Top cops gathered at the Ulster County law enforcement center on October 11 to announce a successful drug trafficking investigation which led to nine defendants being indicted by a federal grand jury in Albany. Seven of the nine had Ellenville addresses.
Presumed innocent until proven guilty, the nine face charges of conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, specifically fentanyl and cocaine, between March 2021 and January 2023 in Kingston, Ellenville and other areas.
U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York Carla Freedman, special agent in charge of homeland security investigations in New York Ivan Arvelo, and Ulster County sheriff Juan Figueroa stepped up in turn to the microphone to share the news.
“In executing search warrants on multiple residences in Ellenville, White Plains, the Bronx and Manhattan this past January,” said Freedman, “law enforcement seized approximately four kilograms of fentanyl.”
This haul weighs about the same as four two-pound bags of Domino sugar. “That is enough fentanyl,” said Freedman, “for at least 200,000 lethal doses.”
Also seized were half a kilogram of cocaine, $600,000 in drug proceeds, and five firearms.
Freedman asserted that the abundance of fentanyl has led to a staggering number of overdoses and deaths across the country. Last year alone, over 110,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses.
At least 50 times more potent than morphine, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid.
“As you know, we’ve been fighting this epidemic here for the last five years,” said Figueroa. “And yet we continue to get an influx of these drugs from outside the county. We did the search warrants in January, and the arrests, after the indictments were done today.”
Figueroa confirmed that the locales of the various busts appeared to indicate a drug pipeline heading up from New York City.
“New York City’s the biggest user city in the country,” said Figueroa. “That’s where a lot of drugs get imported to and then shipped out to Ulster County.”
The individuals charged were also alleged to have ties to motorcycle gangs. Figueroa declined to provide details. “So this is still an ongoing investigation,” he said. “There are motorcycle gangs that were involved, but at this point we’re not willing to say which ones.”
The synthetic opioid is turning up more and more, mixed with other drugs like heroin and cocaine to add bulk or to complement and increase the high of the drug it’s mixed into. Because fentanyl is synthetic, it’s cheaper to produce, increasing profit margins for the sellers.
“Charges against these nine men are a direct result of their reckless pursuit of wealth and influence,” said special agent Arvelo, “But today we declare an end to the reign of lawlessness. We gather here not just to address the enforcement of the rule of law, but to champion the cause of justice.”
Arvelo said that the decisive action now being taken was the culmination “in the dismantlement of a criminal organization that’s dedicated to damaging and poisoning our communities, with the only intention of enrichment without regard to human dignity.”
The defendants listed below would face the following minimum and maximum terms of imprisonment upon conviction.
• 32-year-old Joseph Logan, aka “Jazz” aka “Jabb,” of Ellenville, five to 40 years.
• 34-year-old Joshua Morales, aka “Young,” of Ellenville, five to 40 years.
• 26-year-old Joshua Atkinson, aka “Swaggs,” of Ellenville, ten years to life imprisonment.
• 35-year-old Luis Santiago, aka “Banks,” of Ellenville, ten years to life imprisonment.
• 36-year-old Frankie Maldonado Jr. of Ellenville, five to 40 years.
• 35-year-old Justin Torres of Ellenville, five to 40 years.
• 45-year-old Christopher Baez, aka “Butta,” of Manhattan, ten years to life imprisonment.
• 38-year-old Erkan Denix, aka “E,” aka “Ed” of Ellenville , five to 40 years.
• 35-year-old Daryl Livingston, aka “Whiz,” of Huguenot, 20 years.
The cases are being investigated by Homeland Security; the Ulster County sheriff’s office in conjunction with the Urgent (Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement and Narcotics Team) task force, an inter-agency group targeting drug dealers and gang members in Ulster County; the New York State Police; the Village of Ellenville Police Department; and the White Plains Police Department, with assistance from the Ulster County district attorney’s office.
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