Nineteen people have been hit with federal charges for allegedly running a brazen, open air drug market in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park — flooding the popular haven with fentanyl, heroin and crack cocaine.
The drugs dealt by the alleged career dealers led to two deaths last year alone — including an 18-year-old from Aspen, Colorado who had only just graduated high school and a 43-year-old homeless person who’d been living in the park, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
“In addition to those deaths, the defendants’ drug dealing has also caused numerous other overdoses that created a substantial risk of death and caused other injuries,” court papers state.
“The defendants are aware that their drugs cause overdoses, including in and around the Washington Square Park Area, but have nonetheless continued their coordinated and extensive sale of these deadly drugs.”…