Feds: 'Dangerous drug dealers' had massive operation in Rochester

The official criminal police complaint about this case refers to a location known as the "Baden Street Apartments." That location and other events in the operation are in no way associated with the Baden Street Settlement, which is a nonprofit that addresses poverty and quality-of-life issues for neighborhood residents.

By any measure, the Figueroa brothers were major players in the Rochester drug market.

That's the portrait being painted by statements of law enforcement officials and court documents filed so far in their federal criminal case.

"They're dangerous drug dealers who shoot at police officers. They are not good people," said U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. "These are people that don't belong in our community."

During five months of surveillance, undercover officers watched the brothers allegedly moving large packages of cocaine between various addresses in Rochester, breaking them down for distribution, and selling to individuals on the street. They were also allegedly responsible for acts of violence in furtherance of the organization's drug trade.

The multi-agency investigation culminated in a series of search warrants executed Monday morning at six separate locations across the city. Kennedy said the raids yielded more than $630,000 in cash, six assault rifles and 2 kilos of cocaine, along with unspecified amounts of heroin and fentanyl.

Read: Criminal complaint against Carlos Figueroa and other co-defendants

Read: Criminal complaint against Felix Figueroa

In a criminal complaint, officials say that Carlos Javier Figueroa was the leader of the drug ring. He went by the nickname "Big Bro," even though he is three years younger than his brother Roberto.

The two brothers, along with Roberto's girlfriend Leitscha Poncedeleon, arranged for large shipments of cocaine to be delivered from Puerto Rico by the US Postal Service, the officials say. They used tracking numbers to monitor the arrival of these packages, then moved them to stash houses across the city. After the ringleaders broke them down into smaller packages, the drugs were distributed to dealers within their organization, some of whom were also members of the Figueroa family.

The operation was already on the radar of local law enforcement officers when investigators with the Rochester Police Department's major crimes unit developed a new confidential informant last April. This person, identified as CS-1 in the court papers, told police that the Figueroas controlled the street-level drug trade up and down North Clinton Avenue.

The North Clinton corridor has been called "the Latino heart of the Rochester community," and various neighborhood and city efforts have identified the drug trade as a clear and present danger and tried to clean up the neighborhood. In an article detailing some of those efforts last January, the Democrat and Chronicle noted that while a concentrated "police push" ended in October, the larger offensive on drug use in the Clinton Avenue neighborhood would continue.

Clearly, it did.

Read more: Reshaping North Clinton Avenue

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The federal complaint went on to describe the confidential informant's motivation:

"He/she stated that he/she was an active member of C.J. Figueroa, a/k/a/ Javi's drug organization and believed that 'Javi' was willing to provide a reward for CS-1's murder," the complaint reads. "CS-1 stated that 'Javi' has had people killed in the past and he/she was very afraid of him."

The informant shared details about the members of the organization and their activities. The intelligence corroborated much of what police already knew, but the information helped them expand their investigation.

Surveillance cameras deployed

Beginning in September, the task force installed video cameras on public property to maintain video surveillance of four locations. One was a house on Burbank Street believed to be Carlos Figueroa's residence. Another was a house on Barrington Street where Roberto Figueroa and Poncedeleon lived. Cameras also watched over a house on Fernwood Street where packages of cocaine arrived by mail, and an unoccupied apartment on East Main Street that served as a stash house.

Investigators obtained court orders allowing them to wiretap phones belonging to the Figueroa brothers, Poncedeleon and Orlando Yelder Jr., who court papers allege was one of the organization's distributors.

The wiretaps and cameras, along with physical surveillance, allowed investigators to follow every step of the process.

In one instance earlier this month, Poncedeleon reportedly sent a text message to a phone number in Puerto Rico with the addresses of five locations in the city of Rochester. Packages arrived at those addresses from Puerto Rico in the days that followed.

The wiretaps also revealed conversations between the defendants about the status of packages they expected to receive on any given day. In one exchange documented in court papers, Poncedeleon was waiting at a drop site when Roberto Figueroa called for an update.

"One arrived right now, I'm now waiting for the other one," she allegedly responded. "As soon as it is I leave."

Court papers say that USPS records showed two packages from Puerto Rico were delivered that day.

A surveillance team watched Poncedelon put the packages in the trunk of her car, drive them to her house on Barrington Street, and take them inside. The Figueroa brothers arrived a short time later, court papers say, to process and package the cocaine for distribution.

Police also watched a transaction in mid-January between the Figueroas and Yelder, whom court papers described as one of their distributors. Yelder and Roberto Figueroa spoke by phone to coordinate a meeting in the parking lot of apartments on Baden Street.

When Figueroa arrived, Yelder got into his car and asked how much he'd have to pay for a half-kilogram of cocaine versus a full kilo. Figueroa called his brother to discuss the price and told Yelder it would be $15,000 for a half or $30,000 for a whole kilo. Law enforcement officers listened and watched the suspects complete their transaction and leave the scene.

Court papers suggest that the operation worked to shield its main players from being caught with large quantities of drugs or money. They used other residences to receive and store the drugs and sent cash back to Puerto Rico, hidden inside packages of Skittles candy.

They also stashed some of the proceeds of their operation at a house on Malling Drive belonging to the Figueroas' mother. When police executed a search warrant there Monday they found more than $400,000 in cash.

It was one of six locations where raids were conducted Monday. Officials say that each raid revealed significant evidence of large-scale drug activity.

The raids began Monday morning after surveillance followed Poncedeleon driving from a drop house on Harwood Street to the home she shared with Roberto Figueroa on Barrington Street. They arrested her in the driveway, and in the trunk of her car was an unopened package with 2 kilos of cocaine hidden inside boxes of candy.

Inside the house, police found another kilo package of cocaine and 62 gram-sized packages of cocaine. They also recovered six assault rifles, two handguns and $230,000 in currency.

Police arrived at Carlos Figueroa's house on Burbank Street at the same time, encountering gunfire from at least one individual in the driveway. Obed Torres, 21, stepped out of the rear seat of a vehicle and allegedly shot at officers, who returned fire. Torres and the driver of the car, 18-year-old Jose Justiliano-Rodriguez, were shot by officers. Both men were arrested, along with another passenger, 19-year-old Jashua Figueroa. No officers and no bystanders were injured.

Court papers indicate that Jashua is a nephew of Carlos Figueroa. Torres is identified as a street-level dealer in the Figueroa drug operation.

Police found money and drugs, including quantities of heroin and fentanyl, during searches at other locations.

Each of the seven defendants arrested in Monday's sweep is facing four federal charges: possession with intent to distribute 5 or more kilograms of cocaine, conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine, use of a telephone to facilitate drug trafficking, and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. The charges carry a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.

Another brother, Felix Figueroa, was arrested and charged in a separate complaint with distribution of cocaine and conspiracy to distribute, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

SLAHMAN@Gannett.com

Includes reporting by staff writer Sarah Taddeo.



