Ex-Cop In Group Accused Of Drug Trafficking In Westchester, NYC

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — A former New York police officer from Bronvxille, a New Rochelle woman and three men are accused of distributing meth and a date-rape drug in Westchester and New York City. The Bronxville man remains at large, the FBI said.

Former NYPD officer John Cicero, 38, of Bronxville, Irma Materasso, 36, of New Rochelle, Marco Caso, 48, of New York, Eric Baker, 37, of Summerset, New Jersey, and Mathew Matteo, 22, of the Bronx, were charged with narcotics distribution offenses, Geoffrey S. Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in an announcement.

Caso, Baker and Matteo were arrested Tuesday. Materasso is in state custody on other charges.

Berman alleged the five trafficked large quantities of methamphetamine and a liquid date-rape drug, gamma-butyrolactone, around Westchester County and NYC.

"Methamphetamine devastates communities and GBL spreads danger all over the Southern District of New York, which is why the defendants face serious federal charges," he said.

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said Cicero, as a former police officer, has seen the harm these drugs do to society.

"He now faces the same grim reality criminals he once locked up did — a long prison sentence, this time in a federal jail cell," he said.

From 2017 through February, Caso, Cicero, Materasso, Baker and Matteo conspired to distribute methamphetamine, prosecutors alleged. In addition, during the same period, Caso, Cicero, Materasso and Mattero conspired to distribute gamma-butyrolactone, prosecutors said.

All five are charged with conspiring to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Caso, Cicero, Materasso and Matteo are also charged with conspiring to distribute GBL, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and the Westchester County Police Department.

The Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force comprises Special Agents and Task Force Officers from the FBI, U.S. Probation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New York State Police, Westchester County Police Department, Westchester County DA’s Office, NYPD, Yonkers Police Department, Mount Vernon Police Department, Peekskill Police Department, Greenburgh Police Department, and New Rochelle Police Department.