HUGE BUST NETS MILLIONS IN DRUGS, PLUS WEAPONS
12 charged in ring pushing drugs in Ulster, Dutchess and Saratoga, officials say
KINGSTON, N.Y. » A multi-agency, intercounty drug bust Wednesday took down 12 members of a drug trafficking operation based in New Paltz, yielding millions of dollars worth of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine pills and artificial Xanax that have been flooding Ulster, Dutchess and Saratoga counties, officials said.
Standing behind two tables stacked with an array of pills, packages, weapons and ammunition, at a press conference in the Ulster County Law Enforcement Center, New York State Attorney General Letitia James said the defendants, all but one of whom were arrested Wednesday, were responsible for flooding communities in the Hudson Valley and Capital region with these drugs.
She said the bust would go a long way toward preventing the “death, destruction and carnage caused by drugs and guns.”
Ulster County Undersheriff Eric Benjamin, left, and Sheriff Juan Figueroa, right, show New York State Attorney General Letitia James the weapons that were obtained in the recent bust along with drugs. (Tania Barricklo/Daily Freeman)James said, “This operation was especially dangerous because they sold drugs that were intentionally disguised as prescription pills and were heavily armed with assault weapons and other firearms. Stopping gun violence and the opioid crisis requires action from every angle, and today’s takedown is the latest example of our commitment to using every tool possible to protect our communities.”
As alleged in two indictments, which were unsealed in Ulster County Court Wednesday morning, the 12 defendants trafficked
more than one million dollars worth of cocaine and thousands of pills throughout Ulster, Dutchess and Saratoga counties, and illegally possessed firearms, including assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
In all, the investigation led to the recovery of 11 kilograms (24.25 pounds) of cocaine, with an approximate street value of $1.2 million; 15,000 methamphetamine pills, disguised as Adderall pills, with an approximate street value of $100,000; 5,000 artificial Xanax pills, with an approximate street value of $50,000; 750 heroin pills, disguised as oxycodone, with an approximate street value of $20,000; 39 firearms, including four assault weapons; 40 highcapacity magazines; hundreds of rounds of ammunition; and $120,000 in cash, officials said.
Charged in the indictment were: Christopher Pulichene, 39, of New Paltz; Ralph Banks Jr., 50, of Saugerties; Thomas Colone, 60, of Saugerties; Alton Countryman, 35, of Kingston; Thekla Countryman, 35, of Kingston; Robert Curry, 42, of Albany; Kevin Drake Jr., 32, of Kingston; Julia Eaton, 34, of Gansevoort; Joshua Guldy, 21, of Kingston; Nicholas Lasusa, 31, of Saugerties; Zachary Vanvlack, 34, of Wappingers Falls; and Devyn Wolny, 24, of New Paltz.
Two sealed 275-count indictments charging the 12 individuals from Ulster, Dutchess and Saratoga counties were unsealed in Ulster County Court Wednesday morning.
Pulichene, who Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa described as the ring leader, was charged with the top count of operating as a major trafficker,
a felony carrying a maximum sentence of up to life in prison. He was sent to the Ulster County Jail on Wednesday.
Pulichene is alleged to have operated an illegal pill distribution network in and around Ulster, Dutchess and Saratoga counties, James said. He purchased heroin pills from Alton Countryman and then resold them to Colon, Eaton and Vanvlack, who then sold them throughout the region, she said.
“People were buying these drugs and did not know that they were buying and ingesting heroin and methamphetamine. These pills were marketed on the street as oxycodone and Adderall. They were made to look exactly like the pharmaceutical-grade version of these drugs,” James said. “Alton Countryman made these drugs himself at his home in Kingston. He took loose heroin, pressed it into pills and designed it to look exactly like pharmaceutical-grade oxycodone. … People had no idea they were actually consuming heroin.”
Pulichene also purchased methamphetamine pills from a source on the west coast and then resold them to other defendants who resold them.
She said that the methamphetamine was made to look exactly like Adderall. Xanax sold by the defendants contained none of the drug whatsoever, James said. It was actually a sugar pill.
Curry was charged under a separate four-count indictment and was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony carrying a maximum sentence of up to 24 years followed by five years of post-release supervision. He is being held at the Albany County Jail on a potential federal probation violation in connection
with today’s charges, according to an Ulster County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
Additionally, Pulichene, Alton Countryman, Banks, and Colon are charged with firearms offenses for some of the firearms that were seized.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, the status and charges against each of the defendants were not immediately available because some of them were still being processed, Figueroa said.
Also as of late Wednesday, Colon was being held at the Ulster County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail, Drake was being held without bail and Guldy was being held in lieu of $75,000 bail.
The investigation was spearheaded by the Attorney General’s Office Organized Crime Task Force, jointly with the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office Gun, Antitrafficking, Narcotics and Gang (GANG) Bureau. The investigation was conducted by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office and the URGENT task force, with the assistance of the Dutchess County Drug Task Force, New York State Police Special Investigations Unit, Homeland Security Investigations Hudson Valley Office and the U.S. Probation Department.
These cases will be prosecuted jointly by the state Attorney General’s Office Organized Crime Task Force and the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office.
James said the investigation — dubbed “Operation GTL” due to guns, trafficking of narcotics, and laundering of proceeds which the investigation revealed — included hundreds of hours of physical and covert surveillance, courtauthorized wiretapping of cellular telephones, and review of phone records and law enforcement databases.
During electronic surveillance, the defendants
and their alleged co-conspirators frequently utilized coded and “cryptic terminology” in an attempt to disguise their activities, referring to cocaine as “girl,” “lady,” or “white”; heroin pills as “blues,” “blueberries,” or “berries”; methamphetamine pills as “peaches” or “oranges”; and artificial Xanax pills as “greens,” “green beans,” or “beans,” James said.
In a statement, Ulster County District Attorney David Clegg said, “This is one of the largest drug and gun takedowns in the history of Ulster County. The trafficking of illegal narcotic drugs and the possession of deadly firearms will not be tolerated in our county. … We will continue to work tirelessly to take dangerous drugs and firearms off the streets and keep our community safe.”
At the press conference, James was flanked by members of law enforcement and elected officials from Ulster and Dutchess counties, including Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, Figueroa, Dutchess County Sheriff Kirk Imperati, members of the New York State Police, Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, state Senator Michele Hinchey and Kingston Mayor Steve Noble.
In addition to the large quantities of drugs that were recovered, investigators seized 39 firearms, including assault weapons, 40 high-capacity magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, riot gear and other weapons, James said.
“Ulster County has witnessed an increase in drug use, drug overdoses, and gun violence,” said Figueroa said at the press conference. “This case establishes the need of local law enforcement to collaborate with state agencies that have the assets and expertise of longterm investigations.”