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Dozens of Bronx Gang Members Charged in Murder, Drug Bust, Feds Say

By Ben Fractenberg | March 15, 2017 4:49pm | Updated on March 16, 2017 10:00am
 Nearly 50 Bronx gang members were arrested Wednesday and charged with selling heroin, cocaine and marijuana.
Nearly 50 Bronx gang members were arrested Wednesday and charged with selling heroin, cocaine and marijuana.
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THE BRONX — Dozens of Bronx gang members were arrested Wednesday for killing a man and running a major drug ring for seven years, federal prosecutors said.

Nearly 50 crew members — with street names including “Chuck Dollarz,” “Willie Reed” and “All In” — were charged with selling heroin, cocaine and marijuana from 2010 through 2017, according to a federal indictment.

Several gang members were walked out of the 49th Precinct in Morris Park Wednesday, a WNBC report showed. 

Four of the members — James Felton, James “Chunky” Diaz, Andre Felton and Ezekiel Burley — were also charged with murdering Jose “Benny White” Morales on East 175th Street and Weeks Avenue last December.

The bust also comes two days after Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray announced an initiative to reduce opioid overdose deaths by 35 percent during the next five years.

The program will distribute 100,000 naloxone kits to treat overdoses and increased funds for law enforcement to target dealers in “high-risk neighborhoods.” 

The arrests were also the first major bust since Preet Bharara was fired as the head of the Southern District of New York

The members were expected to be arraigned in Manhattan Federal Court Wednesday afternoon. 

There was no immediate information available on their lawyers.