A six-month-long collaboration among nearly 40 law enforcement agencies has resulted in the dismantling of the allegedly largest known gun trafficking and cocaine ring in Orange County.
Through a food truck that often parked next to the city court in Newburgh, guns from North Carolina and cocaine from Florida had been able to find their way into the county and put residents at risk until the recent disruption, according to a press conference on May 29.
“We have never seen this level of sophistication, and we have never seen this level of structuring—the money of this organization moved around with ease,” said Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler during the announcement at the county’s Sheriff’s Office.
A barber shop in Newburgh allegedly served as a stash house where money and illegal goods were kept for the criminal ring.
“It was a multi-level, four-tiered conspiracy and was doing probably conservatively $3.3 million worth of cocaine out of City of Newburgh and other places in Hudson Valley [every year],” he added.
Following May 21, a coordinated execution day carried out by multiple agencies, close to 30 people allegedly at various levels of the criminal ring were arrested, with the seizure of nearly 12 kilos of cocaine, 30 illegal firearms, and over $45,000 in U.S. currency.
Five of the six defendants allegedly at the top of the illegal supply chain were undocumented.
One seized firearm was identified as a murder weapon that had allegedly resulted in the death of a 13-year-old in North Carolina.
“This is a perfect example of a joint multi-jurisdictional narcotics and firearms trafficking operation,” said Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta at the press conference.
“The Sheriff’s Office will continue to push its resources towards combating serious crimes and holding these criminals accountable,” he added.
About six months ago, investigator John Kitsos at the Sheriff’s Office started the case with the support of police Lt. Thomas Mallon, both of whom then got help from investigator Mike Decker and senior investigator Chris Fox at the District Attorney’s Office.
An army of local police departments—including Middletown, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Woodbury, and Montgomery—contributed to the subsequent investigation, which was also aided by the Goshen-based Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center.
New York City Police Department provided undercover officers to buy guns and drugs from the food truck in Newburgh during lunchtime hours, which was part of the reason why the investigation was dubbed “Operation Hot Lunch.”
ATF, or the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacco, and Firearms, provided advanced investigative resources and helped capture the supplier defendants based in North Carolina and Florida.
One ATF special agent who made a significant contribution to the case prefers to remain anonymous.
“This case exemplifies the work ATF is doing every day to make an impact on stemming the flow of lethal drugs and illegal narcotics onto our streets,” said ATF New York Field Division Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller at the press conference.
Four charged individuals related to the alleged criminal ring remain on the loose: Fort Lauderdale resident Laura McLaren Bailey, Poughkeepsie resident Anthony Nelson, Newbugh resident Larry Oates, and Shantorian Towles.
Operation Hot Lunch remains an active case, and any known statistics thus far are subject to changes as the investigation continues.
