Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Ashan M. Benedict, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”) and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging members of a Brooklyn drug trafficking organization known as the “Boss Crew” with narcotics and firearms offenses. Fifteen members of the organization, including TYSHAWN BURGESS, a/k/a “Ty,” a/k/a “Ty Black,” LLOYD GORDON, a/k/a “LG,” LARRY BAYER, a/k/a “L,” KERRY FELIX, a/k/a “Mack,” DEVONTAE NEWTON, a/k/a “D-Block,” a/k/a “Sneeze,” TYRELL SUMPTER, a/k/a “Rell,” a/k/a “Ruger,” MAURICE CURTIS, a/k/a “Mo,” TYQUAN ROBINSON, a/k/a “Blacko,” TYREEK OGARRO, a/k/a “Reek,” DARREN MILLER, a/k/a “Dice,” a/k/a “Darren Thomas,” ERNEST MURPHY, a/k/a “Problem G,” a/k/a “E,” RAMAL CURTIS, a/k/a “Rah,” KELLY ROYSTER, a/k/a “KK,” ROBERT RHODES, a/k/a “Charlie,” and KAEMAR WILSON, a/k/a “K,” are charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and heroin from 2015 to May 2018. In addition, BURGESS, FELIX, NEWTON, SUMPTER, CURTIS, ROBINSON, and WILSON are also charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of the narcotics conspiracy. Fourteen defendants were arrested this morning and will be presented before United States Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court this afternoon. WILSON is in custody on state charges and will be transferred to federal custody. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Richard J. Sullivan.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, these defendants were members of a street gang that terrorized a Brooklyn neighborhood with their drug dealing and violence. Law enforcement has no more important duty than keeping our citizens safe. These arrests demonstrate our continued commitment to protecting communities that are victimized by gang and gun violence.
ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan M. Benedict said: “Burgess and his co-conspirators as alleged in the Indictment ran an organized ring of narcotics dealers associated with acts of violence on the streets of Brooklyn. ATF remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting the public from violent individuals, groups and gangs looking to do harm to fellow citizens. I would like to thank the Special Agents and Task Force Officers of the NYPD/ATF Joint Firearms Task Force, the NYPD Gun Violence Suppression Division, and HSI. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the United States Attorney’s Office for their work in prosecuting the case.”
NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: “In collaboration with our federal partners, we will remain steadfast in our fight against those who traffic in illegal narcotics and the violence so often associated with it. Today’s charges emphasize the highly efficient working relationship NYPD detectives enjoy with ATF investigators and attorneys at the Southern District.”
As alleged in the Indictment[1] unsealed in Manhattan federal court today:
The defendants were members of a drug trafficking organization (the “Boss Crew DTO”) that distributed significant quantities of narcotics, including crack cocaine and heroin, on a daily basis, in and around the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. TYSHAWN BURGESS, a/k/a “Ty,” a/k/a “Ty Black,” was the leader of the Boss Crew DTO. BURGESS supervised other members of the Boss Crew DTO, coordinated the supply of narcotics to other drug dealers within the Boss Crew DTO, and referred drug customers to members of the Boss Crew DTO for sales. LLOYD GORDON, a/k/a “LG,” and DARREN MILLER, a/k/a “Dice,” a/k/a “Darren Thomas,” supplied wholesale quantities of crack cocaine to members and associates of the Boss Crew DTO for street-level distribution. LARRY BAYER, a/k/a “L,” and ERNEST MURPHY, a/k/a “Problem G,” a/k/a “E,” maintained narcotics and narcotics paraphernalia at the Boss Crew DTO’s stash location, and packaged the narcotics for street-level distribution. TYREEK OGARRO, a/k/a “Reek,” RAMAL CURTIS, a/k/a “Rah,” KELLY ROYSTER, a/k/a “KK,” and ROBERT RHODES, a/k/a “Charlie,” purchased and facilitated the purchase of wholesale quantities of narcotics from members of the Boss Crew DTO for distribution. TYRELL SUMPTER, a/k/a “Rell,” a/k/a “Ruger,” TYQUAN ROBINSON, a/k/a “Blacko,” LARRY BAYER, a/k/a “L,” KERRY FELIX, a/k/a “Mack,” DEVONTAE NEWTON, a/k/a “D-Block,” a/k/a “Sneeze,” and MAURICE CURTIS, a/k/a “Mo,” functioned as street level distributors for the Boss Crew DTO.
In addition, BURGESS, FELIX, NEWTON, SUMPTER, CURTIS, ROBINSON, and WILSON, possessed and used firearms to protect the Boss Crew DTO’s narcotics trafficking operation.
BURGESS, 24, GORDON, 47, BAYER, 25, FELIX, 23, NEWTON, 19, SUMPTER, 23, CURTIS, 24, ROBINSON, 27, OGARRO, 26, MILLER,50, MURPHY, 28, RAMAL CURTIS, 31, ROYSTER, 39, RHODES, 33, and WILSON, 33, are charged with conspiring to distribute, and possess with the intent to distribute, 280 grams and more of crack cocaine and 100 grams and more of heroin, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. BURGESS, FELIX, NEWTON, SUMPTER, CURTIS, ROBINSON, and WILSON, are charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a narcotics conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD and ATF.
The charges contained in the Indictment 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 Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
