CRIME BLOTTER

Going out of business

Their business brought in around $1 million each year, but once Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson stumbled across them, these narcotics wholesalers were out of business. Jose Roman, 37, of Manhattan and Angel Castro, 31, of Delaware were leaders of a drug ring that distributed marijuana, cocaine and heroine throughout New York. After a 16-month investigation, Johnson’s office asserts, 17 people, including Roman and Castro, are facing charges of conspiracy as well as possession and sale of the drugs. The investigation included direct surveillance of the accused making transactions and court-ordered wiretaps of their cellphones. From the cellphone conversations, investigators gleaned information about sale prices of the narcotics, amounts to be delivered, location of delivery, and even the identities of the couriers. The group also was found to have ties to other drug rings in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Wilminton, Delaware and Puerto Rico. The four high-volume transactions that are the focus of the indictment include the sale of 8 pounds of marijuana that took place at a Mobil Gas Station in the Soundview area of the Bronx on May 4. On May 8, the investigators got hold of a 10-pound package of marijuana that was to be delivered to the ring via the United Parcel Service (UPS). According to the DA’s office, one of the defendants, Louis Rivera, 45, of the Bronx was a UPS employee and was arrested that same morning. So much for the archaic notion of the loyal employee.