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Defendants Delivered Cocaine to Locations Across Manhattan, Including Bars, Delis, Hotels, Apartments, and Pharmacies
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton today announced the indictment of three narcotics traffickers for selling more than $75,000 worth of cocaine over the course of a year-long conspiracy. The individuals, based on the Lower East Side, are charged with using livery services to deliver cocaine to customers throughout Manhattan. KENNY HERNANDEZ, a/k/a “Jay,” 35, is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with Operating as a Major Trafficker, also known as the “Drug Kingpin” statute, a class A-I felony, as well as with charges pertaining to more than 100 individual sales. All three defendants are charged with Conspiracy in the Second Degree, as well as at least one count of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree.[1]
The 119-count indictment follows a long-term investigation led by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit and the NYPD’s Narcotics Borough Manhattan South.
“Drug dealers profit by sowing seeds of addiction that destroy lives, families, and communities,” said District Attorney Vance. “We are dedicated to stemming both the supply and demand for dangerous narcotics, and the crime that accompanies the market for illegal drugs. I thank my Office’s prosecutors and our partners at the NYPD, and in particular, the undercover detectives who put their lives at risk to protect our City’s residents.”
“This narcotics operation was organized and discreet, but it could not withstand the precision of this long-term investigation,” said Police Commissioner William J. Bratton. “Selling cocaine in a variety of bars and clubs throughout Manhattan, the ringleader also allegedly sold to NYPD undercovers on more than a dozen instances. I commend the brave work of all the investigators who built this case, along with the Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit at District Attorney Vance’s Office.”
According to the indictments and statements made on the record in court, the alleged ringleader, HERNANDEZ, and co-conspirators FELIX NUNEZ, a/k/a “Jake,” 27, and OSCAR ALMONTE, 29, are charged with operating a major cocaine trafficking ring based on the Lower East Side, where the defendants reside. Beginning in June 2015, the defendants are charged with obtaining, transporting, processing, packaging, selling, and delivering large quantities of powder cocaine to customers throughout Manhattan.
HERNANDEZ oversaw the ring and personally conducted the vast majority of the sales, including eleven separate sales to undercover detectives. Eighteen of the ring’s repeat customers are charged in a separate indictment for purchasing varying quantities of cocaine.
As detailed in the indictment, members of the ring allegedly used car services to deliver the drugs to buyers, including to delis, restaurants, bars, apartments, hotels, and the buyers’ workplaces. The defendants delivered to locations across Manhattan, including the Lower East Side, the Upper East Side, Chelsea, the Financial District, and Midtown, as well as areas of Brooklyn and Queens. Many of the sales took place in delis or Duane Reade and CVS pharmacies. Customers generally paid between $200 and $300 per transaction.
Assistant District Attorneys Patrick Doherty and Rebecca Dunnan are prosecuting this case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Christopher Ryan, Chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit, as well as Executive Assistant District Attorney John Irwin, Chief of the Trial Division. VCEU Analyst Stephanie Littell assisted with the investigation.
District Attorney Vance thanked the NYPD’s Narcotics Borough Manhattan South, particularly Captain Daniel Dooley, Chief Timothy Buge, Lieutenant Jason Harris, and Detective David Bailey.
Defendant Information:
1 The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court, including the indictments, and statements made on the record in court.