After a coordinated strike beginning last night involving more than 200 federal and local law enforcement officers, 37 defendants are in custody. Six defendants are still being sought. The defendants taken into custody today are expected to be presented in White Plains federal court later this afternoon.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Joseph M. Demarest, JR., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); Thomas Belfiore, the Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety; Edmund Harnett, the Commissioner of the City of Yonkers Police Department; Gene Tumolo, the Chief of the City of Peekskill Police Department; and Joseph Burton, the Chief of the Village of Ossining Police Department, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging 43 members of a cocaine trafficking ring with conspiracy to distribute approximately $1 million worth of crack and powder cocaine across Westchester County.

Left to Right: ADIC Joseph Demarest; USA SDNY Preet Bharara; Thomas Belfiore, Commissioner, Westchester County Dept. of Public Safety; Edmund Hartnett Commissioner Yonkers Police Department; and Detective Lieutenant William Sullivan of Village of Ossining Police Department. Photo credit: James Margolin, FBI

In connection with these arrests, federal and local law enforcement officers also executed court-authorized search warrants on seven locations tied to many of the named defendants. During the arrests and searches, agents and officers seized, among other evidence: (1) a gun; (2) hollow point bullets; (3) approximately $40,000 in cash: and (4) approximately one kilogram of crack cocaine.

According to the Indictment unsealed today in White Plains federal court:

Between February 2009 and October 2009, a cocaine trafficking organization led by ELVIS SANTANA (the “Santana Organization”) distributed at least 22 kilograms of crack cocaine and 6.5 kilograms of powder cocaine across Westchester County, primarily in Yonkers and Peekskill. The Santana Organization collected approximately $1 million in criminal proceeds from its alleged cocaine trafficking crimes during this nine-month period.

Captain Thomas Gleason of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety reviewing operational specs with ADIC Joseph Demarest. Photo credit: Rich Kolko, FBI

ELVIS SANTANA was the leader of the Santana Organization. As the leader, SANTANA oversaw the transportation of the Santana Organization’s cocaine, the cooking of cocaine into crack cocaine, the delivery of the drugs, and the collection of drug proceeds. EMMANUEL MARTINEZ, DANNY BUENO, and ANGEL DELACRUZ were core members of the Santana Organization, and were responsible for supplying cocaine to the other members of the organization who distributed the drugs. More specifically, EMMANUEL MARTINEZ delivered crack and powder cocaine to other Santana Organization members in Yonkers and other communities in southern Westchester. DANNY BUENO and ANGEL DELACRUZ delivered crack and powder cocaine to other Santana Organization members in Peekskill and other communities in northern Westchester and Rockland Counties. Deliveries of cocaine were arranged by telephone conversations and text messages and were usually made either inside buildings or apartments or on the street, often inside cars that had been used to transport the drugs.

In addition to delivering cocaine, EMMANUEL MARTINEZ, ANGEL DELACRUZ, and DANNY BUENO collected proceeds from the sales of cocaine from other Santana Organization members. The cocaine proceeds were temporarily stored in locations in and around Westchester County before being brought to ELVIS SANTANA.

New York Special Agent in Charge David Cardona, On-Scene Commander, in mobile command vehicle with FBI personnel. Photo credit: Lynda Obi, FBI

The defendants charged in the Indictment unsealed today were as follows: ELVIS SANTANA, 27, Yonkers, New York; DANNY BUENO, 25, Bergenfield, New Jersey; ANGEL DELACRUZ, 27, Peekskill, New York; EMMANUEL MARTINEZ, 26, Bronx, New York; HAROLD ROMAN, 28, Yonkers, New York; JOEL NORWOOD, 23, Yonkers, New York; LAMONT MASON, 26, Yonkers, New York; ANDRE RODRIGUEZ, 36, Yonkers, New York; HECTOR BARBOSA, 26, Yonkers, New York; JESSIE FONSECA, 20, Yonkers, New York; DENNIS MANCUSI, 28, Yonkers, New York; FRED CANNON, 31, Yonkers, New York; DONTAE DEGREE, 23, Ossining, New York; PABLO RIVERA, 22, Yonkers, New York; MARK HAMMARY, 42, Yonkers, New York; ROBERT BENEDITTINI, 25, Yonkers, New York; JULIO GARCIA, 28, Brooklyn, New York; FRANK VACCARIELLO, 37, Hopewell Junction, New York; DONALD TAYLOR, 40, Peekskill, New York; ROBERT CURRY, 32, Peekskill, New York; JAMES McCRAE, 35, Peekskill, New York; BLAINE SCOTT, 43, Peekskill, New York; ERIC McKENZIE, 49, Peekskill, New York; BYRON OVERBY, 37, Peekskill, New York; ROBERT BARNES, 27, Peekskill, New York; OMARI NELSON, 22, Peekskill, New York; WILLIAM ANDERSON, 29, Peekskill, New York; JERMAINE GILLEO, 19, Peekskill, New York; MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM, 20, Peekskill, New York; PIERRE MYKE, 26, Waterbury, Connecticut; JAI PATTERSON, 26, Ossining, New York; KADEMA NELSON, 26, Peekskill, New York; DONIEL THOMAS, 26, Peekskill, New York; JAMES SKAGGS, 24, Peekskill, New York; TYRELL MOSLEY, 27, Peekskill, New York; TAINA VALENTINE, 24, Peekskill, New York; PRINCE MARSH, 26, Peekskill, New York; TAWAN HINES, 30, Peekskill, New York; SAM SHULER, 28, Peekskill, New York; CHRIS CURRY, 30, Peekskill, New York; SHAUN BROOKS, 22, Ossining, New York; ROBERT EVANS, 26, Peekskill, New York; and MORGAN STOKES, 27, Peekskill, New York.

SSA Edward M. McCabe briefing ADIC Joseph Demarest on arrests and operations. Photo credit: Rich Kolko, FBI

Mr. BHARARA praised the investigative work of the FBI, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the Yonkers Police Department, the Peekskill Police Department, the Village of Ossining Police Department, and the Rockland County Narcotics Task Force. He added that the investigation is continuing.

United States Attorney Preet Bharara said, “Cocaine is poison. It is a poison that affects our schools, our communities, and our economy. The antidote to that poison is the kind of tough law enforcement action that we have taken today. Families throughout Westchester County have the right to live in neighborhoods free from the poison of drugs and the violence that inevitably accompanies it. That is the right we protect today.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge JOSEPH DEMAREST said, “We combined forces to cut off the toxic supply of drugs to Westchester neighborhoods. Experience also tells us that guns and violence often go hand-in-hand with drug trafficking. The thing that unites us is simple but certain: the determination to make our neighborhoods safe and secure for law-abiding New Yorkers, wherever they live.”

FBI personnel in front of mobile command vehicle during operation against drug ring. Photo credit: Lynda Obi, FBI

All 43 of the defendants are charged in Count One of the Indictment with conspiring to distribute 50 grams and more of crack cocaine and five kilograms and more of powder cocaine. If convicted, the defendants all face maximum sentences of life and mandatory sentences of 10 years in prison on Count One. ELVIS SANTANA and EMMANUEL MARTINEZ are charged in Count Two with possession of 50 grams and more of crack cocaine. They each face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison on Count Two. ANGEL DELACRUZ and DANNY BUENO are charged in Count Three with possession of five grams and more of crack cocaine. They each face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a mandatory sentence of five years in prison on Count Three.

Assistant United States Attorneys NICHOLAS L. McQUAID, DOUGLAS B. BLOOM, and ANNA M. SKOTKO are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

FBI agent stands on top of mobile command vehicle. Photo credit: Lynda Obi, FBI

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Emma Thompson, and supporters of the Helen Bamber Foundation today opened “Journey,” a unique and provocative art installation depicting the journey typical of some women in the sex industry who are victims of human trafficking.

Journey is comprised of seven shipping containers each telling the powerful and personal story of a woman who was trafficked into sexual slavery. Each container depicts a different stage of the brutal reality experienced by trafficked women. “Journey” is located on Washington Place, near Washington Square Park in Manhattan. The exhibit will be open from Tuesday, November 10th until Sunday, November 15.

In 2006, Mayor Bloomberg convened the New York City-Anti Human Trafficking Task Force, which coordinates the work of the police officers, prosecutors and service providers who combat the human trafficking that is depicted in the exhibit.

“Journey brings human trafficking out of the shadows and I hope its arrival in New York will raise awareness among New Yorkers of this heinous form of exploitation and help combat it,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Our Administration has used coordinated enforcement, tough new laws, and partnerships with service providers to fight human trafficking. Our efforts are overseen by a task force of police officers, prosecutors, service providers, advocacy groups and academics, but public awareness is crucial to their success. That is why all of us welcome Journey and the unique attention it will bring this inhumane and criminal activity.”

“People just don’t want to know about this issue – it’s hidden, it’s criminal, it’s perverse and yes, it’s happening right on your own doorstep.”

“People just don’t want to know about this issue – it’s hidden, it’s criminal, it’s perverse and yes, it’s happening right on your own doorstep,” said Emma Thompson. “Journey is a remarkable piece of collaborative, creative and confrontational art that profoundly challenges people’s perspective. Come and see it for yourself and then tell us if you agree.”

British actress Emma Thompson launched the exhibition with Mayor Bloomberg

“Asking questions and broadening understanding is at the heart of a university’s mission; that is why art – with its tendency to challenge assumptions and provoke thought – finds such a welcome home in a University environment,” said NYU President John Sexton. “Great cities need great universities to offer welcoming homes for important ideas. We’re very pleased that the first U.S. stop on this exhibition’s international tour will be readily available to the NYU community and our Greenwich Village neighbors.”

Mayor Bloomberg established the Anti Human Trafficking Task Force in 2006 to combat the growing problem of foreign and domestic human trafficking and to coordinate the efforts of the different entities that combat human trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. The efforts are overseen by the Mayor’s Criminal Justice Coordinator, John Feinblatt.

In cooperation with the task force, the Mayor’s Office has: partnered with enforcement entities to provide services to trafficking victims, including employees of massage parlors; conducted multiple citywide multidisciplinary training sessions; helped pass the groundbreaking New York State Anti-Trafficking law passed in 2007; created a resource directory which is available at 311 on line so service providers, counselors, law enforcement officers, prosecutors and victims all know the services that are available and how they can be accessed; awarded a contract to a service provider to house and counsel trafficking victims; and worked with the Administration for Children’s Services and the Office of Children and Family Services to establish placement facilities for children who are sexually exploited.

Special training sessions to recognize signs of trafficking and provide appropriate services have also been held for staff at the City’s Family Justice Centers. Family Justice Centers are run by the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence and borough district attorneys, and allow domestic violence victims to meet with a prosecutor, speak with a trained counselor, and apply for housing and financial assistance in one location and in one visit.

The Mayor’s Office, working under the direction of Deputy Mayor Carol Robles-Roman, is also coordinating a city-wide anti-human trafficking advertising campaign designed to raise awareness about human trafficking. The campaign was launched at the opening of the “Journey” exhibit. The advertisements were designed by students and mentors in the Graphic Communications Management and Technology program at NYU’s School of Continuing Professional studies.

The seven containers, each depicting a different stage of human trafficking, are entitled: Hope, Journey, Uniform, Bedroom, Customer, Stigma and Resurrection.

This piece has galvanized the artistic skills of a highly experienced and talented team assembled from a range of disciplines including: Turner Prize-winning artist, Anish Kapoor; internationally acclaimed artist, Antony Micallef; Oscar-winning costume designer, Sandy Powell; one of Britain’s leading artists, MODE2; BAFTA-nominated Art Director, Michael Howells; playwright, Simon Stephens; photographer, James Ostrer; Royal graphic designer, Mike Dempsey; V&A award-winning illustrator, Laura Carlin; trafficked woman, Elena Varga and Lifetime Achievement Award-winner in Human Rights, Helen Bamber OBE.

The hours of operation are: Tuesday, November 10th – Friday, November 13th from Noon through 8:00 PM; Saturday, November 14th from 11:00 AM through 7:00 PM; and Sunday, November 15th from 10:00 AM through 3:00 PM.

Journey is produced in partnership with the City of New York and the City of London.