DA: Vernon, N.J., man pleads guilty to acting as a 'Drug Kingpin'

GOSHEN — Miguel Galvan, 37, of Vernon, N.J., pled guilty Jan. 26 to the Class A Felony of Operating as a Major Trafficker, otherwise known as the "Drug Kingpin Statute'
At the time Galvan pleaded guilty before Orange County Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown, he admitted that he was a “profiteer” in that he arranged or planned sales of narcotics so as to obtain profits or expects profits and that he possessed, on one or more occasions within six months or less, a narcotic drug with the intent to sell it and such narcotic drug had an aggregate value of $75,000 or more.
The District Attorney’s Office will be recommending a sentence of ten years in state prison when Galvan is sentenced on April 4.
More than 20 arrested last AprilOn April 28, 2016, members of the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit, in conjunction with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Sussex County, N.J, Prosecutor’s Office, executed multiple search warrants and made more than 20 arrests throughout Orange County, surrounding counties in New York, and Sussex County, as a result of a seven-month-long narcotics investigation.
Law enforcement officials recovered more than two kilograms of cocaine, most of which they seized in Sussex County.
'Operation Chopper'In addition to uncovering crimes related to narcotics distribution, the “Operation Chopper” investigation also revealed crimes committed by “outlaw motorcycle clubs.”
Galvan is the twentieth defendant to plead guilty as a result of “Operation Chopper” and the third defendant to plea to the Class A Felony of Operation as a Major Trafficker.
The crime, which was passed by the New York State in 2009, is referred to as the “Drug Kingpin Statute” and is reserved for high level drug dealers.
“This defendant was a major supplier of the types of narcotics that are destroying the fabric of our society and killing our residents,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “It is only through coordinated law enforcement actions such as 'Operation Chopper' that law enforcement is able to pursue those higher level drug dealers and craftier offenders who attempt to insulate themselves from criminal liability by dealing drugs through intermediaries.