Prosecutor charges 25 suspects in New York heroin trafficking ring

By Laila Kearney

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York City court employee and an aspiring drug counselor were among 25 people indicted as suspects in a heroin trafficking ring that pulled in more than $1.5 million a year, law enforcement officials said on Thursday.

Among the defendants is 25-year-old Josie Tavera, of Brooklyn, who is the suspected ringleader and operated with the help of several family members, including his mother and siblings, Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said.

“There’s a growing heroin epidemic in New York and other parts of the country that’s taking the lives of many of our young people hooked on this deadly and highly addictive drug,” Thompson said in a statement. “We must deal with this quiet drug plague by going after those who peddle this poison in our communities.”

Two other defendants in the New York case are Jason Collazo, 36, and Michael Mineo, 37, both of Staten Island. Collazo works in the Midtown Manhattan Community Court as a community service supervisor, and Mineo studied substance abuse at a local college and told police he was a drug counselor.

The investigation by Thompson’s office and the New York Police Department used electronic, video and in-person surveillance from January to September. Heroin sold by the group used names such as “Killing Time” and “Power Hour.”

Of the defendants, 22 were arrested on Wednesday and two others were already in custody on other charges. The last defendant is being sought by police.

Attorneys for the named defendants could not immediately be identified.

All face charges of second-degree conspiracy, which is a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

Combating heroin addiction and overdoses has become a top priority for northeastern U.S. municipalities, many of which have recently expanded their use of naloxone, a drug that can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Frank McGurty and Eric Beech)

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