STATEN ISLAND — A Staten Island man became the first drug dealer in the city charged with manslaughter after he sold a batch of fentanyl that lead to the fatal overdose of a 51-year-old man, prosecutors said.
Stephen "EZ" Cummings, 32, was indicted on manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges Thursday for selling fentanyl to Richard Zeifert in December 2016, prosecutors said. Zeifert later fatally overdosed on the drugs.
"The charge of manslaughter by the Staten Island District Attorney as a result of this alleged narcotics operation is historic,” NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said in a statement. "Their efforts are proving justice will not elude those engaged in the sale of this poison."
Cummings was arrested with 15 others as part of a large takedown of reputed gang members who ran a heroin, fentanyl, suboxone and cocaine distribution network around West Brighton, New Brighton and Port Richmond, District Attorney Michael McMahon announced.
"These individuals helped to fuel the drug trade and contributed to gun violence that has plagued Staten Island, their actions causing nothing except pain and devastation in the midst of our hard-working communities as we battle this opioid epidemic," McMahon said in a statement.
Jermaine "J-Rock" Duncan, Nelson "Psycho" Lugo, Raymond Lugo, Steven "Steels" Medina, Beatrice Adegbenro, Kerry "Kane" Connolly, Joyce "Mom" Fobbs, Jeremy Grant, David Nieves, Paul "PJ" Rainey, Allah Sears, Nelson Rivera, Anthony "A" White and Sean Whitted were also arrested as part of the takedown, McMahon said.
The crew was indicted for a variety of drug charges and some were hit with perjury or gun charges, court papers show. Duncan was also indicted for a non-fatal February shooting in St. George, prosecutors said.
The investigation started in July 2016 and members of the crew have been linked to 18 separate shootings around the borough, prosecutors said.
Investigators linked Cummings to the overdose as part of the DA's Overdose Response Initiative to investigate every fatal overdose in the borough like a crime scene.
Search warrants executed at six spots around the borough yielded ammunition, an imitation pistol, 392 glassine envelopes of heroin, about 110 grams of uncut heroin, cocaine and other drug-related items, prosecutors said.
The city had a 46 percent increase in fatal overdoses cause by opioid use in 2016, according to the Department of Health. Officials largely blamed the spike on the introduction of the synthetic drug fentanyl — which is 50 times more potent than heroin — to batches around the city.
Staten Island last year had its deadliest year on record with 116 people dying from overdoses, the highest per capita in the city, according to the Department of Health.
DNAinfo reported last year that the NYPD was launching a unit to charge dealers with opioid deaths in an effort to curb those numbers to scare others into not selling in face of stricter charges.
