News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2010
Contact: Dawn Dearden
Number: 202-307-7977

Operation Loose Screw Successful

NYFD—Albany, NY: Assistant Special-Agent-in-Charge James Burns and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Richard Hartunian, conduct a press conference June 28 to announce the results of Operation Loose Screw. Various Chiefs/Sheriffs whose departments participated in the case are standing in the background. Eighteen out of the 22 indicted were arrested without incident. The net seizure included 1 kilo of cocaine, 250 grams of crack, 100 grams of heroin, 14 weapons and about $105,000 USC. NYFD—Albany, NY: Assistant Special-Agent-in-Charge James Burns and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Richard Hartunian, conduct a press conference June 28 to announce the results of Operation Loose Screw. Various Chiefs/Sheriffs whose departments participated in the case are standing in the background. Eighteen out of the 22 indicted were arrested without incident. The net seizure included 1 kilo of cocaine, 250 grams of crack, 100 grams of heroin, 14 weapons and about $105,000 USC.
NYFD—Albany, NY: Assistant Special-Agent-in-Charge James Burns and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Richard Hartunian, conduct a press conference June 28 to announce the results of Operation Loose Screw. Various Chiefs/Sheriffs whose departments participated in the case are standing in the background. Eighteen out of the 22 indicted were arrested without incident. The net seizure included 1 kilo of cocaine, 250 grams of crack, 100 grams of heroin, 14 weapons and about $105,000 USC.

JUN 30 -- Albany, New York—Special Agent-in-Charge John P. Gilbride, New York Field Division, Drug Enforcement Administration, and United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Richard S. Hartunian, announced the unsealing of five indictments returned by a federal grand jury for the Northern District of New York in Albany, New York which, in total, charged twenty-two individuals with various federal drug felonies.

DEA Special Agent in Charge John P. Gilbride stated, “This operation is a message to drug traffickers that law enforcement is determined to identify, investigate and arrest those who are distributing drugs throughout our communities. DEA and our local and state law enforcement counterparts collaborated in order to put those responsible for polluting our streets with illicit drugs in jail.” Special Agent in Charge Gilbride commends the men and women in the Capital District Drug Task Force and the United States Attorney’s Office for their diligence in this investigation.

The following thirteen defendants are charged by Indictment 10-CR-327 with the crime of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (crack) from June of 2008 through the present and face maximum penalties including up to life in prison:

Name/Resident Date of Birth

Rasheed Daniels March 13, 1977
 Rensselaer, New York

Ercel Hartfield May 20, 1976
 Albany, New York

Gary Holmes September 17, 1984
Hudson, New York

Matthew Bell March 22, 1969
 Hudson, New York

Kevin Ruffin September 29, 1975
 Catskill, New York

Leon Mosley October 10, 1967
Hudson, New York

Joel Dorval September 26, 1989
 Hudson, New York

Desona Welch March 31, 1976
 Albany, New York

William Morrison August 27, 1986
 Hudson, New York

Tyrone Hedgepath January 13, 1984
Hudson, New York

Shannon Egan May 28, 1980
Hudson, New York

Kanika Brandow November 27, 1983
Hudson, New York

The following defendants are charged by Indictment 10-CR-329 with conspiracy to distribute marijuana during the months of April through June of 2010 and face maximum penalties that include up to five years in prison:

Name/Residence Date of Birth

Martin Devine March 21, 1983
 Greenport, New York

The following three defendants are charged by Indictment 10-CR-329 with conspiracy to distribute marijuana during the months of April through June of 2010 and face maximum penalties that include up to five years in prison:

Name/Residence Date of Birth

Vaughn Keith August 22, 1974
 Latham, New York

Jodi Ann Campbell May 20, 1981
 Hudson, New York

Brien Justiniano July 30, 1975
 Address Unknown

The following two defendants are charged by Indictment 10-CR-330 with conspiracy to distribute heroin and possession with intent to distribute heroin on June 17, 2010 and face maximum penalties that include up to twenty years in prison:

Name/Residence Date of Birth

Raymond Baker July 18, 1979
 Schenectady, New York

Louis Rosa April 25, 1980
 Schenectady, New York

The following three defendants are charged by Indictment 10-CR331 with conspiracy to distribute heroin during the months of April through June of 2010 and face maximum penalties that include up to twenty years in prison:

Name/Residence Date of Birth

Ramone Barnhill September 22, 1979
 Schenectady, New York

Floyd Anderson June 17, 1973
Hudson, New York

David Feller December 21, 1967
Hudson, New York

NYFD—Albany, NY: As a result of Operation Loose Screw on June 28, 18 out of the 22 indicted were arrested without incident. The net seizure included 1 kilo of cocaine, 250 grams of crack, 100 grams of heroin, 14 weapons and about $105,000 USC.
NYFD—Albany, NY: As a result of Operation Loose Screw on June 28, 18 out of the 22 indicted were arrested without incident. The net seizure included 1 kilo of cocaine, 250 grams of crack, 100 grams of heroin, 14 weapons and about $105,000 USC.

Barnhill also is charged with four counts of possession with intent to distribute heroin. Each indictment is merely an accusation and each defendant is resumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

All of the above listed defendants, with the exception of Tyrone Hegepath, Martin Devine, Jodi Ann Campbell, and Brien Justiniano, were arrested this morning and are scheduled for their initial appearance at 1:30 p.m. on June 28, 2010 before United Stated Magistrate Judge David R. Homer in Albany.

Search warrants executed early this morning by law enforcement agencies throughout the Capital District and prior investigative work resulted in seizures totaling about 1 kilogram of cocaine, 1000 bags of heroin, 250 grams of crack cocaine, 4 pounds of marijuana, 13 firearms (10 handguns and 3 long guns), and more than $105,000 in U.S. currency.

These charges are the result of a joint Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Capital District Drug Enforcement Task Force and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Are group, the United States Marshal, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Probation Department, the New York State Police, the New York State Division of Parole, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office, the Schenectady Police Department, the Albany Police Department, the Colonie Police Department, the Bethlehem Police Department, the Hudson Police Department, and the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York.

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