PORT JERVIS – Thirty-three people have been arrested, including a Monticello school teacher and football coach, in a series of coordinated raids in Port Jervis, New York, Pike County, Pennsylvania and Montague, New Jersey. Three others are wanted in connection with the same massive drug takedown.
Operation Final Blow netted two kilograms of cocaine, 74 grams of heroin, 165 grams of fentanyl, 1,600 ecstasy pills, seven firearms and $153,000 in cash. Also seized were 11 cars, four motorcycles and two ATVs.
The drugs were transported up to the area from the south and through New York City, said Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler.
Because of New York’s bail reform laws, only six of the 36 suspects have been remanded to jail. The others are back on the streets.
One of the suspects, 42-year-old Wayne Smith, served 10 years of a 20-year prison sentence in Pennsylvania and was back on the street as one of the six major traffickers, said Pike County District Attorney Raymond Tonkin.
Hoovler said since two to four grams of fentanyl can be lethal, there was enough of the drug confiscated to kill between 60,000 and 80,000 people.
Not everyone arrested was a hardcore drug dealer, officials said. Some were businesspeople dealing in the trade, and one person, Hoovler said was considering using some of his drug proceeds to invest in home purchases in Port Jervis.
Another defendant, Jack Piscitelli, 24, is a Monticello school teacher and football coach, said Hoovler.
Police Chief William Worden said this four-month investigation is only the beginning; law enforcement is going to keep the heat on drug trafficking.
The six men who have been incarcerated were charged with drug possession; all of the others were charged with conspiracy to sell drugs.
‘Operation Final Blow’ nets 36 people, drugs and guns in three-state operation
OPERATION FINAL BLOW DEFENDANTS
| NAME | RESIDENCE | AGE |
| Wayne Smith | Deerpark, NY | 42 |
| Joseph Bruno | Port Jervis, NY | 43 |
| Christian Shomo | Mount Hope, NY | 33 |
| Andrew Mitchell | Vernon, NJ | 47 |
| Raymond Hamilton | Glen Spey, NY | 43 |
| Jose Parra | Port Washington, NY | 61 |
| Thomas Bratton | Middletown, NY | 50 |
| Brian Stevenson | Port Jervis, NY | 45 |
| Gregory Luca | Pike County, PA | 38 |
| Ryan McCormick | Glen Spey, NY | 47 |
| Tyara Porter | Monticello, NY | 47 |
| Tyree Bolden | Rock Hill, NY | 44 |
| Brian Rossnagle | Port Jervis, NY | 36 |
| Daniel Scott | Village of Chester, NY | 41 |
| David Porter | Port Jervis, NY | 70 |
| Christine Ryan | Pike County, PA | 31 |
| Dennis Dunne | Pike County, PA | 36 |
| Gerald Harden | Port Jervis, NY | 43 |
| Jack Piscitelli | Port Jervis, NY | 24 |
| Kaylynne Doran | Pike County, PA | 33 |
| Kenneth Bruno | Port Jervis, NY | 68 |
| Michael Diana | Port Jervis, NY | 59 |
| Michael Gurliacci | Port Jervis, NY | 40 |
| Ronald Babcock | Port Jervis, NY | 28 |
| Trevone Waxter | Port Jervis, NY | 38 |
| Walter Finch | Pike County, NY | 43 |
| Ryan Platner | Port Jervis, NY | 36 |
