Langston
KINGSTON — Federal agencies gathered law enforcement colleagues from
the New York State Police Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, to announce
46arrests in Operation Blood Clot — the take-down of a notorious gang-related
Hudson Valley narcotics syndicate.
Angel Melendez is a New York special agent in charge with Homeland Security Investigations, who said many of the defendants had a long history of trafficking and violence.
“The thing about this is they really operated an open drug market with the total disregard, not only to law enforcement, but also to the communities that resided in the areas that they operated. And to a certain extent, they operated as a family business,” Melendez said.
Alleged Bloods kingpin, Recardo Langston, 31, of Boulevard in Kingston,
is charged by feds with coordinating this regional drug gang. Busted in
a raid Thursday morning, he faces life in prison if convicted.
Prior to his arrest this week, Langston made headlines in several other incidents. He was caught on October 2 trying to sneak a knife into Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Liberty, and charged with promoting prison contraband, a felony.
On June 2 last summer, Langston crashed his car at Abeel Street and Wilbur Avenue in Kingston, during a high-speed chase with cops, commenced at Boulevard, where he fled a traffic stop. He was apprehended on foot holding four ounces of cocaine, and charged with numerous offenses.
Another arrest of Langston took place April 20, when he was nabbed for involvement in a gang assault incident at an unspecified bar in downtown Kingston. Also charged in the assault were Leonard VanDyke, 40; and Robert Stallworth, both also of Kingston.
VanDyke is a fellow co-defendant in this week’s federal raid. Additionally, he is a cousin of Ismail Shabazz, the civil rights activist accused last year of gun trafficking, in an unrelated case.
Multiple sources claim one of the defendants arrested in Thursday’s raid, Eunice D. Allen, 57, of 109 Clinton Avenue, Kingston, is the sister of a Kingston official. Another tenant at the same address, Jalen Allen, 23, also went into federal custody. They both face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Kevin Drake, 44, of 190 First Avenue in Kingston, beat a man with a chair on Elmendorf Street, back on April 20, 2013. He was among the numerous co-defendants swept up by 300 cops during Operation Blood Clot this week. A raid took place at a house downtown, near Delaware Avenue, which is believed to be Drake’s.
