New York Attorney General Letitia James says the last three members of a multistate gun and drug trafficking ring that funneled firepower and cocaine into Washington Heights have now been sentenced, closing out a case that has been grinding through the courts for nearly two years.
Prosecutors said the crew moved assault-style weapons, untraceable "ghost" guns and cocaine into the neighborhood, and that these three defendants were the final ones to face a judge in a wider operation that had already produced dozens of guilty pleas and sizable prison terms. The sentencings cap a 20-month prosecution led by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force working with federal, state and local partners.
My office secured the sentencing of three individuals for their roles in a New York City gun and drug trafficking ring that sold assault weapons, ghost guns, and cocaine.
— Letitia James (@NewYorkStateAG) June 25, 2026
I'll continue to crack down on criminal operations that profit from violence and endanger our city.
Investigation and Seizures
The Office of the New York State Attorney General said the investigation pulled 74 firearms off the street, including nine assault-style rifles, eight assault-style pistols and four ghost guns, along with about 500 grams of cocaine and more than 2,100 rounds of ammunition. Not exactly a small stash.
The joint probe leaned on court-authorized wiretaps, covert surveillance and electronic evidence, and was run by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force alongside federal, state and local partners. Officials said the sentencings mark the end of a 20-month prosecution that followed a 10-month investigation, and that the long timeline reflects how far the network stretched beyond city limits. The Office of the New York State Attorney General laid out the details on June 25.
How the Ring Operated
Investigators say the pipeline started with firearms purchased from suppliers in New Jersey and Florida, routed through Paterson and then hauled into Manhattan for street sales. To keep things low profile, guns were tucked into blankets, guitar cases and reusable grocery bags before changing hands in Washington Heights.
Wiretaps and digital records captured the crew talking in code, prosecutors said, with guns referred to as "toys," "sneakers" or "panties," ammunition called "food" and rapid-fire conversion devices labeled "switches." According to the Attorney General’s office, the same operation was also moving cocaine through those Washington Heights distribution points, folding narcotics into the weapons business.
Sentences and Defendants
The three defendants who just learned their fate are Anthony Ortiz Vasquez, Hector Vasquez and Kiara Rodriguez, according to the Attorney General’s office.
Ortiz Vasquez received concurrent sentences that total 10 years in prison on the major counts, followed by five years of post-release supervision. Prosecutors said Hector Vasquez was handed concurrent terms that include about three and a half years on a firearm charge and three years on a drug charge. Rodriguez was sentenced to six months in jail and then probation. The Office of the New York State Attorney General published the full sentencing list on June 25.
Law Enforcement Reaction
Federal and city officials pointed to the case as an example of what coordinated task-force work can look like when it is firing on all cylinders. Representatives from the DEA and HSI highlighted the volume of assault-style rifles and ghost guns taken out of circulation, while NYPD officials said shutting down the network effectively closed what prosecutors had called an "open-air market" for deadly weapons in the neighborhood.
Investigators said that combining wiretaps, physical surveillance and electronic forensics allowed them to trace the weapons from out-of-state sources into New York City and then back up those findings in court, which helped secure the convictions.
Legal Implications
The defendants were convicted on a mix of weapons and narcotics charges. Under New York law, criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree is treated as a violent felony with tougher sentencing ranges than many other offenses. As FindLaw notes, those weapons counts fall within the state’s violent felony category, and New York’s controlled substances laws layer on higher penalties for first-degree sales spelled out in statute.
Prosecutors said that combination of firearms and narcotics counts helped drive the prison terms in this case. James said the outcome shows her office will continue going after "criminal operations that profit from violence and endanger our city," and officials added that while this chapter of the investigation has closed, it sends a clear signal to anyone moving guns and drugs across state lines into New York.
