Conviction Comes After Year-long Narcotics Wiretap Investigation into Cocaine Trafficking in and Around Chester and Goshen
15th Operating as a Major Trafficker Case by OCDA
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, Antonio Bucci, age 29, of Chester, pled guilty in Orange County Court to Operating as a Major Trafficker. Under the plea agreement announced on the record at the time that Bucci pled guilty, the People will recommend that he be sentenced to ten (10) years in prison when he is sentenced on November 13, 2024.
The New York State Police, together with the Orange County Drug Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office engaged in a year-long investigation into cocaine trafficking in and around Chester. As part of the investigation, the District Attorney’s Office applied for permission to use and was granted court-ordered eavesdropping in the case. Subsequent search warrants were executed at residences in the Village of Chester and the Bronx which resulted in the recovery of over one (1) kilogram of cocaine, approximately $36,000 in United States currency and four loaded handguns. As alleged in charging documents filed in the Court, Bucci acted as a director of a controlled substance organization that sold cocaine and such sales exceeded $75,000 over a period of less than a year. Tyler and Lester Zaborski were alleged to have participated in a conspiracy to provide cocaine to be distributed in Orange County. Baltimore was alleged to also participate in the conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was in possession of loaded firearms during the execution of the search warrants. At the plea proceedings, Bucci admitted that he acted as a director of a controlled substance organization during any period of twelve months or less, during which period such controlled substance organization did sell one or more controlled substances, to wit: cocaine, and the proceeds collected or due from such sale or sales had a total aggregate value of seventy-five thousand dollars or more.
“This conviction, which is the 15th Operating as a Major Trafficker case handled by my Office, stands as a testament to our commitment to making and keeping our community safe,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “I commend the New York State Police, the Orange County Drug Task Force, and other law enforcement agencies for working together with my Office during the course of this investigation. I will continue to prioritize and dedicate resources to long-term drug investigations to root out those individuals responsible for the trafficking of large quantities of narcotics in Orange County. We will use all of the legal resources available to us to conduct these investigations and bring these offenders to justice.”
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Janine Kovacs, who also aided in the investigation.
This criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
