Major Gang Busts in NYC

Over the past month, 122 members from six Manhattan-based gangs have been indicted and charged with Conspiracy in the First Degree with the object crime of murder, shootings, assault, gun trafficking, drug trafficking, and more. Over sixty of those arrested were members of three gangs that have been feuding in East Harlem since 2009 or earlier: Air It Out, True Money Gang, and Whoadey.

122 members of NYC gangs have been indicted in less than a month.
Image: Shutterstock

Forty-one of those indictments are for involvement in two separate narcotics trafficking rings selling cocaine. One gang, the Blocc Boyz, had 31 members indicted for using a delivery service to sell cocaine throughout the borough, an activity which earned them hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Four of those members were tagged as “Drug Kingpins,” or overseers of the operation. Eight members of “Money Boyz” were slapped with similar charges for both cocaine and crack cocaine.

A disgusted District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance commented, “As this indictment reveals, residents of Manhattan today can get nearly everything delivered to their doorstep—from dinner, to dry cleaning, and even cocaine.” Customers of the delivery service are thought to include residents in the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side, Midtown Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.

While the drug operations brought in hundreds of thousands every year, the offending gang members had their own residences in subsidized NYCHA housing. John Rhea, who is NYCHA Chairman, praised the DA’s office for their hard work in helping NYCHA root out crime in its neighborhoods, a task NYCHA has long been dedicated to.

“These drug busts send a message that we simply will not tolerate criminal behavior in public housing, and the tireless efforts of the NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have won a significant victory for all New Yorkers—especially residents of the New York City Housing Authority,” he said.

“NYCHA works to provide safe and secure housing for its 400,000 residents who deserve an environment that is crime-free. We applaud the fine men and women of the NYPD and D.A.’s office as they work around the clock to keep our communities safe, and to keep illegal drugs off of our streets and away from our families.”