If you weren't already charmed by alleged cocaine kingpin Ceferino (Papo) Perez, who romantically had his wife work for his drug ring to earn a little money and self-worth, then you surely will be by his delightful choice of artwork. Perez was one of 22 people charged yesterday with being part of a massive cocaine ring that worked in East Harlem and the Upper East Side. And it seems Perez really let the coke trade go to his head.
Perez superimposed his face onto a blown-up still of Al Pacino from the classic 80s cocaine, guts and glory film, Scarface...and he kept it on his bed stand. "He's very proud of what he's doing, obviously, and he's quite arrogant and narcissistic," said NYPD Inspector Lori Pollock. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance gave reporters an idea of just how large an operation Perez was managing: "This [investigation] brought down an entire, notorious drug operation, whose kingpin was so well-insulated that for years he was virtually untouchable...Ceferino Perez supplied one-third of all of East Harlem's cocaine supply."
Although Vance called Perez "untouchable," reports would lead one to believe he was quite active in the day-to-day running of the operation: he would often answer the phone for their $80,000-a-day delivery service, and he oversaw the bagging of the cocaine. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
