At 5:20 AM Billy J. Wilson of New Rochelle was arrested at his residence on charges of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the 3rd degree. Arrests in Operation City Sweeper were underway.
Led by Sergeant Brian Fagan of the New Rochelle Police Special Investigations Unit, NRPD officers along with officers from the While Plains Police Department, Westchester County Police Department, Westchester County District Attorney Office and the Westchester County DEA Task Force began a series of arrests on charges ranging from Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th, a misdemeanor, to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 2nd, a felony.
45 people have been apprehended in New Rochelle so far (44 on Friday and one additional arrest made over the weekend, said New Rochelle police spokesman Captain Joseph Schaller. Not everyone arrested was among the list of 61 targets. Schaller said that some of those arrested happened to be at the location when the targeted suspects were arrested.
The police blotter for Friday lists 37 persons who were arrested and processed at New Rochelle police headquarters.
“We were working on this all day, from early in the morning until Friday night”, said Schaller. He added that it was going to take several days to complete all the paperwork and stressed that the operation was ongoing and several more arrests are expected.
Schaller said that some people were arrested based on sealed indictments. Others were already in custody for crimes relegated to Operation City Sweeper or for unrelated crimes.
In a press release issued by the department on Friday, police described a 9 month-long investigation:
Starting in February 2011, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) began several undercover cases throughout the City of New Rochelle in conjunction with the Westchester County Department of Public Safety Narcotics Unit. The investigations focused on street sales and mid-level dealings which were starting to proliferate, particularly in the central part of the City.
As a result, a total of 9 individuals have already been arrested and charged with felony sales before the commencement of this operation. Sealed indictments or local felony warrants have been obtained for an additional 51 individuals. During the investigation, undercover officers purchased over (200) bags of crack cocaine, (350) pills of oxycontin, quarter ounce of heroin and (5) grams of powder cocaine during the operation.
Schaller credited Sergeant Fagan along with Lt. Christopher Hearle, Sgt. Dan McKenna and Sgt. Robert Torr for their fine work on Operation City Sweeper.
Talk of the Sound will have further detail in the coming days as police finalize paperwork related to the arrests.
Excellant Police Work
Excellant job by the New Rochelle Police Dept and assisting agencies involved. This should send a clear message that this conduct will not be tolerated and individuals who choose this line of work will be held accountable… Great article Bob…
This is no crime in NR, the
There is no crime in NR, the Mayor said so. This must be a mistake in identity or something.