Coast-to-Coast Drug Smugglers Busted
Suffolk County won a major battle in its fight against drug trafficking on Wednesday, that stretched from California to Suffolk and removing $3 million worth of the addictive narcotics from the streets.
County District Attorney Thomas Spota said $900,000 in cash was seized in the August 3 raid, which resulted in the arrests of four men from Suffolk. In addition to 32 kilograms of raw cocaine, police confiscated illegal steroids, money counters, a cocaine press and two shotguns.
The alleged mastermind, William Wright of West Hollywood, California, is still at large and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
“They were purchasing the cocaine in California for $20,500 per kilo, and then selling it in the streets of Suffolk County for a price approximately five times that amount once the cocaine was cut and prepared for distribution,” Spota said in a statement.
The drugs were stashed in trap compartments installed in at least two cars, including one Nissan 350Z that was laden with 30 kilos of cocaine. The other two kilos were hidden in a Jeep Cherokee.
Police believe the operation funneled the drugs from Mexico into Los Angeles before smuggling them into Long Island.
The raid was the biggest Suffolk bust since January, when police broke up an .
Community College Boosts Tuition
Suffolk County Community College this week announced it would raise its tuition by $214 after the county Legislature voted to throw in an extra $386,000 a year to support the two-year college.
Annual tuition jumped to $3,990 a year, but the school said it would have topped $4,000 had the Legislature not agreed to up its support. The deal, however, means SCCC has to find an extra $386,000 in savings.
The college, which has roughly 26,000 students, said a third year of cuts to its state aid made it impossible not to raise tuition.
Legislative Cheat Sheet - August 2 Meeting
- Suffolk voted to use nearly 63 percent of the surplus from its Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund to support sewer expansion projects.
- The county will set up an oversight board to monitor sober homes within Suffolk.
- A public hearing on a proposal by Legislator Jon Cooper, D-Huntington, to cap county spending at two percent will be held on August 16 at the Riverhead general legislative meeting.
