August 27, 2004
Operation: Family Affair
Authorities have broken up a large drug ring in Brooklyn consisting of 69 people, nearly all of whom belong to one of 5 families in the area. The ring dealt cocaine and heroin at 34 public housing buildings in East New York, and began operating in January 2002.
Brooklyn's District Attorney, Charles Hynes, announced indictments against these 69 people at a news conference yesterday. They've all been charged as part of a single conspiracy. He said the investigation into the ring lasted for 18 months, and was made more difficult by the blood relations between the members of the organization. The woman who headed the DA's investigation -- dubbed "Operation: Family Affair" -- said that the organization was divided into "crews" and each crew was headed by brothers in one of the five families.
Hynes said the cabal's revenues were $11 million annually, but some relatives of the indicted disputed that figure. "We live in crumbling, roach-infested buildings," said a woman whose uncle and cousin were indicted. "These cops are talking about people here making $11 million. None of us here are making that kind of money." But Hynes counters that the leaders were getting around in a 35-foot boat, Cadillac Escalades, and a van with a built-in plasma TV and satellite dish.
You might think the residents of the projects where this was taking place -- Remeeder, Unity and Long Island Baptist -- would be wholly relieved that the organization has been brought down. The DA said, "The people in and around the developments found themselves literally trapped and in a real sense held hostage in their own communities besieged by drug dealers on the street." But not everyone agrees: "The people who got arrested are the same people who protect us and our kids. Nobody here feels more safe [now]," one resident said.
Hmm. These were also the same people who were selling drugs to your kids, lady, and selling drugs to the people who were robbing your kids so they could buy more drugs. In fact, the DA's office said they are ivestigating the ring's involvement in 15 shootings and eight homicides in the area.
The case is not without precedent. In 2002, police arrested 43 members of a drug ring at the Cypress Hills housing project in Brooklyn. That group was more violent, but less profitable: it was connected to 41 shootings, but only pulled in $1 million annually.
categories:
Brooklyn,
Drugs
posted by adm at August 27, 2004 6:49 AM
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