Ten people face charges in a Hudson Valley cocaine-trafficking case after an investigation that recovered more than a kilogram of cocaine and over $12,500 in suspected drug proceeds, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday. The charges are allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent.
The attorney general's release said the 153-count indictment describes two connected distribution schemes in Ulster and Orange counties centered on Michael Felicello. Nine defendants were arraigned in Ulster County Court before Judge Bryan Rounds, the office said.
Investigators estimated the seized cocaine's street value at about $30,000. The attorney general's office said the case began in November 2024 and involved physical surveillance, court-authorized cellphone wiretaps and reviews of phone and law-enforcement records.
According to the indictment, Felicello obtained cocaine from several suppliers and resold it to customers, some of whom redistributed it. Prosecutors said he used a trucking-company parking lot in Orange County for some sales. The two alleged schemes share Felicello but involve different groups of suppliers and buyers.
One scheme alleges that Felicello sourced cocaine from Jorge Lee, Lawrence Falcetta and Michael Brown. Brown allegedly obtained cocaine from Jose Garcia, who brought it from his Orange County residence, while Ernesto Rodriguez allegedly sold cocaine for Lee.
The indictment describes alleged meetings at a trucking company where Felicello worked, at Falcetta's Ulster County home and near a Newburgh deli where Brown worked. Those details are part of the prosecution's account of how cocaine moved through the network, not findings of guilt against any defendant.
The second scheme alleges that Felicello supplied Eric Oremus, John Dangelo, Joshua Mintz and Deborah Foster. The release did not identify which of those customers allegedly redistributed the drug.
Investigators said text messages and calls sometimes used food terms, including “pizza,” “pies” and “water,” to refer to cocaine. In one episode March 15, police seized half an ounce of cocaine from Garcia as he traveled to supply Brown. Garcia then returned home to obtain more cocaine to fill the order, prosecutors alleged.
The defendants named in the indictment are Brown, 53, of Newburgh; Dangelo, 53, of Wallkill; Falcetta, 53, of Marlboro; Felicello, 51, of Marlboro; Foster, 70, of Marlboro; Garcia, 57, of Newburgh; Lee, 48, of Marlboro; Mintz, 41, of Highland; Oremus, 56, of Poughkeepsie; and Rodriguez, 25, of Marlboro. Their ages and hometowns are as given by the attorney general's office.
The charges include felony cocaine sale and possession counts and conspiracy. A conviction on the top charge, first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, the office said. The release did not specify which defendants face that top count or provide a trial schedule.
All 10 were arrested, according to the office. The release did not explain why one defendant had not yet been arraigned.
The attorney general's Organized Crime Task Force led the investigation with the Ulster County Sheriff's Office, a regional narcotics team and New York State Police. Other federal and local agencies assisted. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Attorney General Scott Johnson.
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