Nearly 20 fentanyl and crack dealers busted in Washington Square Park ring

Federal authorities dismantled an open-air drug market that operated day and night for years in and around Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, arresting a network of dogged narcotics dealers at the root of a rash of fatal overdoses, officials said.

Even repeated arrests were not enough to stop the crew from dealing its deadly poison, prosecutors said.

Over the past five years, cops have arrested participants more than 80 times for various drug-related offenses, only to see them back in action pushing fentanyl and heroin and dealing crack cocaine in the shadow of the park’s iconic arch.

“Through their coordinated and extensive drug trafficking, the defendants have maintained an open-air drug market in the Washington Square Park area, where drug addicts and users can secure narcotics at any time, year-round,” prosecutors said in an indictment.

“This activity has victimized individuals as diverse as New York City itself.”

Arrested were nearly 20 suspected drug dealers, with aliases such as “Heavy,” “Hollywood,” “Black Rob,” “Scarface,” “Nazzi” and “Butter.” Some of the dealers were associated with the violent Bloods gang, prosecutors said.

Their victims included an 18-year-old who died, just two days after graduating from high school in Aspen, Colo., and arriving in Manhattan for a prestigious theater internship.

“Got a some from another trusted guy twas just a lil more expensive,” the dealer explained in a text to the visiting customers. “If you end up not liking it I can get u from the regular mans asap but tbh (to be honest] this s—t gas.”

”Perfect. I trust you,” the Colorado teen responded.

A day later, on June 24, 2024, the victim was found dead in the bedroom of the Manhattan apartment where he was staying, officials said. The cause of death, according to authorities, was a fentanyl overdose.

Though many of the dealers were from different gangs, authorities said they consolidated their operation to maximize profits, even sharing supply sources,  according to court documents.

Residents living near the famed park have long complained about open drug dealing and drug use in the park and on the surrounding streets.

https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/10/30/fentanyl-crack-dealers-busted-washington-square-park-ring/