Cross-country drug enterprise busted March 31, 2006 - BY WIL CRUZ AND ZACHARY R. DOWDY newsday.com
Suffolk men accused in sophisticated trafficking ring that transported cocaine to LI, upstate and Philly
Three Suffolk men were charged yesterday with playing major roles in a sophisticated cocaine distribution network that imported the drug from Mexico and drove hundreds of pounds of it east across the country to sell on streets from upstate New York to Suffolk to Philadelphia, authorities said.
The probe netted 210 kilograms, or 462 pounds, of cocaine -- a stash with a street value of $40 million -- as well as $5 million in cash, high-powered handguns and rifles, 10 vehicles, eight houses and two nursing homes in what Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota called "one of the largest cocaine distribution operations in Suffolk history."
He added that the group did $700,000 worth of drug transactions each month.
The men, Billy Green, 43, of 16 Linden St., Wheatley Heights; Norman Goode, 38, of 42 Peachtree Ct., Holtsville; and Daniel R. Green, 39, of 7 Nevada St., North Babylon, are scheduled to be arraigned on drug possession and conspiracy charges today in First District Court in Central Islip.
Daniel Green, who is not related to Billy Green, once served as a substitute teacher in the North Babylon School District and helped coach the girls varsity basketball team.
He is the father of University of North Carolina freshman Danny Green, a McDonald's All-American who was basketball player of the year in Nassau in 2005 for St. Mary's High in Manhasset, and Rashad Green, Newsday's player of the year this year.
Goode is a correction officer with the Suffolk sheriff's department. He has been suspended without pay.
Another man, Roland Alburg, 36, of 48 Blueberry St., Holtsville, remains at large, authorities said.
At a news conference yesterday at the New York State Police Troop L headquarters in Farmingdale, officials said the three men are among eight who were charged at the end of a three-month surveillance operation involving multiple law enforcement agencies.
The others were arrested in New Jersey and Philadelphia. None of the Suffolk men nor their attorneys, could be reached for comment last night.
Troop L Commander Maj. Walter Heesch, referring to the group's cache of firearms, said: "These people weren't just businessmen. These are serious weapons."
At the news conference, Heesch, Spota and Suffolk Police Commissioner Richard Dormer stood by bags of money, guns and drugs they said were used by the group. The officials also displayed several pieces of furniture that they said were skillfully retrofitted to conceal drugs and money.
Those items, which included a foosball table, a fish tank and stereo speakers, were used to transport the drugs cross-country in vehicles, such as a Winnebago, from Los Angeles to New Jersey.
There, the drugs were divvied up and sent upstate to areas such as Troy, east to Suffolk, and south to Philadelphia.
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