Three arrested for slinging dope and crack in a Pre-K parking lot

Several Street-Level Drug Buys Made in Parking Lot of Rockland County Preschool, Early Education Center

DA’S PRESS RELEASE – Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe announced the filing of criminal charges against four individuals as the result of a three-month undercover narcotics investigation targeting street-level drug dealers in Clarkstown and Orangetown. The defendants are charged with selling crack and powdered cocaine, heroin and marijuana to undercover police officers on numerous occasions in and around the Valley Cottage and the Village of Nyack.

“The result of this joint investigation should bring welcome relief to the residents of Rockland County,” said District Attorney Zugibe. “These defendants were major players in the open-air drug markets believed responsible for moving thousands of dollars in illegal drugs into our neighborhoods.”

District Attorney Zugibe said that, according to the charges, defendant 33-year old Jason Alcin of 338 Old Mill Road, Valley Cottage, New York, directed his customers to the streets surrounding the Nyack Plaza Apartments, including the front lot of Head Start of Rockland, a nationally accredited preschool and early education center for low-income children and their families in Rockland County. These open-air transactions were often surveilled by the Orangetown Police Department Uniform Patrol and Rockland County Drug Task Force members.

Said District Attorney Zugibe, “The arrests in this case illustrate the determination and persistence of both law enforcement and prosecutors in attacking drug trafficking in Rockland County in order to improve the quality of life for our families.”

In July 2016, the Drug Task Force received intelligence from the Village of Spring Valley Police Department regarding open-air drug dealing within the village. This information also led the Drug Task Force to locations of open-air drug transactions in Clarkstown and Orangetown.

In response, the Drug Task Force, along with officers from Spring Valley, Orangetown and Clarkstown dispatched numerous undercover officers to purchase crack and powdered cocaine, heroin and other drugs at several locations. These undercover buys and “buyer beware” operations included eavesdropping methods in order to dismantle the disciplined group of drug dealers.

As part of the investigation, officers executed search warrants and recovered two, loaded .357 magnum semiautomatic handguns and $216,000 in cash from the residence of Alcin.

The investigation culminated with a 24-count indictment handed up by the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office. The four defendants are variously charged with the crimes of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class “B” Felony, punishable by up to nine years in prison, Criminal Possession Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class “B” Felony, punishable by up to nine years in prison and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a Class “C” Felony, punishable by up to 15 years in state prison.

A charge of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class “A” Misdemeanor, was additionally filed against 32-year-old Stephanie Federici of 338 Old Mill Road, Valley Cottage, New York. The Rockland County Office of Child Protective Services has been notified of the charge.

Alcin was already on probation for Criminal Possession Marijuana in the Fourth Degree. Senior Assistant District Attorney Amanda Doty is prosecuting the case.