Five alleged cocaine dealers who prosecutors say were part of a major drug trafficking ring were arrested this morning as Bridget Brennan, New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, announced the indictment of the organization's alleged kingpin, Ricardo Gonzalez-Santiago. Five other members of the drug trafficking ring have also been rounded up in the investigation, which started at the bottom of the cartel's ladder with Angela Como, a low-level slinger of ketamine, ecstasy and oxycodone inside clubs like Webster Hall. As you can tell by her mug shot, the War on Drugs is keeping America safe from extremely dangerous criminals.
Before she was busted, Como unwittingly introduced undercover investigators to other drug dealers, and during the course of the ten month sting they worked their way up the chain of command to Gonzalez-Santiago, whom prosecutors describe as a lieutenant in a Puerto Rican drug cartel. The cocaine was seized at the end of March when investigators learned through a wiretap that Gonzalez-Santiago—who was living the life of a fugitive after narrowly escaping arrest two years ago—was allegedly coming into town from Puerto Rico to oversee the delivery of 36 kilos of cocaine to Bronx drug supplier Francisco Rivera.
Undercover narcotics officers followed Gonzalez-Santiago as he picked up the coke at the Paramount Hotel (shocking, right?) and then transferred the suitcases of snow to his car. On West 45th Street they swept in and arrested him; he's been held without bail since. Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted him as a Major Drug Trafficker, which is the only drug charge in New York State that carries a possible life sentence. All of the defendants except Como face a conspiracy charge in addition to charges for criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance.
