KINGPIN OF MAJOR PCP DRUG RING SENTENCED TO 35 YEARS IN PRISON
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the sentencing of BERNARD MOULTRIE, a/k/a “B-HI,” a/k/a “LITTLE BRO,” 40, to 35 years in prison and 5 years of post-release supervision for his role as kingpin of a major drug trafficking organization and for the murder of a competing drug trafficker. The drug ring operated out of East Harlem and sold large quantities of Phencyclidine (“PCP”) and other drugs through street-level distributors in Manhattan. On September 27, 2012, MOULTRIE pleaded guilty to Operating as a Major Trafficker under the New York State “Drug Kingpin” statute, Manslaughter in the First Degree, and Conspiracy in the Second Degree.
Thirty-five defendants in this case have pleaded guilty, and have been or are expected to be sentenced to a range of up to 35 years in prison, depending on their role in the trafficking operation. The indictment against these defendants followed a 15-month investigation led by the New York City Police Department’s Narcotics Borough Manhattan North and the District Attorney’s Office. This investigation began in direct response to community complaints made to the NYPD and the District Attorney’s Office’s Crime Strategies Unit about drug activity in the neighborhood.
“The investigation into this case started with an anonymous letter that concerned residents wrote to the police about drug dealing and violence, and it ended with these residents taking back their community from drug traffickers,” said District Attorney Vance. “The defendants made the Milbank-Frawley Houses their place of business, operating in the courtyard, the playground, and the hallways of that community. They brought drug users into the building, forcing residents to walk past or around users and dealers while they tried to go to school or work, or come home at the end of the day.”
“After the dismantling of this drug ring, my Office and the NYPD worked with residents of the Milbank-Frawley Houses to rebuild their neighborhood. Last June, I had the opportunity to join them at ‘Summerfest,’ where they planted a garden in the same courtyard that drug dealers had controlled just several months prior. This community serves as a model for strong partnerships between residents and law enforcement, and my Office is committed to helping them to keep their neighborhood safe.”
According to the defendants’ guilty pleas and documents filed in court, between October 2010 and January 2012, the defendants were members of a drug trafficking organization that primarily sold PCP, along with cocaine and heroin, in the vicinity of 41 West 112th Street, 4-20 East 117th Street, and 1780 Madison Avenue in East Harlem. The defendants purchased substantial quantities of PCP in liquid form, dipped vegetable matter (such as spearmint leaves) in the liquid PCP, and packaged the processed PCP in small bags. Each bag of PCP was usually sold for $10, for a net profit estimated to be in excess of $1 million each year. Members of the conspiracy stood guard on street corners and directed hundreds of potential buyers to a courtyard on E. 117th St. and Madison Ave., where PCP sales were executed. The drugs were normally stored in stash apartments in the surrounding area.
MOULTRIE served as one of the bosses of the organization by controlling and directing the distribution of PCP, cocaine, and heroin by the organization, and by maintaining sources of supply and managing the operation’s finances.
Assistant District Attorneys Lucy Lang and Molly Brottmiller handled the investigation of the drug case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Daniel Bayles and Dan M. Rather, Counsel to the Trial Division, and Executive Assistant District Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Chief of the Trial Division.
Assistant District Attorneys Lucy Lang and Dafna Yoran handled the prosecution of the drug case and the investigation and prosecution of the murder case against MOULTRIE, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney John Irwin, Deputy Chief of the Trial Division.
Defendant Information:
BERNARD MOULTRIE, a/k/a “B-Hi,” a/k/a “Little Brother, a/k/a “Little Bro,” D.O.B. 04/22/1972
New York, NY
Convicted:
• Operating as a Major Trafficker, a class A-1 felony, one count
• Manslaughter in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
• Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
Sentenced:
• 35 years in prison
• 5 years post-release supervision
Thirty-five defendants in this case have pleaded guilty, and have been or are expected to be sentenced to a range of up to 35 years in prison, depending on their role in the trafficking operation. The indictment against these defendants followed a 15-month investigation led by the New York City Police Department’s Narcotics Borough Manhattan North and the District Attorney’s Office. This investigation began in direct response to community complaints made to the NYPD and the District Attorney’s Office’s Crime Strategies Unit about drug activity in the neighborhood.
“The investigation into this case started with an anonymous letter that concerned residents wrote to the police about drug dealing and violence, and it ended with these residents taking back their community from drug traffickers,” said District Attorney Vance. “The defendants made the Milbank-Frawley Houses their place of business, operating in the courtyard, the playground, and the hallways of that community. They brought drug users into the building, forcing residents to walk past or around users and dealers while they tried to go to school or work, or come home at the end of the day.”
“After the dismantling of this drug ring, my Office and the NYPD worked with residents of the Milbank-Frawley Houses to rebuild their neighborhood. Last June, I had the opportunity to join them at ‘Summerfest,’ where they planted a garden in the same courtyard that drug dealers had controlled just several months prior. This community serves as a model for strong partnerships between residents and law enforcement, and my Office is committed to helping them to keep their neighborhood safe.”
According to the defendants’ guilty pleas and documents filed in court, between October 2010 and January 2012, the defendants were members of a drug trafficking organization that primarily sold PCP, along with cocaine and heroin, in the vicinity of 41 West 112th Street, 4-20 East 117th Street, and 1780 Madison Avenue in East Harlem. The defendants purchased substantial quantities of PCP in liquid form, dipped vegetable matter (such as spearmint leaves) in the liquid PCP, and packaged the processed PCP in small bags. Each bag of PCP was usually sold for $10, for a net profit estimated to be in excess of $1 million each year. Members of the conspiracy stood guard on street corners and directed hundreds of potential buyers to a courtyard on E. 117th St. and Madison Ave., where PCP sales were executed. The drugs were normally stored in stash apartments in the surrounding area.
MOULTRIE served as one of the bosses of the organization by controlling and directing the distribution of PCP, cocaine, and heroin by the organization, and by maintaining sources of supply and managing the operation’s finances.
Assistant District Attorneys Lucy Lang and Molly Brottmiller handled the investigation of the drug case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Daniel Bayles and Dan M. Rather, Counsel to the Trial Division, and Executive Assistant District Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Chief of the Trial Division.
Assistant District Attorneys Lucy Lang and Dafna Yoran handled the prosecution of the drug case and the investigation and prosecution of the murder case against MOULTRIE, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney John Irwin, Deputy Chief of the Trial Division.
Defendant Information:
BERNARD MOULTRIE, a/k/a “B-Hi,” a/k/a “Little Brother, a/k/a “Little Bro,” D.O.B. 04/22/1972
New York, NY
Convicted:
• Operating as a Major Trafficker, a class A-1 felony, one count
• Manslaughter in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
• Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
Sentenced:
• 35 years in prison
• 5 years post-release supervision
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