Fourteen Defendants On Long Island Charged With Crack Cocaine Distribution Conspiracy
Twelve Search Warrants Executed at Residences in Wyandanch and
Surrounding Communities

MAY 23 -- (BROOKLYN, NY) A complaint was unsealed yesterday morning in federal court in Central Islip charging fourteen defendants with conspiring to distribute crack cocaine on Long Island.1 Earlier today, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at twelve locations in Wyandanch, North Babylon, Copiague, Dix Hills, and Islip Terrace, and seized seven firearms (three handguns, three sawed-off shotguns, and one rifle), approximately 800 grams of cocaine and drug paraphernalia, and $5,000 in cash.

DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Gilbride stated, “These arrests have weeded out several alleged drug traffickers who were peddling crack cocaine throughout Long Island. This operation demonstrates that the DEA and its law enforcement partners are committed to reclaiming our communities from the perils of drug trafficking.”

The charges were announced by John P. Gilbride, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Field Office, Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Vincent F. DeMarco, Sheriff, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, and Richard Dormer, Commissioner of the Suffolk County Police Department.

As detailed in the complaint and other documents filed by the government, the charges are the result of an eight-month investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), assisted by the Suffolk County Police Department and Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, into a large crack distribution organization based in Wyandanch led by FRANK WILSON. According to the DEA, the organization has been active for nearly a decade and is responsible for distributing hundreds of grams of crack cocaine per week. During the course of the investigation, court-authorized wiretaps intercepted hundreds of conversations in which the defendants arranged for the purchase and delivery of cocaine and crack cocaine.

Among those charged is CARLOS LUGO, the organization’s principal supplier of cocaine, who was arrested today in the Bronx, New York. In addition to supplying narcotics to numerous drug dealers in Suffolk County, the defendants allegedly operated several “crack houses” in Wyandanch and neighboring communities. Following execution of the search warrants this morning, code enforcement officers from the Town of Babylon visited several of the properties that were the subject of the search warrants. The Town of Babylon issued summonses against two of those properties and is investigating whether there is a basis to initiate additional legal proceedings against owners or occupants of any of the residences.

“For several years, this drug ring has been one of the largest sources of crack cocaine in Wyandanch and its neighboring communities,” stated United States Attorney Mauskopf. “The charges mark the latest in a series of federal prosecutions focused on eliminating narcotics trafficking in our most at-risk communities.”

If convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine base, the defendants face a minimum of ten years and a maximum sentence of life in prison, a life term of supervised release, and a $4,000,000 fine.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John J. Durham and Patricia Notopoulos.

The Defendants:

FRANK WILSON
Aliases: “Big Banana,” “Frankie B” and “Los”
Age: 34

CARLOS LUGO
Alias: “Ricardo Campana-Herrera,”
Age: 38

RENARD HOLDER
Aliases: “Von” and “Bananalito”
Age: 28

HAYWOOD MITCHELL
Aliases: “Beano” and “Queen B”
Age: 34

LORENZO WARREN
Alias: “Lo”
Age: 39

DARYL GRICE
Alias: “Nick Nack”
Age: 38

MARIE BLORE
Age: 29

CASANDRA MAXWELL
Alias: “KK”
Age: 38

DENISE NEWCOMBE
Age: 39

DARYNELL BODDIE
Age: 37

Still at large:

MELVIN TUCKER
Alias: “Tuck”
Age: 46

JAMES ARENA
Age: 33

ASHANTI HARRELL
Alias: “Footie”
Age: 28

LEONARD McCLOUD
Age: 32