Saturday, December 20, 2025

Amid Take Down of Dozen from East Harlem Johnson Houses Questions of Fentanyl as WMD


by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Dec 17 – On December 17 the SDNY US Attorney's Office announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging 12 men with a drug dealing and weapons conspiracy in the Johnson Houses in East Harlem - and a 12:15 pm press conference.   Inner City Press went, its second time of the day in 26 Federal Plaza, asked two questions and live tweeted, here

OK - now at SDNY US Attorney presser on arrests in Johnson Houses in East Harlem. Inner City Press in April covered Bragg-n-Tisch presser on "take-down" of gang in that housing project. Is this the same gang (that is, not taken-down) or new?

 Jose Perez, FBI Operations Director, in from DC: FBI is ending the year on a roll, takedowns in Detroit (Bay City) LA, etc. FBI partners with Homeland Security NYC FBI Raia: This is operation Empire Heat - 5 borough and some outlying countries - Long Island  

Inner City Press asked, what happened to the Wusky takedown? And how will deeming fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction be applied in New York?

Clayton: Fentanyl has killed 100,000 people. We are listening to what people want 

  Clayton explained Federal versus state indictment in three works: continuity of custody.

 In the afternoon Inner City Press went to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrates court, where co-defendant Hernandez was ordered detained as a danger to the community. Continuity of custody indeed.

The case is USA v. Gonzalez, et al., 1:25-cr-577 (Stein)

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