Rapper Fetty Wap and five others arrested on drug charges | Paterson Times Paterson Times

Rapper Fetty Wap and five others arrested on drug charges

By Jonathan Greene
Published: October 29, 2021

fetty-wap-on-stage

Six people, including Paterson rapper Fetty Wap, have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to distribute drugs, according to federal authorities.

Willie Junior Maxwell II, also known as Fetty Wap, 30, of Paterson; Anthony Cyntje, 23, of Passaic City; Anthony Leonardi, 47, of Coram, NY; Robert Leonardi, 26, of Levittown, Penn.; Brian Sullivan, 26, of Lake Grove, NY; and Kavaughn L. Wiggins, also known as KV, of Coram, NY, were arrested for their role in a multimillion drug distribution operation.

Wap was arrested on Thursday.

Cyntje is a correction officer in New Jersey.

Sullivan was arrested on September 30. Anthony Leonardi, Robert Leonardi, and Cyntje were arrested on October 13.

Wiggins was arrested on Wednesday.

“The fact that we arrested a chart-topping rap artist and a corrections officer as part of the conspiracy illustrates just how vile the drug trade has become,” Michael Driscoll, assistant director-in-charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), said.

Authorities said the six ran a “multimillion-dollar bicoastal drug distribution organization with Suffolk County as their home base.”

“As alleged, the defendants transported, distributed and sold more than 100 kilograms of deadly and addictive drugs, including heroin and fentanyl, on Long Island, deliberately contributing to the opioid epidemic that has devastated our communities and taken too many lives,” Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said. “We will continue to work nonstop with our law enforcement partners to keep our neighborhoods safe from the scourge of dangerous drugs and gun violence.”

Peace thanked the United States Postal Inspection Service for its assistance during the investigation.

From June 2019 through June 2020, they allegedly distributed more than 100 kilograms of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine across Long Island and New Jersey, authorities said. They secured the drugs from the West Coast and used the United States Postal Service and drivers with hidden vehicle compartments to transport the drugs across the country to Suffolk County.

Drugs were stored in Suffolk County. Then they were distributed to dealers who sold them on Long Island and New Jersey.

Anthony Leonardi, Robert Leonardi, Sullivan, and Wiggins took part in buying and transporting the drugs from West Coast to the East Coast.

Maxwell or Wap was a “kilogram-level redistributor for the trafficking organization,” authorities said. Cyntje allegedly transported kilograms of cocaine from Long Island to New Jersey.

Authorities seized $1.5 million cash, 16 kilograms of cocaine, 2 kilograms of heroin, numerous fentanyl pills, two 9mm handguns, a rifle, a .45 caliber pistol, a .40 caliber pistol, and ammunition.

Five of the six were also charged with weapons offenses.


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