{"id":80679,"date":"2017-05-11T11:29:30","date_gmt":"2017-05-11T15:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=80679"},"modified":"2017-05-10T20:44:04","modified_gmt":"2017-05-11T00:44:04","slug":"schneiderman-announces-second-major-drug-bust-in-surge-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=80679","title":{"rendered":"Schneiderman announces second major drug bust in SURGE initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Charges 31 in 217-count indictment for allegedly operating Finger Lakes-based heroin ring<\/em><\/p>\n

Multi-agency crackdown leads to indictment charging defendants with distributing drugs in NYC and upstate counties<\/em><\/p>\n

Last month, Schneiderman launched The SURGE initiative to crack down on violent heroin and opioid traffickers in suburban and upstate New York<\/em><\/p>\n

Schneiderman: Violent drug traffickers who have terrorized our neighborhoods will be brought to justice<\/em><\/p>\n

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the arrests and 217-count indictment of 31 members charged with distributing massive quantities of heroin, from New York City and throughout the Finger Lakes Region, including in New York, Bronx, Queens, Schuyler, Tioga, and Tompkins Counties \u2013 the second major drug bust in Attorney General Schneiderman\u2019s S.U.R.G.E. Initiative, which targets violent heroin and opioid traffickers in suburban and upstate New York.<\/p>\n

As part of \u201cOperation Un-Wise,\u201d state and local law enforcement agents, led by the state Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF), and the New York State Police, concluded a five-month investigation into a drug network that was allegedly conducting illicit activities on the streets of the Finger Lakes Region.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s arrests should send the message to those terrorizing and dealing death in our communities: we will find you and prosecute you,\u201d said\u00a0Attorney General Schneiderman. \u201cMy office has taken on the devastating heroin and opioid abuse epidemic through a multi-faceted approach, including our S.U.R.G.E Initiative \u2013 using every tool at our disposal to crack down on the complex, violent heroin and opioid distribution networks. This epidemic has shattered families and taken far too many lives already, and I am committed to doing everything in my power to hold those responsible accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

A central figure in the alleged heroin distribution network was Arthur \u201cWise\u201d Erskine. According to the criminal charges, Erskine was an Ithaca-based heroin dealer who purchased heroin from a source in New York City for $56 per gram. Erskine also touted himself as a music promoter for his production company Bandyard Entertainment, and even personally appeared in some of the music videos. Erskine maintained one residence in the Bronx and two houses in the Cayuga Heights neighborhood of Ithaca, which were allegedly utilized for trafficking heroin.<\/p>\n

Also alleged to be central to the heroin distribution network was the mother of Erskine\u2019s children, Aylah \u201cBoogz\u201d Stewart-Boda.\u00a0Prosecutors allege that Stewart involved her entire family in her heroin trafficking, having her mother, Lynn Boda distribute heroin in Ithaca; her older sister, Myia Boda, sell heroin; and her younger sister, Destiny Boda, mule drugs to other re-sellers.<\/p>\n

In early March, Erskine allegedly purchased hundreds of grams of heroin from defendant Jose Polanco, an alleged trafficker, which were then smuggled to Tompkins County.\u00a0That heroin was laced with Fentanyl and, between March 2, 2017 and March 7, 2017, Tompkins County and Tioga County experienced eight overdose calls for service, including one for the death of Stephanie Dvorak. Ms. Dvorak was allegedly a heroin customer of defendant Zachary Kelly and arranged to meet Kelly during that time period.<\/p>\n

On March 12, 2017, members of nine different law enforcement agencies executed search warrants on eight different residences throughout New York State: two locations in Manhattan, one in Queens, four in Tompkins County, and one in Tioga County.\u00a0Among the items seized during the execution of those search warrants were more than one kilogram of heroin, dozens of grams of cocaine, 14 handguns, one MAC-11 machine pistol, and narcotics-related paraphernalia.<\/p>\n

The indictments, which were unsealed today in Tioga County Court, contain 217 counts, charging 31 people with various Criminal Sale and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance (class A, B, C, D felonies) and Conspiracy in the second degree (class B felony) in relation to their involvement in the narcotics trafficking network. Those charged today include:<\/p>\n