By Courtney Dentch
Twenty alleged “drug rats” who used underground tunnels at Lefrak City to peddle heroin, marijuana, cocaine and guns were charged last week in 13 indictments containing a total of 122 drug-related charges, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
The defendants, 18 of whom are from the borough, allegedly used violent methods to reap profits of $2.5 million a year selling drugs and guns at the four-acre Lefrak City housing complex, located off the Long Island Expressway in Corona, Brown told a news conference last Thursday.
Among those arrested were Stanley Stephenson, 31, of 107-20 Pinegrove St. in Jamaica, who is accused of running the drug gang; and Eric Riviere, 45, of 184-03 North Conduit Ave. in Springfield Gardens, Brown said. A Flushing man, Michael Fontus, 20, and about 10 others were still being sought, the district attorney said.
“The defendants are allegedly to have sold drugs and guns to undercover officers who risked their lives by making 117 separate drug buys during the investigation in order to get the evidence needed to sustain the filing of the indictments,” Brown said.
“The outcry that sparked the investigation came from courageous residents of Lefrak City who were concerned about their safety, quality of life and well-being as well as that of their loved ones, friends and neighbors.”
One of the men arrested in the drug operation, Tyrone Price, was also charged in the February murder of a bodega owner in his Hillside Avenue store, according to a criminal complaint from the DA’s office. Mohammed Alamgir was shot in the head after Price allegedly tried to rob the store, the complaint said.
The men arrested at Lefrak City are accused of selling drugs in both large and small amounts, including cocaine for prices from $10 up to $25,500 for a kilo brick weighing 2.2 pounds; heroin costing up to $500; marijuana for prices from $20 to $1,300; and Ecstasy tablets for an average of $15 each, Brown said.
Undercover officers also purchased guns from the defendants for between $500 and $1,000, Brown said. In two instances, the defendants who sold two of the weapons told the undercover investigators that each gun “had a body on it,” meaning it had been used to kill someone, Brown said.
In order to avoid detection by police and Lefrak City’s management, the defendants allegedly used the underground passageways connecting the complex buildings as well as apartments in the buildings to sell the drugs, Brown said.
“The defendants charged can truly be described as ‘drug rats’ because they often used underground passageways criss-crossing the 20-building, 5,000-apartment complex to evade the prying eyes of surveillance cameras and to temporarily stash drugs before completing illegal sales,” Brown said.
The drug sales are believed to have sparked two violent outbursts in May, including one at the beginning of the month in which two people were shot inside the lobby of a Lefrak building, and another at the end of the month in which gunmen opened fire on others driving a van, riddling it with at least 20 bullets, Brown said.
The defendants, including 15 from Corona and one from the Bronx, were charged with varying counts of drug sales and possession, firearm sales and possession and grand larceny, Brown said. Some could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted, he said.
The arrests mark the second such operation in six years, Brown said. In 1997 a similar investigation closed down four separate drug gangs and led to the arrests of about two dozen people who reportedly took in $4.4 million in profits, he said.
“We in law enforcement will not go away after one operation,” Brown said. “If others move in, we’ll be there. We are dedicated to our commitment to eliminate drug traffic in every community in Queens.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
