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Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Pasquale J. D’Amuro, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York, today announced the arrest of 22 defendants, including 12 members of the Wyandanch, Long Island, “set” of the Bloods street gang, in connection with the distribution of approximately $1 million worth of crack cocaine (The charges contained in the complaints are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty). The defendants arrested are scheduled to have their initial appearances this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge William D. Wall at the U. S. Courthouse, Federal Plaza, Central Islip, New York. According to the criminal complaints, today’s arrests are the result of a year-long investigation by the Long Island Gang Task Force (“LIGTF” is comprised of members of the FBI, New York State Police, Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, Freeport Police Department, Hempstead Police Department and Port Washington Police District) into high-volume drug trafficking in Wyandanch, Amityville, Deer Park, Central Islip and North Babylon, Long Island. The bulk of the sales involved crack cocaine, which was sold in various quantities by known members and associates of the Bloods and affiliated narcotics dealers. The investigation, which involved wiretaps, physical surveillance and the use of undercover informants, identified over 200 individuals involved in the sale of approximately five kilograms of crack cocaine per week. These arrests are a continuation of a multi-tiered initiative by LIGTF focused on eliminating the criminal activities of Long Island street gangs, including significant drug trafficking. Evidence gathered during the investigation disclosed that the defendants Michael McLamb and Asonte McLamb, brothers from Wyandanch, were large scale crack dealers who supplied a distribution organization led by the defendant Devon Knight. Knight’s organization, which included several family members — including his mother, Valerie Knight, a bus driver for the Wyandanch School District — and members of the Wyandanch set of the Bloods street gang known as the “5-9 Brims,” resold the sold crack cocaine to street-level drug dealers throughout Long Island. During the
course of the investigation, law enforcement intercepted and monitored
more than 28,000 telephone calls, many of which involved discussions
of narcotics deals and firearms trafficking. Knight alone was
recorded in over 1,000 drug-related telephone The wiretaps provided law enforcement with real time information, allowing agents to preempt dangerous and violent activity. For example, in September 2004, a gunfight erupted between members of the Bloods and Crips street gangs — who have been engaged for some time in a turf battle in Suffolk County — during which one of the gang members was killed. Terrance Belford, a Bloods member under investigation in connection with that incident and associated with the KNIGHT drug distribution organization, contacted KNIGHT, who, in an intercepted conversation, agreed to purchase a TEC-9 machine gun and a second gun from BELFORD. Utilizing this information, police arrested KNIGHT at the scene of the proposed firearms transaction, recovering the machine gun and $11,000 in cash. As a further part of the investigation, on December 12, 2004, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the residence of Michael McLamb, 135 Irving Avenue, Wyandanch, and seized an Uzi sub-machine gun and two loaded semi-automatic handguns. That same day a search warrant was executed at the residence of ASONTE McLamb, 59 South 25th Street, Wyandanch, and agents recovered three loaded semi-automatic handguns. Searches of several vehicles controlled by the McLambs uncovered concealed “traps” containing approximately $17,000 in cash, quantities of crack cocaine and marijuana, and a loaded semiautomatic handgun. Asonte McLamb eluded capture and remains a fugitive. “Profits
from the drug trade fuel the evils of gang violence and related
criminal FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge D’Amuro stated, “The main defendants in this case give perverse meaning to the term ‘family business.’ But the FBI and our law enforcement partners are determined not to allow the deadly duo of guns and drugs to erode the safety of our Long Island communities. No region is immune to the potentially devastating effects of this scourge, but neither is any region incapable of being rid of the problem if law enforcement and the good people of the community work together to make it happen. We are committed to the safety of our communities and the welfare of our citizens.” If convicted, each defendant faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment, and a $4,000,000 fine. The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter Katz. The Defendants
2) Bunice
J. Knight, Jr. 3) Michael
A. Knight 4) Valerie
Knight 5) Sharlon
C. Kingsberry 6) Asonte
McLamb 7) Michael
McLamb 8) Vera Wells 9) Nuer Griffin 10) Joseph
Parlar 11) Andre
C. Boyd 12) Kelvin
Joseph 13) Lester LNU 14) Thomas
Leano 15) Terrence
Belford 16) Rashalm
Anthony 17) Chris
Berry 18) Derrick
Lucas 19) Toriano
Copeland 20) “Stinky” 21) Terrill
Williams 22) Reggie
McLamb |
