Wesley “West” Gagne, 27, of 1524 Jarvis Avenue, was arrested Thursday, July 3, for allegedly running a cocaine-delivery service out of his home.
After a yearlong undercover investigation, which included police infiltration, members of the Yonkers Narcotics Unit charged a dozen suspected accomplices, some for possession, some for sale and/or intent to sell.
Of those arrested was Gagne’s longtime friend, Pat Graham, 26, of 16 Agawam South in Yonkers, and Joseph Rodriguez, 25, who resides in Gagne’s Waterbury Estates home.
Police said Graham specialized in illegal prescription pill distribution and largely supplied Gagne’s operation.
Authorities said the business distributed to Yonkers, Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey and the Bronx, earning more than $100,000 in profits each year.
“It’s nice money, but it’s the wrong business,” Waterbury-LaSalle Community Association vice president Andrew Chirico said.
Various searches led police to discover $99,000 in cash from a Yonkers safety deposit box that Gagne used, 10 grams of cocaine in Rodriguez’s car and thousands of dollars of fireworks from Graham’s home.
Police also found a loaded handgun, sawed-off shotgun and 200 grams of cocaine, worth $12,000, at the Jarvis Avenue house during a July 3 search.
“I know very, very little about drugs,” Chirico commented. “And I don’t want to see them in any neighborhood, especially this one.”
Expanding the business to include his parents, Gagne’s mom, Margaret Gagne, 57, allegedly took telephone orders for the drugs while her husband, 64-year-old Clement Gagne supposedly made deliveries.
Also arrested were Yonkers residents: Lenward Burwell, 24, of 160 Voss Avenue; James Hill, 23, of 96 Kimball Avenue; Osvaldo Rivera, 25, of 288 Jessamine Avenue; Blackhawk SanCarlos, 28, of 77 Garfield Street; Eric Lauda, 23, of 83 Gordon Street and Amanda Previdi, 19, of Seminary Avenue, as well as Matthew Ilchert, 27, of 133 Rhodes Street in New Rochelle.
Gagne and Graham have previous arrest records and now face felony charges.
