DRUG RING BUSTED
Authorities make seven arrests, seize drugs, cash, vehicles, property
Local and federal authorities have shut down a drug trafficking operation and arrested those they said are responsible for pouring cocaine and marijuana into Ulster and Greene counties since at least 2018.
Among those arrested as part of the joint investigation were Vincent F. Neglia Sr., 65, and Russell J. Neglia, 25, both of Saugerties, who were charged in the 2017 baseball bat attack on a Rhinebeck man in a drug deal gone bad.
Also charged were Roger W. Hummer II, 38; Sophia R. Ricci, 23; and Scott Giannone, 56, all of Saugerties; Francis M. Raffani, 46, of Palenville, in Greene County; and Michael A Manor, 38, of Teaneck, New Jersey.
Authorities said Russell Neglia was the ring-leader of the operation, which they said operated out of the home of Vincent Neglia.
Russell Neglia, Manor and Hummer were arrested on fed
eral charges; Vincent Neglia, Ricci, Giannone and Raffiani were charged with state-level drug crimes.
The arrests were the result of a joint investigation, dubbed “Operation CoCo” that began in January 2019, Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa said during a press conference at the Ulster County Law Enforcement Center on Monday.
In addition to the seven arrests, authorities seized roughly three kilograms of cocaine, over 140 pounds of marijuana, a weapon, $68,000 in cash, several vehicles and property.
Police said 900 grams of cocaine, 100 pounds of marijuana, drug packaging materials, a digital scale and over $18,000 in cash was seized from Vincent Neglia’s home.
Additionally, police seized over seven pounds of marijuana, 1 ½ pounds of wax hashish, 363 individually packaged THC vials, drug packaging material, a commercial-grade cash counting machine and more than $40,000 in cash from a home in the Greene County town of Cairo. A kilogram of cocaine was taken from Hummer’s vehicle during a traffic stop in the town of Ulster.
Ulster County Sheriff’s Detective Lt. Abram Markiewicz called the amount of cocaine seized through the operation unusual for Ulster County.
“That is a tremendous amount of cocaine that is not normally seen in this area, for that amount to be seized or for a single kilogram to be delivered in a single transaction,” Markiewicz said.
“Drugs destroy families and communities and cost lives,” said Grant Jaquith, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York. “The point of this operation was not only to arrest drug dealers but also protect the quality of life in this area.
“Drug dealing inflicts a terrible toll on drug users and on communities where drugs are sold,” he said, adding that nationwide, overdose deaths from cocaine have reached “unprecedented levels.”
Jaquith said Manor pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. He said Manor admitted to being the courier for the operation, bringing the drugs from a supplier in New York City to Saugerties several times, including three times in 2018 and in 2020. Jaquith said Manor admitted that his actions brought more than 880 grams of cocaine into the area. He is to be sentenced Nov. 20.
Jaquith said Russell Neglia pleaded guilty on July 15 to possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, admitting he distributed 846 grams of cocaine to a network of area customers. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 17.
Both men face a federal prison sentence of between five and 15 years.
Hummer also faces federal charges of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute as well as possession of a weapon by a felon.
Ulster County District Attorney David Clegg said charges in county courts are pending against four area residents:
• Vincent Neglia: felony criminal nuisance for allegedly operating what Clegg called “a drug house.”
• Raffiani: two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance.
• Ricci: possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana, both felonies
• Ciannone: felony possession of marijuana.
Jaquith said the investigation is ongoing.