The NYPD says 43-year-old grandfather and former pro wrestler John Collado put a plainclothes officer in a chokehold during a drug bust in Inwood Tuesday. The unidentified narcotics detective fatally shot Collado in the stomach during the scuffle—but Collado's family and lawyer say it didn't go down like that. Attorney Patrick Brackley told reporters yesterday that he's reviewed surveillance tape that shows Callado never put the cop in a chokehold, and that he intervened only because he thought his friend was being robbed by a man who did not identify himself as police officer. more ›

Chalk up another victory in the War on Drugs: 130 pounds of high-grade marijuana with a street value of $650,000 was seized by plainclothes DEA agents trailing two cars with New York plates in Westwood, New Jersey last night. Gee, a couple more big busts like these and victory over drugs will be all but assured! The key to winning this particular battle was apparently the contraband's odor; a Bergen County police chief tells NJ.com, "officers detected a very intense odor of raw marijuana inside one of the vehicles." more ›

In a sad twist of fate in Long Island City yesterday, a man who was on his way to make a food delivery to police officers was struck and killed by a man who had just made an illicit purchase from cops and was driving wildly while trying to avoid their chase. 27-year old Pablo Pasaras was riding his bike on 35th Avenue en route to deliver food from the restaurant Antojitos Cibaeno to nearby housing officers when he was plowed into by the black Range Rover driven by Martin Ocasio. The 33-year-old Ocasio had just bought drugs from undercover officers and was racing away from an unmarked squad car giving chase when he slammed into Pasaras and a nearby parked car around 6:30 p.m. Ocasio has been arrested nine times previously, including several for drug charges. Pasaras, a father of three, was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital. A family member called him "a very nice guy" and "a very good father." more ›

Clubland may have shed a Visine-assisted tear upon news that the church that once housed the Limelight will soon be turned into a boring store, but at least partygoers are apparently able to turn to some familiar coping mechanisms making their first appearance in years—drugs like quaaludes that the DA's office says are back on the scene. Prosecutors tell the Post that recent busts have turned up "designer drugs rarely seen since the hippie era" that also include ecstasy-like BZP and the short-term trip-inducing DMT. A rep from the DA's office tells the paper, "We're seeing the emergence, particularly, of hallucinatory drugs. It's definitely related to the club scene, and targeted at selling to college students." The drugs have been particularly prominent at Asian night clubs and Flushing karaoke bars. Cops who busted a ring that sold at clubs such as Pacha, Rebel and Suzie Wong's say that the drugs from eras past have found their way into new packages, such as being disguised as Transformer figures and Obama campaign pins. more ›