12 Gang Members Indicted In East End Drug Ring Takedown: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — Twelve gang members and their associates were indicted Friday on charges that they were running a drug trafficking operation on the East End, Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said.

Several of those charged are members of the 18th Street gang, Sini said.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations division, and the East End Drug Task Force began an investigation in July 2020 into drug dealing by several members of the 18th Street gang and others in the Riverhead area, Sini said.

The investigation involved the use of undercover officers, roving surveillance, electronic surveillance, and court-authorized eavesdropping, he said.

Those charged were selling powder cocaine and crack cocaine to hundreds of buyers, primarily in the Riverhead area, as well as in the Hamptons and various locations in Brookhaven Town, Sini said.

The drug operation was bringing in $75,000 monthly through the illicit narcotics sales, Sini said.

Search warrants were executed yesterday at seven locations in connection with the drug operation: Law enforcement seized 300 grams of cocaine, 50 ecstasy, or MDMA, pills, seven grams of methamphetamine, a .38 revolver handgun, and $70,000 in cash, Sini said. Law enforcement also seized half a kilogram of powder cocaine during the course of the investigation, Sini said.

Those indicted on Friday included:

-Deris Denilo Matamoros Alvarado, a/k/a “Derry,” 35, of Riverhead, was arrested and charged with two counts of operating as a major trafficker, a felony; first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony; two counts of second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony; second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony; two counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony; six counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony; second-degree conspiracy, a felony; and two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy, a felony, Sini said.

- Marvin Javier Ruiz Paz, a/k/a “Pulga,” 39, of Centereach, was arrested and charged with three counts of operating as a major trafficker, a felony; first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony; second-degree conspiracy, a felony; and two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy, a felony, Sini said.

- Kennedi Octavio Gonzalez Paiz, a/k/a “Kenni,” 37, of Riverhead, was arrested and charged with two counts of operating as a major trafficker, a felony; second-degree conspiracy, a felony; and two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy, a felony, Sini said.

- Elvin Naun Bonilla Morales, a/k/a “Elvito,” 39, of Southampton, was arrested and charged with two counts of operating as a major trafficker, a felony; second-degree conspiracy, a felony; and two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy, a felony, Sini said.

- Marvin Javier Bonilla Morales, 33, of Southampton, was arrested and charged with two counts of operating as a major trafficker, a felony; second-degree conspiracy, a felony; and two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy, a felony, Sini said.

- Christopher Emmanuel Millan Marin, a/k/a “Cuervo,” 35, of Riverhead, was arrested ad charged with second-degree conspiracy, a felony, and two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy, a felony, Sini said.

- Brian Jefferson Toro Maldonado, a/k/a “Torro,” 27, of Mastic, was arrested and charged with second-degree conspiracy, a felony, and two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy, a felony, Sini said.

- Wilmer Wilfredo Godoy Chacon, 34, of Westhampton, was arrested and charged with second-degree conspiracy, a felony, and two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy, felony, Sini said.

- Jose Roberto Alvarado Romero, a/k/a “Robertito,” 40, of Riverhead, was arrested and charged with second-degree conspiracy, a felony; two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy, a felony; and second-degree criminal facilitation, a felony, Sini said.

Three additional individuals will be arraigned at a later date, Sini said.

Matamoros Alvarado and Gonzalez Paiz have been identified by law enforcement as members of the 18th Street gang; Marin has been identified by law enforcement as a member of the Sureños gang, Sini said.

If convicted of the top count, Matamoros Alvarado, Ruiz Paz, Gonzalez Paiz, Elvin Morales and Marvin Morales each face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison, Sini said. If convicted of the top count, Millan Marin, Toro Maldonado, Godoy Chacon and Alvarado Romero each face a maximum sentence of eight and one-third to 25 years in prison, Sini said.

“This was a multi-agency effort that resulted in the takedown of major drug traffickers selling crack cocaine and powder cocaine, and doing so in a way that was terrorizing the community,” Sini said. “They were selling in front of retail establishments and in public areas, and the people selling those drugs were dangerous gang members. This dealt a major blow to drug dealing going on in the Riverhead area and throughout the East End of Long Island."

“These are some of the most dangerous gangs in Suffolk County and in the nation, and the excellent cooperation between law enforcement agencies in rooting criminal drug activity and bringing these people to justice will make Suffolk County safer for all,” said Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr.

The case underscores the "persistence of dangerous drug traffickers in our area and the need for coordinated law enforcement action to stop them,” Southampton Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki said. “These defendants put our residents at high risk through the deadly products they peddle and the methods of their operations.",