Two Glendale men were among the four members of a narcotics trafficking crew that allegedly used a popular sports bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn, as a stash location, according to federal authorities.
Jose Acevedo, 32, and Felipe Lopez, 54, both of 89-22 Rutledge Ave. in Glendale, were arrested along with Daniel Camareno, 30, from Brooklyn, and Adelfy Acavedo, 29, from the Bronx, in mid-November after federal agents executed a court-authorized search of the bar at 1204 Halsey St. and seized approximately 12 kilograms of cocaine and up to $100,000 cash. One firearm and high-end jewelry worth approximately $100,000 were recovered in searches at Acevedo’s Glendale residence, and Camareno’s Bronx home.
All four defendants were stopped by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents as they left the bar on the night of Nov. 13, and they were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court over the following weekend. A criminal complaint filed by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor (SNP) charges the four men with criminal possession of a controlled substance. Jose Avevedo also faces the charge of criminal possession of a firearm.
“The arrests announced today demonstrate effective collaboration between local and federal authorities when joint investigations are supported by diligent investigation, patient surveillance, and court authorized searches,” Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said following the arraignments. “I commend the agents and investigators for their professionalism and thank them for seizing dangerous narcotics and a firearm.”
According to court documents, DEA agents and officers conducted surveillance at 1204 Halsey St. for more than a month and observed the four defendants regularly visiting the sports bar, usually three or more times per week. The defendants allegedly remained for hours at a time and entered and exited with bags. On Nov. 14, all four men exited the bar at around 11:40 p.m. and agents stopped them and put the bar on lockdown while they sought court authorization for a search warrant. When Lopez was stoped, agents found him in possession of keys that allegedly fit the door of the basement level room inside the sports bar.
According to court documents, at around 4 p.m. on Nov. 14, agents conducted a court authorized search of 1204 Halsey St. Inside the cellar, they recovered nine brick-shaped packages of narcotics from a duffle bag underneath a bed and one brick-shaped package from a bookshelf. The packages proved to contain 12 kilograms of cocaine. Stacks of cash in bundles secured with rubber bands were found on a table and inside a shoebox in the basement. The table was surrounded by four chairs, with a money counting machine positioned nearby.
When agents stopped Acevedo at Halsey Street and Knickerbocker Avenue at 11:40 p.m. on Nov. 13, he allegedly possessed a large sum of cash bundled in a similar manner to the cash found in the basement. A search of his two-bedroom residence on Rutledge Avenue in Glendale resulted in the seizure of a 380 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol.
During a search of Camareno’s alleged residence on Gerard Avenue in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, agents found four ledgers containing inventories and prices for narcotics. A speaker had allegedly been outfitted with a hidden compartment that concealed approximately $100,000 in jewelry.
“The arrest of these four defendants, and the seizure of a firearm and a significant amount of narcotics have made this community safer,” DEA New Jersey Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James said. “We will work tirelessly to continue to put these traffickers out of business.”
The DEA and SNP’s Special Investigations Bureau investigation was assisted by the NYPD.
“These defendants allegedly turned a sports bar into a stash house, storing significant amounts of narcotics, expensive jewelry, and a gun — and thanks to the members of the NYPD it is game over for this illegal operation,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “These charges make one thing clear: there is no one better at uncovering and taking down drug traffickers than the NYPD.”
