Queens To Suffolk Heroin Network Arrests Announced
SUFFOLK, COUNTY, N.Y. - Anthony de LosAngeles, aka “Taco,” 20, of Tarrytown, New York, was sentenced today to over eight years in prison for selling heroin, some of which substantially contributed to the overdose death of one of de LosAngeles’s customers. De LosAngeles pled guilty on March 17, 2017, to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin. James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s New York Division office and Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the sentence that was handed down in White Plains federal court by U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth M. Karas.
“Anthony de LosAngeles sold heroin to a young man he knew had just left a drug rehabilitation program. The same day, that young man used the heroin de LosAngeles sold him, overdosed, and died,” stated Koon. “The epidemic of opioid abuse is devastating our communities, costing human lives, and ripping families apart. This office will aggressively pursue cases against dealers who fuel this deadly epidemic.”
According to the indictment filed in White Plains federal court as well as public court filings and statements made in connection with the plea and sentencing proceedings:
From at least in or about May 2015 up to and including in or about February 2016, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, de LosAngeles and others conspired to sell at least 100 grams of heroin. One of the de LosAngeles’s customers was a 25-year-old man named Thomas Cipollaro. On November 3, 2015, Cipollaro, who had just finished a period in a rehabilitation treatment center for his heroin addiction, texted de LosAngeles, asking to buy heroin. During the ensuring text exchange, de LosAngeles learned that Cipollaro had just completed a drug rehabilitation program and that Cipollaro planned to use the heroin he was about to purchase immediately. De LosAngeles also bragged to Cipollaro that his heroin was particularly strong.
Later that same day, Cipollaro was found unresponsive in his car with 15 empty glassine baggies, consistent with bags used to package heroin, near his body. Despite efforts to revive him, Cipollaro remained in a coma for the next several days and then died. Autopsy and toxicology reports revealed that Cipollaro had heroin in his system, which substantially contributed to his death. Even after learning of Cipollaro’s overdose death, de LosAngeles continued to sell heroin to customers in and around Westchester County, New York.
De LosAngeles has already served approximately 13 months of his sentence and will serve an additional 84 months in custody from the date of his sentencing. In addition to his prison term, de LosAngeles was sentenced to four years of supervised release and forfeited approximately $30,000 in cash drug proceeds, which were seized during the investigation.
Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Yorktown Police Department, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, and the Westchester County Department of Public Safety.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by Kim’s White Plains Division office. Assistant United States Attorney Maurene Comey is in charge of the case.
