Results tagged “drugs”

Cops busted a Clinton Hill crack and marijuana ring and nabbed 11 individuals suspected of selling drugs on the street, from an apartment building at the corner Putnam and Grand Avenue avenues, and out of a barbershop and two t-shirt stores. In an investigation dubbed "Operation Grand Slam," undercover officers infiltrated the ring and made 18 purchases of crack cocaine before executing a warrant on Oct. 29. During a raid, police recovered 75 grams of crack — which carries a street price of about $10,000 — from the barber shop, two guns and nearly two pounds of weed from the t-shirt shops, and a third gun from the home of a t-shirt store manager. The investigation came in response to community complaints.

Narcotics investigators seized more than $800,000 and 61 pounds of cocaine worth nearly $1 million in a Williamsburg apartment yesterday. The drugs were hidden under the seat of a portable sauna, and officials say—wait, portable sauna?! Is that really a thing? Turns out yes, it is! It's also one of the last places anyone would want to "chill" while ripping rails, so the suspects probably figured nobody would ever think to look in there for cocaine. Oh well.

The woman who killed eight people, including herself, when she drove the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway vomited twice on the side of the road before the collision. Police reports obtained by the Post reveal that just under two hours before the fatal crash — witnesses "noticed an adult female outside of the vehicle with brown hair, wearing blue, knee-length shorts, bent over with her hands on her knees, as if throwing up."

Much of the primo, hydroponically-grown herb you'll find in New York comes from Canada, where an untold quantity passes across the border at the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation, which stretches five miles along the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Naturally, the authorities would like to pull the plug on this source, so six weeks ago Joseph Resnick, the head of the NYPD's narcotics division, took a trip up there to see what could be done. The good news for tokers is that the Mohawk smugglers have this down to a science, and Resnik is "astounded at how lenient the border is."

The woman who killed eight people, including herself, when she drove her minivan the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway was a heavy drinker and frequent marijuana smoker, the woman's sister-in-law told investigators. Despite her husband's repeated claims that his wife wasn't an alcoholic or regular drug user, Diane Schuler's in-law revealed to police that the 36-year-old "was a hard drinker" who "used marijuana daily because of the fact that she didn't believe in doctors," according to an attorney representing the families of two men killed in the July accident.

The woman who crashed a van full of foster children into oncoming traffic in Queens on Monday confessed to police that she smoked crack cocaine around 1 or 2 a.m., did heroin around 9 a.m., and drank one alcoholic beverage around noon that same day. Sheila Bethea, 45, also admitted to speeding, and told police she did not know 5-year-olds needed to be in car seats. (None of her passengers were even wearing seat belts.) Perhaps even more devastating is the revelation that the children were supposed to taken to their foster care appointment in a cab.

First, he was making friends with the gay inmates. Next, he's got into a fight with another old inmate. Now, in the latest installment from the unofficial Post series "The Prison Life and Times of Bernard Madoff," we learn that the Ponzi king "now shares a cell with a 21-year-old inmate convicted of drug crimes...sleeps in the lower bunk and he eats pizza cooked by an inmate convicted of child molestation" and his "recreation consists of walking around the prison track at night."

Today is the day that the hard-fought changes to the Rockefeller-era Drug Laws go into effect, and lawyers for hundreds of low-level drug offenders in New York prisons are preparing petitions for shortened sentences or release. Once among the harshest in the nation, the laws were enacted more than 30 years ago under Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and required mandatory prison terms for a variety of drug crimes.

Following his sudden death last month in his Lafayette Street apartment, the New York City Medical Examiner has finally determined why Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM, died at the age of 36.

48-year-old Calixta Guerrero was in her underwear in her Washington Heights apartment around 6 a.m. yesterday when police started pounding on the door. She told them she needed a moment to cover up, but cops shouted, "Open the f-----g door, right now!" So Guerrero complied, and was promptly forced to the floor and handcuffed. Good morning!

According to the Post, friends of Adam Goldstein say the celebrity DJ's relapse was recent and that he had promised he'd check into rehab. His erratic "behavior that so worried his West Coast manager and recovery sponsor that they jumped on a red-eye Wednesday night to confront him at his SoHo apartment Thursday morning... When they arrived, an agitated Goldstein stubbornly refused to see his manager -- but allowed the sponsor inside. That's when Goldstein lit up a crack pipe and popped pills in front of his horrified pal, investigators told The Post." He reportedly said he'd head to rehab after a Friday night gig in Las Vegas, but his body was discovered by the authorities—responding to his friends' call— on Friday afternoon. Other law enforcement sources told TMZ that the 36-year-old did not commit suicide but apparently "developed a dependency to Xanax and other benzodiazepines (a group of drugs used to treat anxiety) as a direct result of the plane crash a year ago. We're told AM (aka Adam Goldstein) developed a tremendous anxiety over flying -- something he had to do frequently for his job." Goldstein had survived a plane crash that killed four others and suffered severe burns. The ME's office autopsy was inconclusive and it is still working on the toxicology report.

Following a heroin delivery via electric toothbrush on Monday, Cameron Douglas has been taken out of his UES house arrest digs, and moved over to the Metropolitan Correctional Center. This is also where his girlfriend Kelly Sott is still being held, after making the delivery.

The mystery of how Cameron Douglas's girlfriend actually thought it was a good idea to bring heroin to his meeting with The Man becomes a little bit less mysterious now. The Daily News reports that Douglas was under house arrest in his mom's $9.25M Upper East Side townhouse when girlfriend Kelly Sott (pictured) delivered a toothbrush filled with 19 bags of heroin. A private security guard was suspicious when he heard Douglas on the phone talking about the toothbrush, as he had just gotten one—so when Sott showed up he confiscated it and found the drugs. (Wonder what was in that first toothbrush!) The DEA later arrested Sott at the Hotel Gansevoort where she was staying; "they found heroin, crystal meth and marijuana in her room. She was held without bail after her arrest, and a federal magistrate ordered immediate treatment for heroin addiction and hypertension." Both Sott and Douglas were reportedly strung out when this occurred.

Cameron Douglas is addicted to drugs... well, addicted to trafficking them! The 30-year-old son of Michael Douglas, and his first wife Diandra Luker, was recently busted for dealing crystal meth, and now his girlfriend is joining the club. The NY Post reports that Kelly Sott "was arrested after she tried to smuggle to him 10 bags of heroin—hidden in an electric toothbrush—right in front of prosecutors who are investigating him for drug trafficking." Douglas was in a meeting with the officials in Manhattan yesterday when he asked if he could call his girl to run an errand. Soon enough she was there with the toothbrush, which of course the officials were suspicious of and checked, and now she's being held without bail. Her lawyer said she's in need of treatment for a medical condition: "heroin addiction and hypertension."

Michael Douglas has undoubtedly reprised his Falling Down role by now; his son Cameron has been busted for being a big time crystal meth dealer, moving "pounds" of the drug since 2006, according to TMZ. The site reports that he faces 10 years to life in prison, and "According to his federal complaint filed in New York, DEA agents claim they ran a 3-year investigation, proving the 30-year-old actor sold 'multiple pounds' of crystal meth to several people—many of whom are now cooperating in the prosecution of Douglas." He's been charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of crystal meth, and also one count with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of "ice"—which for the non-drug savy is the purest form of meth. When he was busted in NYC, he was accepting $15,000 in cash in exchange for a promise to deliver a half pound of crystal meth, which the buyer referred to as "bath salts." Douglas told him, "I thought you would like them my friend ... I was so excited for you to take a bath and see for yourself."

A high-profile Manhattan defense lawyer took the stand yesterday to defend himself against charges that he hired a former gang member to threaten witnesses, their relatives and their lovers, and to bribe them to lie. Attorney Robert Simels met repeatedly with ex-gang member Selwyn Vaughn, who once worked for Simels's drug lord client Roger Khan. But Vaughn was actually an informant for federal investigators, and he caught Simels on tape suggesting that a key witness should "just fall off the face of the Earth... I'm gonna leave it to you to figure out what's going to be best to get to him."

Yesterday, the NY State Police confirmed media reports that Diane Schuler, the 36-year-old woman who had driven on the wrong side of the Taconic State Parkway—killing herself, her 2-year-old daughter, and three young nieces as well as three men in an SUV—was drunk and high. The NY Times explained the details of the toxicology report, "She had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, and even more alcohol still in her stomach, so fresh that it had yet to be metabolized. There were high levels of a chemical found in marijuana, enough to pinpoint her last use at 15 minutes to an hour before her death in the worst traffic accident in Westchester County in 75 years."

Last night TMZ reported that Cameron Douglas (spawn of Michael) was arrested in NYC for "possession of methamphetamines with the intent to distribute." Indeed, the Post later reported that the 30-year-old was busted by a DEA task force at the Gansevoort Hotel—and it turned out he was holding around a half-a-pound of crystal meth. They also believe he already sold $18,000 worth (it goes for $80/gram). This isn't the first time Douglas has been busted, either; in 2007 he was charged "with felony possession of a controlled substance after cops found a syringe with liquid cocaine in a car he was in."

She's going to be a resident of NYC soon, after all. Okay, so at the end of June there was a blind item that screamed C. Lo, it read: "Although she claims to be clean, when she checked out of a Manhattan hotel recently, the maid found the room littered with dirty needles." Now the NY Post confirms it, reporting that it took Courtney Love no time at all to trash her posh room at The Inn on Irving Place.

It turns out that the Brooklyn daycare center where cops and robbers had a shootout above napping children Friday wasn't just a pickup spot for neighborhood parents. After cops returned to Special Moments Day Care in East Flatbush with suspicions that the burglars going after a suitcase full of cash might be part of an inside job, they discovered that the center was doubling as a drug den when they uncovered ten pounds of marijuana and $100,000 in cash.

On Thursday night, the FBI raided six locations in Queens and on Long Island that the agency believes supplies drugs to street gangs on Long Island. Newsday reports, "The arrests were the first phase in a long-term operation aimed at breaking up gangs, such as the Bloods and the Crips, by eventually charging members with drug offenses that carry long-term prison sentences." An FBI agent explained that the suspects would use a code—which was originally developed by the Five-Percenters (the suspects were not Five-Percenters)—that substituted numbers with words: "In the code, the number three, for example, stood for the word 'understanding' and the number six for 'equality.' So when the suspects said 'understanding' and 'equality' together, they were saying a kilo of cocaine cost $36,000," according to the agent. Four people were arrested, all pleaded not guilty to drug distribution charges and all were held without bail.

Is quaint City Island getting less nice and more vice? According to an alarmist article in today's Post, residents are shocked because cops busted four people on prostitution charges at a massage parlor—they were allegedly giving rub and tugs for $200 a pop. The bust happened last June, but rumors are swirling that the full release is back at Sun Spa parlor, which happens to be two doors down from the home of Adolfo Carrión Jr., who was Bronx borough president until Obama chose him as the White House urban affairs director. He tells the tabloid, "Everybody is hearing the rumors, and everyone is concerned." The article also explains that unnamed residents are troubled by "brazen, open-air drug sales and drug use by local teens." Local PTA dad Michael Shanley says, "It's an outrage. You feel like you're on our beautiful island with no police protection, and it's a free-for-all." Teens doing drugs!? Men hiring prostitutes!? What is this, the Bronx? Oh, right. Well, at least the NYPD is now increasing foot patrols on City Island, so perhaps this anecdotal crime story will have a happy ending after all.

At least two concertgoers had their vibe severely harshed by the Man on Friday before Phish's sick show at Jones Beach ("My Friend, My Friend" melted faces!). The total arrest stats for the band's three night stand at the venue haven't been released yet, though it's doubtful they'll rival the 194 arrested and $1.2 million seized at their reunion concerts in Hampton, Virginia in March. But according to Newsday, police did arrest one Lawrence Collins, who had 2 1/2 ounces of cocaine, 6.7 ounces of hallucinogenic mushrooms and 10 grams of ecstasy. State Troopers, who were patrolling the venue lots because it's in a state park, spotted Collins selling drugs to one unlucky 23-year-old from Toronto named Erik Schwarz, who was arrested on a felony charge of fifth-degree drug possession. As for Collins, he's still in jail because he hasn't yet posted bail set at $200,000 bond or $100,000 cash. Police say he faces six felony—or phelony, if you prefer—drug sales and possession charges. But when will cops at Jones Beach go after the real criminals inside the venue? Vendors charge $6.50 for a small bottle of water!

As part of a "Stop Throwing Out Pollutants" program, Newsday reports that the town of North Hempstead welcomed people to turn in old and expired drugs "from being abused or being improperly disposed of and ending up in drinking water or leaching into the ground." Over 400 pounds of medications like Tamiflu, Xanax, Vicodin, OxyContin, Ambien, methadone and veterinary drugs were collected; the police will inventory the drugs, incinerating some, while a private company will dispose of the others. The movement to more safely dispose of unneeded drugs has gained steam after a 2008 study where traces of drugs have been found in drinking water (many people flush drugs down the toilet, but the medications just pass through the wastewater treatment and into the drinking water supply!). Here's the White House Drug Policy on how to dispose of unwanted drugs (PDF) and a fun fact from the North Hempstead event: "The oldest medication was a vial of sleeping pills that had been prescribed in the pharmacy at Macy's Herald Square in 1966."

A Brooklyn resident pleaded not guilty to shooting a man in the basement of a Harvard dorm on Monday. Jabrai Jordan Copny, who is the son of a retired NYPD officer, is being held without bail for the murder of Justin Cosby. According to Boston authorities, Cosby was selling drugs to Harvard students and was at the Kirkland House dorm with marijuana and money; the Boston Globe reports, "Three men traveled to Cambridge from New York City with the intention of robbing Cosby." Middlesex County DA Gerald Leone said, "It was that encounter between the four men that went bad. The common denominator that led to the intent to rip-off Justin Cosby of both money and drugs was that Justin and Jordan were known to each other through Harvard students." Copny surrendered last night while the two other suspects are at large. Copney's mother told the Daily News, "My son is not a murderer. He was raised very well and is very respectful. My son wasn't into drugs, my son wasn't into being a thug...The truth will come out."

In dog-bites-man news, police say a Baruch College finance major who moonlighted as a party promoter made a little extra money by selling Ecstasy! Michail Shimonov, 23, (pictured here with E written all over his face) and his alleged partner in crime Albert Kim are accused of working with an eight-man drug crew that sold E, Ketamine (Special K) and GHB to clubgoers. Investigators say undercover cops bought the drugs during an eight-month narcotics investigation at Pacha and Rebel, and wire taps caught crew members talking on the phone about dealing drugs at Roseland Ballroom and Mansion, now known as M2 Ultra Lounge. Shimonov had 88 Ecstasy pills, each marked with a green gun, when police arrested him; he was allegedly selling them to Kim for $8 a pill, and Kim would then unload them in clubs for $25 each. Shimonov, who worked for the party promotion company Entourage, liked to tell people he was "getting my promotion career in motion." And his poor mother tells the Daily News, "I can only say good things about my son. They can say whatever they want, he's no drug ring leader. Of course not."

Pfizer is making a splash with news that it will give away 70 of its drugs, such as Lipitor and Viagra, to people "who lost jobs since Jan. 1 and have been on the Pfizer drug for three months or more," according to the AP. The AP points out, "The move could earn Pfizer some goodwill in that debate after long being a target of critics of drug industry prices and sales practices" and "also likely will help keep those patients loyal to Pfizer brands." Dr. Jorge Puente, Pfizer's head of pharmaceuticals outside the U.S. and Europe, told the AP, "Everybody knows now a neighbor, a relative who has lost their job and is losing their insurance. People are definitely hurting out there. Our aim is to help people bridge this point." Patients can call 866-706-2400 to sign up; in July, they'll be able to sign up through this website.

So we know what keeps you awake at night, but what do you do about it exactly? One Brooklyn resident, for example, is wondering how to get the drug dealer living in the building to STFU. They write:

"I live on the first floor, and I know for a fact that there's a drug dealer in my building. I can hear the transactions happening since they're actually dumb enough to think their voices don't travel through my door when they're standing right next to it. This makes me extremely uncomfortable to know that this type of activity is so close to home. I want to call the police and report this, but I also am wary of the 'don't snitch' edict in this neighborhood. I should also mention that even when not dealing, this guy and some friends are usually smoking blunts in the hallway from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weeknights."

Officer Jon Goldin, an NYPD helicopter pilot who was dismissed for failing a drug test in 2006, has lost his recent appeal, in which he maintained that the cocaine found in his system was the result of "passive ingestion." In other words, the hair sample they tested was coked up because of all the sweaty sex with his druggie girlfriend! (Kind of reminds us of that Seinfeld poppy seed muffin episode!) But when the all snickering subsides, the explanation actually starts to seem somewhat plausible; Goldin, a 15-year veteran of the NYPD who's been straight-edge for years, had 70 friends testify about his relentless sobriety, which even extends to caffeine.

At first, cops thought that a series of 15 bank robberies over a two-month period was committed by one incredibly industrious thief. But yesterday the police arrested a pair of brothers for the crimes.