Orange County News
For Immediate Release
May 9, 2017
Contact: Christopher Borek
845.291.3276, 845.238.4245c
District Attorney Hoovler Announces Felony Charges in
Drug Distribution Conspiracy Cases
“Operation Family Ties” Targeted Major Narcotics Distributors
Orange County Grand Jury Charges 35 Defendants With
Felonies Related to Conspiracy to Sell Cocaine and Heroin
Indictments Allege Two Separate Conspiracies
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced on May 9, 2017, that an Orange
County grand jury has charged 35 defendants with felonies related to conspiring to sell cocaine
and heroin, largely in the Newburgh area. The matter was presented to an Orange County grand
jury that had been specially empaneled to consider evidence in ongoing investigations. The grand
jury issued two indictments that alleged the existence of two separate conspiracies to distribute
narcotics. The indictments charge Conspiracy in the Second Degree, Criminal Sale of a
Controlled Substance in the First Degree, and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in
the Second Degree, as well as other charges. Arraignments on the defendants began before
Orange County Court Judge Robert H. Freehill on May 9, 2017. One indictment alleges a
narcotics distribution conspiracy directed by Lamont Williams, Sr., 43, of Wallkill, and his son
Lamont Williams, Jr., 27, of Port Jervis. The other indictment alleges a narcotics distribution
conspiracy directed by Ramon Rivera, 45, and his son, Raymond Rivera, 25, both of Newburgh.
On March 13, 2017, the New York State Police, the City of Newburgh Police Department, and
the Orange County District Attorney’s Office executed sixteen search warrants and arrested over
thirty individuals on felony charges as part of a nine-month narcotics investigation, dubbed
“Operation Family Ties.” The United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Town of
New Windsor Police, the Town of Newburgh Police, the City of Port Jervis Police, and the New
York State Department of Taxation and Finance also aided in the execution of the warrants.
The investigation targeted the distribution of heroin, cocaine, PCP, and marijuana in the City of
Newburgh and several surrounding towns in Orange County. The investigation began in June of
2016, when the City of Newburgh Police Department and the New York State Police received
information about illegal narcotics sales in the area of 170 Carson Avenue in the City of
Newburgh. The investigation uncovered evidence that Lamont Williams, Sr. and his son, Lamont
Williams, Jr., were operating a drug-trafficking organization known as “Carson’s Casino.”
The indictment pertaining to the narcotics distribution conspiracy alleged to have been directed
by the Williamses charges the following individuals:
Name
Age
Residence
Top Charge
Lamont Williams,
Sr.
43
Wallkill
Lamont Williams,
Jr.
27
Port Jervis
Kihuana Blackmon
Valerie Williams
37
41
Tamika Clegg
Steven Hall
42
25
Newburgh
Wallkill,
Ulster
Newburgh
Wallkill
Ulster
Conspiracy in the Second Degree and
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance
in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree and
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance
in the Third Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Steven Reed
24
Newburgh
Cory Arnold
Diana Herbin
24
22
Newburgh
Wallkill
Ulster
Jermaine Boykin
Mark Robinson
39
36
Newburgh
Newburgh
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree and
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance
in the Third Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree,
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance
in the Third Degree and Criminal
Possession of a Controlled Substance in
the Third Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree and
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance
in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree,
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance
in the Third Degree and Criminal
Possession of a Controlled Substance in
Prior
Felony
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Lamara Williams
26
Newburgh
Sabrina Herring
Desmond Williams
Gabriel Richards
Corey Perdue
34
18
25
36
Thomas Downer
46
Newburgh
Newburgh
Newburgh
Highlands
Ulster
Newburgh
Ryan Nagle
Luis Pena
Joseph Horace
William McNeill
Shanice Jones
23
31
26
28
24
Newburgh
Newburgh
Marlboro
Newburgh
Newburgh
Scott Lemin
Earnest
Washington
46
59
Monroe
Bronx
the Third Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree,
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance
in the Third Degree and Criminal
Possession of a Controlled Substance in
the Third Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
No
No
No
No
No
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
No
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree, and
Criminal Possession of a Controlled
Substance in the Third Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
The indictment pertaining to the narcotics distribution conspiracy alleged to have been directed
by the Riveras charges the following individuals:
Name
Age
Residence
Ramon Rivera
45
Newburgh
Raymond Rivera
25
Newburgh
Lance Faison
Richard Mauro
Jason Anderson
Luis Rodriquez
39
45
44
31
Newburgh
Newburgh
Highland
Newburgh
Top Charge
Conspiracy in the Second Degree,
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance
in the First Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree, and
Criminal Possession of a Controlled
Substance in the Third Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Prior
Felony
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Eugene Johnson
Luis Paulino
Augusto Camocho
Ruben Cruz
46
40
62
52
Newburgh
Newburgh
Newburgh
New
Windsor
Nancy Cruz
46
New
Windsor
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree and
Criminal Possession of a Controlled
Substance in the Second Degree
Conspiracy in the Second Degree and
Criminal Possession of a Controlled
Substance in the Second Degree
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
In addition to the criminal charges, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has begun a
civil forfeiture proceeding against many of the defendants, in order to seize from them the profits
that they have made by illegally selling narcotics. The suit seeks over $3,000,000 in illegallyobtained profits.
The maximum sentence for the Class A-I felony of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in
the First Degree with a prior felony conviction is 24 years in state prison.
The maximum sentence for the Class A-II felonies of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in
the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree
with no prior felony conviction is ten years in state prison.
The maximum sentence for the Class B felony of Conspiracy in the Second Degree with no prior
felony conviction is 8 1/3 to 25 years in state prison. The maximum sentence for that charge with
a prior felony conviction is 12 1/2 to 25 years in state prison.
The maximum sentences for the Class B felonies of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in
the Third Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree is nine
years in state prison. The maximum sentences for those charges with a prior felony conviction is
twelve years in state prison.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the New York State Police Community Narcotics
Enforcement Team, the City of Newburgh Police Department, the United States Drug
Enforcement Administration, the Town of New Windsor Police, the Town of Newburgh Police,
the City of Port Jervis Police, and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
Criminal Investigations Division for their efforts in this investigation. District Attorney Hoovler
highly commended the New York State Police for their investigation, given the complexity of
the case.
Assistant District Attorney Neal Eriksen assisted in the investigation of the case and is
prosecuting all of the defendants charged in the operation.
“One key to stopping large scale narcotics trafficking is law enforcement agencies working
cooperatively with each other,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “The narcotics trafficking that is
destroying the fabric of our society and killing our residents must be fought at every level. It is
only through coordinated enforcement actions such as ‘Operation Family Ties’ that law
enforcement is able to pursue those higher-level drug dealers and craftier offenders who attempt
to insulate themselves from criminal liability by dealing drugs through intermediaries. Although
we have emphasized education and treatment as important avenues to keep people off drugs in
the first place, so that we may dry up the demand for illegal narcotics, we have also made it a
priority to attack the supply of narcotics by vigorous enforcement actions against narcotics
dealers. My office will continue to use every tool at our disposal, including the use of wiretaps,
civil forfeiture actions, and criminal statutes that have never been charged before in Orange
County, to combat the illicit narcotics trade and all types of organized criminal activity.”
It is anticipated that additional charges against additional defendants will be filed.
A criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the
criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to
a fair trial, during which it will be the State’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
###
OPERATION
DAVID M. HOOVLER,
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
DANIEL CAMEROn,
Chief of Police
Major David Krause,
Detail Commander,
New York State Police CNET
“FAMILY TIES”
2630 Kings Bridge Terrace Bronx, NY
Earnest Washington
6 Liberty Street 3RD Floor Newburgh
Steven Reed
32 Pomerico Drive, Newburgh
Carlos Csoke and William Rodriguez Jr.
81 City Terrace Apt 2 Newburgh
Raymond Rivera
3204 Rt. 9W Apt # 1
Ruben Cruz and Nancy Cruz
81 Carson Avenue, Newburgh
5423 Rt. 9W Newburgh Lamont Williams
Sr. and Kihuana Blackmon
Tamika Clegg, Lamara Williams and
Desmond Williams
39 Church St. Apt # 40 Port Jervis
Lamont Williams Jr.
OPERATION FAMILY TIES
March 13, 2017
WANTED
Ruben Cruz
DOB: 6/11/1964
Nancy Cruz
DOB: 10/7/1970
Ramon Rivera
DOB: 7/31/1971
Raymond Rivera
DOB: 6/14/1991
Augusto Camacho
DOB: 8/28/1954
Lance Faison
DOB: 7/24/1977
Richard Mauro
DOB: 8/14/1971
Jason Anderson
DOB: 11/5/1972
Luis Rodriguez
DOB: 2/6/1986
Eugene Johnson
DOB: 9/29/1970
Luis Paulino
DOB: 12/27/1976
Carlos Csoke
DOB: 3/8/1978
William Rodriguez, Jr.
DOB: 11/28/1992
Earnest Washington
DOB: 2/21/1958
Lamont Williams Sr.
DOB: 3/6/1974
Valerie Williams
DOB: 9/25/1975
Kihuana Blackmon
DOB: 7/28/1979
Lamont Williams Jr.
DOB: 12/9/1989
Tamika Clegg
DOB: 8/17/1974
Lamara Williams
DOB: 2/23/1991
WANTED
Desmond Williams
DOB: 9/6/1998
Cory Arnold
DOB: 9/23/1992
Diana Herbin
DOB: 8/8/1994
Jermaine Boykin
DOB: 7/20/1977
Steven Hall
DOB: 9/20/1991
Steven Reed
DOB: 9/4/1992
Mark Robinson
DOB: 10/23/1980
Sabrina Herring
DOB: 1/13/1983
Gabriel Richards
DOB: 8/21/1991
Corey Perdue
DOB: 4/6/1980
Ryan Nagle
DOB: 3/26/1993
Joseph Horace
DOB: 5/20/1990
William McNeill
DOB: 9/6/1988
Shanice Jones
DOB: 1/18/1993
Scott Lemin
DOB: 3/10/1971
WANTED
Thomas Downer
DOB: 3/1/1971
Luis Pena
DOB: 8/3/1985
Assisting Agencies:
NYSP - Community Narcotics Enforcement Team - HVR
NYSP - Troop F
City of Newburgh Police Department
Orange County District Attorney's Office
DEA - Westchester
NYS Department of Taxation & Finance
Town of New Windsor Police Department
Town of Newburgh Police Department
City of Port Jervis Police Department
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