Police: 8 people arrested in Suffolk County drug ring

Police say they have arrested eight people on charges of operating a drug ring that stretched from Brooklyn to Suffolk County. Officials are calling the 41-day investigation the largest heroin bust

News 12 Staff

Nov 17, 2015, 3:26 AM

Updated 3,174 days ago

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Police say they have arrested eight people on charges of operating a drug ring that stretched from Brooklyn to Suffolk County.
Officials are calling the 41-day investigation the largest heroin bust in the county's history.
According to police, one of the ring leaders was 26-year-old Richard Bruno Jr. of Holbrook. His father, 59-year-old Richard Bruno Sr., was also allegedly involved in the ring and hid drugs in the attic of his Farmingville home, police say.
Bruno Jr. and his crew of accused resellers allegedly dealt heroin and cocaine in Westhampton, Selden, Centereach, Stony Brook and Babylon.
Also arrested was Jonathan Rincon, who police say was the man who supplied the drugs. Officials say Bryan Koppelman was the biggest seller of the group, driving around town with a "dabadguy" license plate and an "untouchable" tattoo on his back.
On Bruno Sr.'s Facebook page, he appeared to defend himself, saying he "was unaware of any drugs that were stored in my attic." He added that he could not "stand drugs and never took any in my life. I really hate them, especially for what they have done to my son's life, that I tried to help him with for many years."
Officials say wiretaps tell a different story.
Prosecutors say Bruno Jr is being charged as a major trafficker, which carries the same penalty as a second-degree murder conviction. Bruno Sr. is facing up to 20 years. 
The investigation turned up the equivalent of more than 20,000 bags of heroin, guns, and $500,000 in cash.
 


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