![]() ![]() La Compania, prosecutors said, used a complex system to avoid detection by the police. Diaz's lawyer, Oswaldo Gonzales, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Bratton appealed to residents of Harlem and Washington Heights, many of whom have expressed anger at the proliferation of drug activity hand-in-hand with corruption in the 30th Precinct, to view the Diaz case as a sign of more aggressive policing.Īs with other prominent Manhattan drug gangs that have been knocked down in recent years - the Jheri Curls, the Wild Cowboys and, most recently, the Young Talented Children - law-enforcement officials proclaimed a victory in the war on drugs but could not say that it would affect the price or availability of drugs on the street. Morgenthau said.Īt a news conference yesterday, Mr. In that case, the gang leader was believed to be Adam Diaz, who was based in the East New York section of Brooklyn, Mr. Morgenthau added, that a drug gang linked to Officer Michael Dowd - whose arrest in 1992 sparked a wide inquiry into police corruption - was also called La Compania and, sometimes, the Diaz Connection. Morgenthau said the possibility of a connection between La Compania and the rogue police officers in the 30th Precinct was under investigation. The officers are charged with robbing and beating up drug dealers and with demanding protection money. That area falls within the 30th Precinct, where 14 police officers were arrested earlier this year in a major corruption scandal. With 150 employees, working in two 12-hour shifts, La Compania packaged and sold both powdered and crack cocaine, and used violence and sophisticated electronics to protect its operations in six buildings near Amsterdam Avenue and 150th Street, he said. The arrests, the culmination of a 16-month undercover operation, effectively dismantled the group, Mr. Morgenthau of Manhattan said this was the second largest drug case ever brought by his office, surpassed by only the so-called French Connection-2 case last year, when 66 were charged. An additional six suspects, including Mr. ![]() In a series of raids that began on Tuesday night, the police have arrested 36 Compania members so far. Diaz had named, simply, La Compania: The Company. Officials said it brought an end to an efficient, $1 million-a-week operation that Mr. Diaz, 37, was indicted yesterday, along with 63 of his employees, on murder, conspiracy and drug charges, prosecutors said. Ten years later, they say, he had become the biggest drug dealer in upper Manhattan, and one of the biggest in New York City. Arsenio Diaz began his career in the drug business in Washington Heights as a corner lookout for a dealer after arriving from the Dominican Republic in 1984, according to law-enforcement officials.
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