NEW YORK—Dwayne ‘Dubbs’ Mitchell, an alleged drug lord on the Lower East Side, was taken down by police this week.
Mitchell, 35, was charged with multiple felonies, including large-scale drug sales, money laundering, and conspiracy, according to the indictment.
Mitchell is known for being nice to his neighbors, reported the New York Daily News.
“He'll throw block parties, give money away. He took neighborhood kids to Great Adventure. ... He uses his control in different ways,” a law enforcement source said.
“He’s the unofficial mayor of the underworld on Avenue D,” Dan Rather, the assistant district attorney handling the case, told the New York Times. “Nothing happens on that strip without Dwayne Mitchell’s knowledge or approval.”
Mitchell faces up to 20 years in jail on one count alone. He allegedly met up with his supplier to make large drug buys at a Manhattan Starbucks--more specifically, the bathroom at the location at East 32nd Street and Second Avenue.
Mitchell was arrested along with 10 others, who were allegedly involved in a large-scale crack cocaine trafficking operation on the Lower East Side. They sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crack each year, according to the indictment.
Mitchell stayed safe by delegating the street-level sales to others most of the time, making it difficult to penetrate his circle, prosecutors said. He’s also known as P.W. or P-Dubbz.
The group ran their operations from the Jacob Riis Houses for several years, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement.
According to the indictment, since early 2012, the defendants sold large quantities of crack cocaine to customers in and around the housing development between East 8th and East 13th streets bounded by Avenue D and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Drive.
The drug ring is believed to have spent the proceeds of their operation on expensive vehicles, including Mercedes automobiles, and other luxury items.
The indictment follows a 21-month investigation by the district attorney’s office and the NYPD’s Narcotics Bureau.
Investigators used a variety of techniques, including undercover operations, physical surveillance, and court-authorized electronic eavesdropping.
Jacob Riis Houses comprises 13 buildings, with 1,187 apartments housing some 2,903 residents. The neighboring Jacob Riis II has six buildings, with 577 apartments housing some 1,402 people.
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