Authorities say Robert Flock, the owner of Fresh Start Auto Sales in Richmond Hill, was custom fitting cars with concealed traps to hide heroin, facilitating the sale and distribution of the drug throughout Queens and Brooklyn. Flock, has been named the alleged ringleader of the group named in the criminal complaint. Robert Stridiron/The Forum Newsgroup
The US Attorney’s Office unsealed a 62-page complaint on Tuesday afternoon naming 9 defendants in the operation of a heroin ring operating out of two locations in Queens and one in Brooklyn.
The document identifies FBI Special Agent Michael P Heffernan, as leading “Operation Birds of a Feather,” an undercover investigation within the time period of April 1, 2012 and August 26, 2013, into a heroin distribution conspiracy implemented by the defendants, collectively known as the Flock Organization.
The investigation was an offshoot of “Operation County Connection,” a prior investigation conducted by the FBI and the NYPD into a separate heroin trafficking operation, conducted by the Perez Organization also operating in Queens, Brooklyn and Long Island.
According to information obtained by a confidential informant, one of the defendants arrested as a result of that investigation, Rafael Pichardo, was also dealing with the Flock Organization.
He had been using a white Mitsubishi Gallant to conceal, store and transport heroin. Investigators discovered that a built-in trap inside the vehicle had been installed by Robert Flock, owner of Fresh Start Auto Sales and Tire Repair on Atlantic Avenue and 102nd Street in Richmond Hill.
Crews of agents and police descended upon the location in the early morning hours on Tuesday to conduct a full search and seizure at the location. Later in the day, Robert Galleion, who lives nearby and was on his way to Taco Bell saw police activity around the closed shop and shook his head. “I can’t believe this was going on right here,” the retired short order cook said. “Guys are outside when you pass. You wave and say hello. But you never think this kind of thing.”
The office of Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, will oversee another case involving the large scale sale and distribution of heroin in Queens. File Photo
Investigators also learned that Flock was selling 100-gram bags of heroin out of his business and that he sold vehicles containing traps to customers for the purpose of transporting narcotics and drug proceeds. Information about another defendant, Paul Langston, who sold firearms at the tire shop that had been trafficked up to New York from Florida, was also provided by the informant.
A total of 16 instances of the purchase of narcotics since May 2012 were documented as a result of the investigation. Members of the Flock group sold a confidential operative approximately 800 grams of heroin, 150 grams of cocaine and 43 grams of cocaine base.
In addition to the drug purchases, the same operative purchased two pistols and hollow point ammunition for about $2,500, from two defendants.
Wiretaps authorized on the premises at 102-15 Atlantic Avenue from mid-December 2012 through January 18, 2013 and for an additional period of authorization from February to March, provided investigators with solid evidence against the crew.
According to the affidavit, Heffernan said that Operation Birds of a Feather found the Flock Organization to be responsible for the sale and distribution of more than 25 kilograms of heroin throughout Queens, Brooklyn, Nassau and Suffolk with a street value of $1.5 million.
Robert Flock, whom authorities have identified as the head of the organization, has a prior arrest record dating back to 1992 including arrests for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, Enterprise Corruption, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon.
By Patricia Adams
