BRONX DA: OPERATION BLACK STONE TARGETS GANG IN CO-OP CITY, CASTLE HILL

UNTOUCHABLE NO MORE: “OPERATION BLACK STONE” TARGETS

GANG THAT OPERATED IN CASTLE HILL & CO-OP CITY

(Bronx, NY — July 29, 2015) – Bronx County District Attorney Robert Johnson announces the 217 count Grand Jury indictment of 23 alleged leaders and members of the UNTOUCHABLE GORILLA STONE NATION (UGSN) and theBLACK STONE GORILLA GANGSTAS (BSGG) – a set of the Bloods gang and its affiliates that operated throughout the Bronx, with an emphasis on Castle Hill and Co-op City.

Dubbed OPERATION BLACK STONE, the NYPD made simultaneous arrests this morning of most of those who are charged.

The most serious charges involve Attempted Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, and Enterprise Corruption, under the New York State statutes that target organized crime and activities of criminal enterprises.

It is alleged that, at the top level, was the UGSN.  Under the jurisdiction of that umbrella organization were eight branches, known as “Kaves,” of which the BLACK STONE GORILLA GANGSTAS (BSGG) was one.  Another was the GSG – GORILLA STONE GANGSTAS.

Those alleged BSGG and UGSN leaders/members under indictment for Enterprise Corruption are:

                RAHSAAN “Low Rider” SAMUELS, age 39, alleged to be the leader of UGSN

CORY “Angry” HICKSON, age 27, alleged to be the leader of the BSGG

                LEON “L Murda” LEWIS, age 30, alleged to lead GSG

                HAMEED “Dyno” ABDUL-JABBAR, age 21

ROBERT “EZ” ALVAREZ, age 27

JHON “Tito” BERNABEL, age 21

DANIEL “D-Rock” DIAZ, age 24

KWESI “Beast”/”Rozay” FERGUSON, age 28

JOSHUA “Pookie” GARCIA, age 24

                TYRELL “Rell” GRIFFIN, age 35

                JUSTIN “Ram Rock” GUZMAN, age 25

BRANDON “Untouchable Dot” NIEVES, age 29

ANGEL “Ace” PAGAN, age 26

                JEFFREY “Stacks”/”J.J.” PEREZ, age 25

                Additionally, a number of BSGG and UGSN associates were indicted for a variety of related offenses, from conspiracy to commit murder to narcotics sales, committed over the course of the investigation. Those indicted for these related offenses are:

RANDY “Scrams” ALLEN, age 32

ASANTE “P.I.” BLAKE, age 33              

CALYN DIAZ, age 18

MICHAEL “Butt Naked” HAMILTON, age 23

MATTHEW HARRIS, age 32

DARIO “Dee O” MIRANDA, age 18

KELVIN “Kapo” MOSQUEA, age 24

                AMAURY “Gotti” URENA, age 25

ANNETTE “Netty” ZABALA, age 26

                A number of the defendants were arraigned in Bronx Supreme Court this afternoon before Justice Steven Barrett.

Beginning in September of 2013, Detectives with the NYPD Bronx Gang Squad, working with the Rackets Bureau of the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, initiated an investigation into narcotics trafficking and violence perpetrated by members of The Black Stone Gorilla Gangstas (“BSGG”) as well as other kaves, all organized under the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation (“UGSN”), a principal branch of the Bloods Gang.

Starting in May of 2014, the investigation into the crimes of UGSN members included the use of court-approved wiretaps on an extensive number of cellular telephones belonging to a number of UGSN members.  Evidence developed over the wiretapped telephones established a wide reaching criminal enterprise that engaged in a multitude of illegal criminal activities to generate income and exert control over particular areas within Bronx County, as well as other jurisdictions.

The reach of UGSN, as determined during the course of the investigation, extended far beyond the borders of the Bronx.  Over the wiretapped telephones, defendants were intercepted allegedly directly contacting fellow UGSN members in other jurisdictions, coordinating ongoing illegal activities on behalf of the criminal enterprise.  It is also alleged they regularly discussed criminal activities of fellow gang members that had occurred in other New York counties or in other states. And, it is further alleged that some members of the UGSN regularly traveled to Maryland to commit crimes.

The crimes perpetrated by UGSN members, amongst others, included an extensive number of illegal narcotics sales, possession and/or sale of illegal firearms, as well as violent criminal offenses and conspiracies to commit violent felonies.

As detailed in the indictment, the crimes committed by the defendants were crimes committed on behalf of, and in furtherance of UGSN, a structured criminal organization with a defined hierarchy of leaders that demands strict allegiance by all its members.    In fact, the UGSN employed a rigid hierarchical structure, which included positions ranging from top-ranked members to street soldiers.

Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson noted of today’s events, “With these arrests and indictments, we have

been able to prevent further violence from occurring.  This is part of our ongoing drive to combat gun violence and drugs, to make the streets of the Bronx even safer for our deserving, hard-working citizens.”

“This operation is another example of the NYPD targeting a group of individuals responsible for a disproportionate amount of violence and narcotic trafficking,” said Police Commissioner William J. Bratton. “These alleged gang members who compromised the quality of life of Bronx residents were arrested and indicted thanks to the hard work of the Gang Squad Bronx, the prosecutors at the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners who continue to work together to protect our communities.”

“Today we dismantled a criminal organization responsible for flooding Bronx streets with large amounts of cocaine,” said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., special agent in charge Homeland Security Investigations New York. “New York City residents deserve communities free of dangerous drugs and the violence that comes with them, and HSI will continue working with our law enforcement partners to bring  these offenders to justice.”

District Attorney Johnson also wishes to especially recognize the following people and organizations for their invaluable part in this investigation:

• NYPD’s Bronx Gang Squad, Captain Louis DeCeglie, Sgt. Eugene McHugh,  Lieutenant Michael Costello, and Case Detectives Michael Roberts and Jaak Leino
• The NYPD’s DA Squad, including Captain Brian Franklin, Sgt. Peter McCormack and Detective Vincent Procino
• The officers and detectives of the 43^rd Precinct and PSA 8
• Investigators with the NYC Department of Correction
• Investigators with the Office of Special Investigations of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
• The Drug Enforcement Agency and ICE’s HSI-led El Dorado Task Force
• The New York State Police
• The Westminster, MD Police Department

The case against the Operation Black Stone defendants is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Daniel Haines, Maureen Grosdidier and Thomas Boyle of the Bronx D.A.’s Rackets Bureau, with the help of Assistant D.A.s Vladimir Kocheulov and Ann Lee, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Stuart Levy, Counsel to the Investigations Division Mary Jo Blanchard, and Executive Assistant D.A. Thomas Leahy.

The charges in this indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.