Carlos Melendez and Joel Guzman (credit: Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office)
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) –Prosecutors say two New York City men are facing 25 years to life in prison after their Long Island conviction for running a major heroin ring.
Carlos Melendez of the Bronx and Joel Guzman of Ridgewood, Queens will be sentenced July 25 in Suffolk County. They were convicted Tuesday for operating as major traffickers, authorities said.
Prosecutors said the heroin distribution ring headed by Melendez and Guzman spanned Suffolk and Nassau counties as well as Queens and the Bronx. According to Newsday, prosecutors said the two men cleared $60,000 a week.
District Attorney Thomas Spota said it’s one of the first verdicts in the state under the Operating as a Major Trafficker statute passed in 2009.
“This valuable law enforcement tool will keep purveyors of poison like Guzman and Melendez off our streets and away from our children for life,” Spota said.
Defense lawyers said they have grounds for appeal.
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