Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Edward A. Caban, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the filing of a criminal Complaint in Manhattan federal court charging RUBINSKY PADILLA and LUIS ROSARIO, a/k/a “Gallo,” with conspiracy to distribute narcotics. ROSARIO was arrested yesterday afternoon in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. PADILLA is currently at large. ROSARIO will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Yesterday afternoon, law enforcement conducted a Court-authorized search of a residence in the Bronx at 755 Coster Street, a home that the defendants have allegedly used for years to sell lethal narcotics. The defendants’ alleged actions have plagued the neighborhood and littered the street with drugs — endangering residents, including children. As alleged, there have been 12 fatal overdoses and 30 non-fatal overdoses within a three-block radius of this residence in the last five years. The most recent suspected fatal overdose was less than a month ago and occurred inside the house. If you or anyone you know has bought drugs from 755 Coster Street, they are considered extremely hazardous, potentially fatal, and should not be ingested under any circumstance.”
NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban said: “These charges underscore the gravity of the illegal drug crisis plaguing New York City and our nation. For far too long, the Bronx house from which these two men allegedly distributed their poison was a locus of tragedy that diminished quality of life for everyone in the neighborhood. I commend our NYPD narcotics investigators for their perseverance in shutting down this alleged drug operation, and I thank everyone from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for their partnership in prosecuting this important case.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint charging PADILLA and ROSARIO:[1]
From at least in or about October 2022 through on or about February 15, 2024, a group of narcotics traffickers, including PADILLA, ROSARIO, and others, illegally ran an extensive narcotics distribution operation out of a house located at the street address 755 Coster Street in the Bronx, New York. Over the course of the investigation, the NYPD has established that the group is responsible for the sale of heroin, fentanyl, para-fluorofentanyl (a fentanyl analogue), and cocaine, among other drugs, at the house. Residents in the neighborhood have called 911 on multiple occasions to report continuous narcotics activity and use at the house and drug paraphernalia found outside on the sidewalk. The group continued to operate despite repeated law enforcement actions, including multiple judicially authorized searches of the house from approximately 2015 through 2024. Each search resulted in the seizure of narcotics, including, for example, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and cocaine base. PADILLA and ROSARIO were both arrested in April 2023 after one such search of the house resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of narcotics, but both continued operating the narcotics distribution operation uninterrupted from the same location.
Between approximately in or about 2018 through 2024, there have been at least 12 fatal overdoses and 30 non-fatal overdoses reported within a three-block radius of the house at 755 Coster Street. Most recently, on or about January 19, 2024, law enforcement responded to a 911 call reporting an unresponsive male in need of medical assistance at the house located at 755 Coster Street and found an individual who appeared to have died hours earlier of an apparent overdose.
On or about February 14, 2024, law enforcement searched 755 Coster Street and found ROSARIO inside. As pictured below, during their search, law enforcement found, among other things, quantities of suspected cocaine base and heroin, as well as narcotics paraphernalia, including materials designed for use in packing narcotics for distribution.
Any member of the public who has overdosed, or has knowledge of anyone who has overdosed, as a result from narcotics purchased at 755 Coster Street should anonymously call 866-874-8900.
RUBINSKY PADILLA, 48, and LUIS ROSARIO, 67, both of the Bronx, New York, are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The statutory minimum and maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD’s Narcotics Bureau Bronx Major Case Unit as well as the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley C. Nicolas and Lisa Daniels are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
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