DEFECTIVE TAIL LIGHT LEADS TO PAIR OF DRUG ARRESTS

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, April 7, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A07

Two Newburgh, N.Y., men were arrested after a Palisades Parkway Police detective who stopped their car for a defective taillight found six ounces of cocaine on the driver and 17,200 vials in the trunk, police said.
The driver, Dalton G. Harvey, 43, and his passenger, Jose A. Reyes, 23, each were charged with four counts of drug possession. They were being held Saturday in Bergen County Jail, each on $80,000 bail.
Detective Jim Lynam stopped the car about 11 p.m. Friday near exit 1 in Englewood Cliffs as it headed north on the parkway, Officer Guy Cook said. Lynam approached the car and saw a plastic bag wedged between its rear seats, Cook said.

Keywords: DRUG; ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS; MOTOR VEHICLE; VIOLATION

5 ARRESTED IN COCAINE, GUN STING

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, February 15, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B01

Francisco Torres double-parked his white 1989 Porsche in front of a Hackensack house Wednesday, put a “Doctor On Call” sign on the dash, and, briefcase in hand, walked into a police narcotics sting.
The arrest of the 30-year-old Jersey City man and an accomplice culminated an investigation that yielded 2 1/2 pounds of cocaine and the arrests of three other men Tuesday night, city Police Chief William Iurato said Thursday.
Tuesday’s arrests came in “a volatile situation that was defused with no gunplay” when an officer disarmed a suspect who appeared ready to fire a machine gun, Iurato said.
Detective Sgt. Arthur Mento, who backed up narcotics officers posing as weapons and drug dealers, credited Detective Sgt. Michael Mordaga with saving his and other officers lives when he disarmed the suspect, who had trained the gun on Mento.
Police had decided to act as “middlemen” after they got wind of an operation in which people were trading guns for cash or cocaine, said Iurato, who gave the following account:
The first leg of the investigation was the purchase of the machine gun in the parking lot of a diner on Essex Street at about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Mordaga and Officer Al Guitierrez were at the open door of a truck negotiating the $2,300 asking price for the gun with Eduardo Gomez, 26, of Union City, and Jairo Gondolo, 32, of Weehawken.
The third suspect, Abel Maldonaldo, 29, of Paterson, who was standing watch, saw other undercover officers approaching and yelled, “It’s a rip. “
“They thought they were being ripped off,” Iurato said. “They didn’t realize we were police officers until after the arrest. “
Gondolo picked up the machine gun, which was at his feet in the back seat, and raised it.
Mordaga jumped into the truck, and jammed his thumb in the trigger housing of the machine gun, slightly injuring his thumb as he disarmed Gondolo.
“We were in a situation where we couldn’t shoot,” Mento said. “If Sgt. Mordaga had not done what he did, we would have been seriously hurt. “
The gun was loaded with 30 rounds of 9mm ammunition. A .45-caliber handgun was also seized.
Tuesday’s arrests led police to Torres and Domingo Acosta, 29, of Union City, who were to provide 2 1/2 pounds of cocaine at a price of $30,000, a figure less than the street value, Iurato said. Torres and Acosta agreed to reduce the price if the undercover officers would buy 5 pounds of cocaine a week.
Iurato declined to say how police connected the suspects in Tuesday’s arrests with Torres and Acosta.
Torres and Acosta, who were arrested without incident, were charged with possession of and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and possession of a semi-automatic handgun. Torres was freed on $25,000 bail and Acosta was released on $50,000 bail.
Gondolo, charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, weapons charges, and resisting arrest, was released on $50,000 bail.
Gomez was being held in the Bergen County Jail on $50,000 bail on weapons charges and a charge of resisting arrest. Maldonaldo was held on $26,000 bail on the same charges.
Police confiscated the Porsche and the 1988 Toyota truck.

Keywords: DRUG; JERSEY CITY; WEAPON; HACKENSACK; POLICE

HACKENSACK SHOOTING VICTIM HELD; POLICE SAY HE RAN COCAINE RING

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, January 12, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

A 28-year-old city resident who was paralyzed last month in what New York police called a drug-related shootout was arrested Friday on drug and weapon charges as he came out of a hospital.
Juan Cuevas, now wheelchair-bound, had just attended a physical-therapy session at Hackensack Medical Center when police arrested him at noon, Police Chief William Iurato said.
Cuevas was charged with possession of a firearm, possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia as a result of a police raid on his home last month. He was released after his wife paid 10 percent of $5,000 bail.
Iurato said police will move to seize Cuevas single-family, Colonial-style house at 385 Summit Ave. because he operated a large-scale cocaine ring there. Cuevas purchased the house for $275,000 in August, the chief said.
“At this point we don’t know how sophisticated the operation was, but the home was protected by a sophisticated surveillance and burglar-alarm system,” Iurato said.
New York City police found the bullet-riddled bodies of four men, including Cuevas, at 620 S. 147th St. in Manhattan on Dec. 16. Two of the men were dead. Cuevas, who had been shot in the chest and lungs, and the fourth man were hospitalized.
Acting on a tip from an anonymous caller on Dec. 18, the Hackensack Police Narcotics Unit arrested his wife, Elizabeth Cuevas, 23, his brother, Jose Cuevas, 24, and Anselmo Pineda, 37, at the house. During the arrest, Hackensack police found a .45-caliber handgun, scales used to weigh drugs, burglar alarms, signaling devices, and surveillance cameras in and outside the house, including one in a birdhouse.

Keywords: HACKENSACK; SHOOTING; VICTIM; DRUG; CRIME

COCAINE COURIER SUSPECT ARRESTED; HACKENSACK COPS TARGET N.Y.C. RING

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, December 21, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

A 26-year-old Bronx man carrying cocaine for a New York City drug-trafficking ring walked into a trap Wednesday when he tried to sell an ounce of cocaine to narcotics officers, police say.

Ernesto Restrepo was being held in the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail on charges of possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of the drug within 1,000 feet of a school, police said.

The Hackensack police narcotics division also seized from the suspect a 1989 Ford Taurus equipped with a two-way radio, said Capt. John Aletta, chief of investigations. The New York-based drug ring uses such radios to communicate with potential customers, Aletta said.

The one ounce of almost pure cocaine was worth about $1,500, but its value could have ballooned when processed into other forms of the drug, Aletta said.

Members of the city detective and narcotics divisions began working on the case about a week ago when they received information about the ring’s operation in the area, Aletta said. He declined to tell the exact location of the arrest, but said it was in the area of 400 Hackensack Ave., near the Bergen County Vocational-Technical School.

After ordering the drug by radio and agreeing to meet the courier in a parking lot in the area, Detective Sgts. Michael Mordaga, Robert Wright, Allen Ust, and Walter Krakowski arrived at about 10 p.m. and arrested Restrepo at the conclusion of the transaction, Aletta said.

LINK SOUGHT IN HACKENSACK DRUG BUST, N.Y. SHOOTINGS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, December 19, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B05

Police are investigating the connections between three people arrested in the city Monday and the victims of a shootout in New York that left two people dead and two in the hospital.

Acting on a tip from an anonymous caller, the Hackensack Police Narcotics Unit, assisted by the Bergen County Police Canine Unit, arrested Elizabeth Cuevas, 23, her brother-in-law, Jose Cuevas, 24, and Anselmo Pineda on drug and weapons charges at a house at 385 Summit St. at about 1:30 p.m.

Capt. John Aletta, Hackensack’s chief of investigations, said the house is owned by 28-year-old Juan Cuevas, Elizabeth’s husband. He was shot in the chest and lungs during what New York City police called a drug-related shootout Sunday.

Cuevas condition has improved from critical to stable, a spokeswoman at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City said Tuesday.

New York City police found the bullet-riddled bodies of four men, including Cuevas, in a basement apartment at 620 S. 147th St. shortly after midnight Sunday.

Two New York City men Ricardo Peguero, 25, of the Bronx, and Julio Olivero, 31, of Manhattan were dead at the scene, said Detective Joseph McConville, a New York police spokesman. Manuel Fortunato of Yonkers was in critical condition at Harlem Hospital.

Police said they found four 9mm automatic handguns in the apartment.

Those arrested in Hackensack and the victims in the New York City incident were part of a large-scale drug operation, Aletta said, adding that he expected to make more arrests.

New York City Police Detective Robert Nugent, the investigating officer, said the shooting was “definitely drug-related. ” He said the men moved as much as $200,000 a day in drugs.

Nugent said his investigation was continuing and that he was in contact with Hackensack police to check any New Jersey connections. Aletta confirmed that Hackensack and New York City police were in contact on the case.

Elizabeth and Jose Cuevas were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a .45-caliber handgun. She was released from the Bergen County Jail on $5,000 bail, while he remained in jail with the same bail. Pineda also failed to post $5,000 bail on charges of possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Aletta said an anonymous caller phoned the narcotics unit about noon Monday and told them about the New York shooting. He said the caller said he was to help move drugs out of 385 Summit St. because police were looking for the drugs and might come to the house.

The Narcotics Unit, including Police Chief William Iurato, Aletta, Detective Sgts. Michael Mordaga and Robert Wright, Sgt. Arthur Mento, and Detective Haywood Powell, went to the residence after getting a warrant, Aletta said.

Aletta said the police did not find drugs, but found the gun, scales used to weigh cocaine and heroin, drug-packaging bags, a 1988 Ford Thunderbird with a false gas tank, and a jacket made with bulletproof material.

The house was equipped with cameras in several rooms and two cameras in birdhouses on a tree in the back yard of the house, Aletta said.

FORT LEE HAS NIGHT OF WEAPON, DRUG ARRESTS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, December 7, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | One Star | NEWS | Page B03

Police on Wednesday night arrested eight people on drug charges in three separate incidents. Two others were arrested on weapons charges in a fourth incident, said Police Chief John Orso.

At 5:09 p.m., said Orso, Officer Roy Bortolus saw a car cut across three lanes as it traveled west on Route 4, near Bergen Boulevard.

When Bortolus stopped the vehicle, he found small amounts of cocaine and marijuana and $12,220 in cash, Orso said.

The driver, Danny Prince, 36, of Oklahoma City, and passengers Keith Prince, 32, and Steven Guest, 23, both of Jersey City, were charged with possession of drugs and of drug paraphernalia. Each was released on $1,000 bail.

Orso said Bortolus became suspicious when Danny Prince said the money was his life savings yet did not know the total amount, guessing it to be $10,000. “We confiscated that to find out where it came from,” the chief said.

The second arrest occurred at about 8:35 p.m. after Detective Gary Moleta, traveling west on Route 46 near the Plaza West shopping, saw a car weaving through traffic. Upon stopping the vehicle, Moleta found several bags containing a white powdery substance believed to heroin, Orso said.

Tywayne Williams and Arthur Hoffman, both 18 and of East Orange, were scheduled to be remanded in Bergen County Jail on Thursday. The two were charged with being under the influence of intoxicants. They were also charged with possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

At about 9:45 p.m., on Linwood Avenue, Officer Ken Porrino seized a 12-gauge shotgun from the back seat of a car driven by Thurston U. Allen, 25, of Rochester, N.Y.

Allen and his passenger, Martha Colas, 22, of Queens Village, N.Y., were arrested and charged with illegal possession of a weapon.

Orso said the pistol grip on the shotgun was illegal. The officer saw the weapon as he approached the car to check its registration, the police chief said.

At about 10:40 p.m., Officer Steve Choromanski stopped a car driven by Bruce Davis, 23, of Roanoke, Va., after watching the vehicle change lanes without signaling near the intersection of Routes 4 and 95, Orso said.

Choromanski seized drug paraphernalia, about $1,000 worth of crack, and $1,200 worth of marijuana from the car, Orso said. The officer then arrested Davis and his passengers, Bernice Crouse, 18, of Roanoke, and Robert Green, 20, of Martinsville, Va.

They were each charged with being in possession of cocaine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, and possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

BAIL RAISED FOR BROTHERS SUSPECTED OF ROBBERY

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, November 30, 1990

Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

A Municipal Court judge has increased bail to $125,000 each for two robbery suspects after police found about 150 vials of crack while searching their apartment for weapons used in the robbery, authorities said.

Rodney Wade Phoenix, 26, and Robert William Phoenix, 34, of 92 Shepard Ave., Teaneck, are being held in the Bergen County Jail on charges of robbery, resisting arrest, and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, police said.

Officer Colin Duff, while breaking up a fight between a Teaneck resident and the brothers at about 3 p.m. Monday, was struck on the back of his head and neck with a three-foot-long piece of wood by one of the brothers, police said.

The resident, Frank Fowler, 34, of 1158 Summit Ave., told police the Phoenix brothers had robbed him of $100 at knifepoint and gunpoint earlier Monday.

The incident started when Officer George Miros, standing at Teaneck Road and State Street, noticed Fowler being chased by the Phoenix brothers, police said. Fowler was carrying a two-by-four.

Miros stopped the brothers to question them. They told him they had settled a dispute with Fowler, and then ran north on Teaneck Road to Shepard Avenue, catching up with Fowler and fighting with him.

Fowler and Duff were struck by the brothers as Miros, Duff, and Sgt. Thomas Batchelor tried to break up the fight, police said. The brothers then ran away, but were arrested minutes later. Duff and Fowler were treated for their injuries at Holy Name Hospital and released.

Bail had been set at $100,000 on the armed-robbery charges. The bail was raised Wednesday.

The Phoenix brothers were out on bail awaiting trial for their part in a series of armed robberies in Teaneck and Paramus in March 1989, according to Bergen County Superior Court records.

POLICE REARREST DRUG SUSPECT, ACCUSE HIM OF PACKING COCAINE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, November 24, 1990

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A man who was freed on bail after his arrest on drug charges in Little Ferry last week has been rearrested on a more serious charge of operating a drug facility.

Agents of the Bergen County Narcotics Task Force said they were afraid that the suspect, a Dominican national, would leave the country.

Leonidas A. Paula, 21, of the North Village apartments was being held in the Bergen County Jail on Friday in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Paula was arrested Nov. 16 on cocaine distribution charges and was freed Monday on $25,000 bail.
Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said Friday that investigators had determined Paula “was more involved in drug activity than we had originally thought. ” He said they made the discovery while looking into his assets, and rearrested him Wednesday.

“We asked that he give up his passport and we raised the bail because we were afraid he might leave the country,” Fahy said.

Paula could face 20 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000 on the new charge, Fahy said.
Paula ran a lucrative and sophisticated drug-production depot out of his apartment, Little Ferry Police Chief Donald Fleming said Friday.

“He was a manufacturer. He got his cocaine pure. He would cut it, add the mixture to it, and package it in 1-gram packets and sell it, like candy bars,” Fleming said. “He worked six days a week, eight to 10 hours a day. At $70 per gram, if he made 10 deals a day, he made $700 to $1,000 a day, easy. That’s a minimum.”

Fleming said Paula had clients from Bergen and Hudson counties and New York City. He handed out calling cards to clients that listed a fictitious store, “Junior’s Apparel for Men and Women,” at the Paramus Park mall, Fleming said. An anonymous tip led borough police and county narcotics agents on a three-month investigation that ended with the Nov. 16 arrests of Paula and three alleged drug buyers.

Police said they found 15 ounces of cocaine, with a street value of about $20,000, in Paula’s apartment.

DRUG CACHE USED TO LURE TRAFFICKING SUSPECTS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, October 31, 1990

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Federal agents in Newark used a cache of 11 pounds of pure heroin seized recently from a Saudi courier at Newark International Airport the largest haul of heroin imported through the airport to track down and arrest five persons believed to be major drug traffickers.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Fernandez said the monthlong investigation, dubbed “Operation Desert Horse” because of its Lebanon distribution base, eventually yielded 9 more pounds of heroin and $162,000 in cash.

The Drug Enforcement Administration estimates the 20 pounds of heroin would be worth more than $10 million on the street after its purity was diluted.

“This is a tremendous, a staggering amount of heroin. This will have a noticeable impact on the availability of heroin on the street,” Fernandez said.
“The defendants here were at the very source of the stream. They were at the top of the pyramid because they were the ones receiving this very pure heroin from the courier.”

Facing charges of conspiracy to import and distribute heroin are Walid El-Homeidi of Saudi Arabia; Samir Tehfe, a Lebanese national who lives in Guttenberg; Mohammed Hamye, also a Lebanese national, of Long Island; Benny Rodriguez of North Bergen; and Carlos Solis Payano and Angel Payano, both citizens of the Dominican Republic and residents of New York City.

All the defendants, now being held in the Union County Jail, face maximum life sentences and $4 million fines, Fernandez said. U.S. District Judge H. Lee Sarokin on Monday ordered the men held without bail pending trial.

Josephine Chouberrian, 38, and her 26-year-old sister, Jacqueline Minassian, of Watertown, Mass., in whose home the additional nine pounds of heroin was seized, and Fouad Gharib, a Canadian citizen, are due to be transferred to New Jersey to face charges in connection with the case, Fernandez said.

U.S. Customs and DEA agents in Newark began investigating on Oct. 7, after inspectors noticed that the sides of a suitcase carried by El-Homeidi, 28, were unusually thick, said Robert Van Etten, Customs special agent in charge.

An examination of the suitcase uncovered about 11 pounds of packaged heroin secreted in its sides, Van Etten said.

After El-Homeidi’s arrest on Oct. 7, Customs and DEA agents lured Tehfe, 31, and Rodriquez, 52, to a hotel in Newark to pick up the heroin on Oct. 13, when they were arrested. Fernandez declined to say how officials were led to Hamye and the Payano brothers.

Caption: PHOTO – JOHN DECKER / THE RECORD – Customs agents, from left, Robert E. Van Etten, Mark Shanley, and Kathleen Haage at Newark International Airport with nearly $170,000 in cash and 11 pounds of heroin, the largest-ever drug seizure at the airport.

TRUCK CARRIED OLIVE OIL, $5M IN COKE

By Michael O. Allen and Bill Sanderson, Record Staff Writers | Saturday, October 20, 1990

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A routine police inspection of a truck carrying olive oil led to the seizure of 393 pounds of cocaine valued at more than $5 million, the largest drug shipment seized on New Jersey highways this year, officials said.

State troopers followed the truck when it left a weighing station in South Jersey at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and arrested four men as they unloaded the cocaine that evening in Edgewater. A fifth suspect was charged in Salem County.

State police spokesman Dan Cosgrove said Trooper Manuel Gordillo was inspecting the truck on Interstate 295, at Carneys Point Township in Salem County, when he noticed fluid leaking from the rear of the truck.

Gordillo saw the cocaine behind the olive oil after being permitted to search, but he allowed the truck to leave, Cosgrove said. Gordillo, members of the Statewide Narcotics Task Force, and Salem and Bergen County police then followed the truck to the Havana Potato Truck Lot on River Road in Edgewater, he said.

Superior Court Judge Marguerite T. Simon in Hackensack set bail at $2.5 million each for four of the suspects, identified as Gonzalo Castellanos-Arroyave of North Bergen, Milton G. Vera of Queens, Edson G. Pantoja of Miami, and Alejandro Lumus of Miami.

They were charged with possession of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute, and conspiracy and were being held in the Bergen County Jail Friday.

A fifth man, Lidio Ocana of Union City, the truck’s driver, was charged with the same offenses and was being held in the Salem County Jail on $2 million bail.

Cosgrove said the seizure was the first fruit of “Operation Roadside,” started with $478,000 in federal funds in July to combine state troopers and the commercial transport industries in a program emphasizing interdiction and public awareness.

Correction: CLARIFICATION: An article in Saturday’s editions reported that four men were arrested on drug charges in a truck lot in Edgewater. The company that leases the lot, Havana Potato Co., was neither implicated nor involved in the incident, state police said. (PUBLISHED, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1990, PAGE a02.)