Main supplier of drug ring pleads guilty

The main supplier of a drug ring that operated out of the city of Newburgh pleaded guilty to drug and other charges.

GOSHEN, N.Y. » The main supplier of a drug ring that operated out of the city of Newburgh pleaded guilty in Orange County Court to felony drug and other charges, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.

The guilty plea by Kennedy “Prezzy” Richards, of Paterson, New Jersey, on Thursday to criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy follows the prior pleas of 15 others — including one man from Poughkeepsie — for their role in a drug ring that trafficked heroin and cocaine into Orange County and the rest of the state.

Richards is expected to be sentenced to up to 17 years in state prison.

Authorities said the 15 men and one woman arrested were part of a “large, violent narcotics trafficking ring,” known as the 600 Gang. They were arrested in a takedown on Feb. 13, following a 10-month undercover narcotics investigation.

The investigation was dubbed “Operation Yellow Brick Road,” in part due to ringleader Damion Jackson’s street name, “ToeToe,” the Attorney General’s Office said. Toto was the name of Dorothy’s dog in the film “The Wizard of Oz.”

Authorities said the men purchased narcotics from Richards and other suppliers in Paterson and elsewhere to sell in the Hudson Valley.

Police seized bulk heroin and cocaine, hundreds of doses of individually packaged heroin, one kilogram of methamphetamine, 49 pounds of marijuana, three handguns, one sawed-off shotgun, one shotgun, and more than $36,000 in cash in the bust.

According to the state Attorney General’s Office, guilty pleas to the following felony charges were previously entered in Orange County Court by:

• Jackson, of Newburgh, to two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy in the second degree. He will be sentenced to between 12 and 18 years in prison.

• Frederick “Fredo” Blue, of Newburgh, to two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy. He was sentenced to 13 years in state prison.

• Dwaine “Devil” Tate, of Newburgh, to criminal possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy. He will be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

• Kevin “Kels” Maldonado, of Newburgh, to possession of a weapon, criminal sale of a controlled substance, and conspiracy. He will be sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.

• Steve “Lonkie” Cohen, of Newburgh, to criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy. He will be sentenced to 7 to 9 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.

•Andrew “Jimmy” Hutchinson, of Newburgh, to criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy. He will be sentenced to seven years in prison.

• Oneil “O” Mitchell of Newburgh, to criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy. He will be sentenced to five years in prison.

•Adrian “Travis” Hutchinson, of Newburgh, to attempted sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy. He will be sentenced to 4½ to nine years in prison.

• Demetrius “Meech” Kelly, of Newburgh, to criminal sale of a controlled substance. He will be sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by five years of postrelease supervision.

• Kenny “Ken Block” Maldonado-Irizarry, of Newburgh, to possession of a weapon, criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy. He will be sentenced to five years in prison.

• Monique “Cola” Bentley, of Newburgh, to criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy. She will be sentenced to 4½ years in prison.

• Tykwon “Chop” Burks, of Newburgh, to criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy. He will be sentenced to between two and six years in prison.

• Ethan “Edai” Santana, of Newburgh, to criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy. He will be sentenced to between two and six years in prison.

• John Boughton, of Poughkeepsie, to criminal possession of a controlled substance and attempted conspiracy. He will be sentenced to six months in jail, followed by five years of probation.

Tate, Mitchell, Cohen, and Jackson, as well as Andrew and Adrian Hutchinson, all admitted they acted as purchasers and distributors of large amounts of cocaine that they got from Richards and brought to Orange County, where they would cut it with agents such as baking soda to double their profits, or “cook” the powdered cocaine into crack cocaine.

Tate and Andrew Hutchinson would then sell the cocaine to their own customers or to other members of the organization, including Adrian Hutchinson, Jackson, and Mitchell, who would then resell it.

Jackson and Cohen also admitted to selling both cocaine and heroin, including to Blue, Maldonado, and Boughton.

Blue, Bentley, and Maldonado admitted buying the heroin from Jackson and Cohen and then reselling to their customers or co-conspirators, including Santana, Burks, Kelly, and Maldonado-Irizarry, who likewise admitted that they resold heroin to their own customers.

Blue, Maldonado, and Maldonado-Irizarry also admitted purchasing, selling, and possessing illegal firearms used for protection and enforcement of their narcotics operation.