other upstate areas, said the attorney general’s office.

The gang forced members to recite oaths of loyalty and held weekly logistics meetings — physically punishing those who dared to miss them, Cuomo’s office said.

The investigation, dubbed "Operation Blood Trail," used wiretaps and covert surveillance, allowing investigators to eavesdrop as several violent crimes were planned — including assaults, robberies and gun deals, said a spokesman.

Cops were able to stop these crimes without jeopardizing the operation, the spokesman added.

During raids, authorities — including Albany police, state police and US marshals — seized eight handguns, a rifle, an assault rifle, $65,000 in cash, six pounds of marijuana, quantities of heroine and cocaine, a digital scale and drug packaging materials.

The defendants are currently being arraigned in Albany County Court.

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