Alleged Hudson Valley 'Drug Kingpin' Charged

If convicted a Hudson Valley man could face life in prison for allegedly acting as the "director" of a large heroin organization in the region.

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Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced on Wednesday that 30-year-old Richard McInturff of Port Jervis was arraigned on an indictment charging him with the crimes of operating as a major drug trafficker, three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of drug paraphernalia.

On March 18, members of the Port Jervis City Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Group executed a search warrant issued by the Port Jervis City Court at McInturff’s residence. The search warrant, which was drafted with the aid of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, was part of an investigation into the illicit sales of the narcotic drug heroin in the City of Port Jervis, police say.

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After a search of the residence, detectives allegedly recovered 27 ounces of suspected heroin packaged for sale (7,658 packets), $2,000 and a digital scale.

It is alleged that McInturff acted as the “director” of a “controlled substance organization,” which between March 18, 2020, and March 18, 2021, sold controlled substances, including heroin and fentanyl, and that the sales from those controlled substances were in excess of $75,000 in that one-year period. It's also alleged that McInturff directed the actions of others involved in the controlled substance organization.

In 2009, New York enacted the crime of Operating as a Major Trafficker to more severely penalize what the lawmakers referred to at the time as “drug kingpins.” McInturff faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
Bail was set in the amount of one million dollars cash, or two million dollars secured bond, or three-and-one-half million-dollar partially secured bond.

“While those who are addicted to drugs need and deserve our compassion and assistance, those who profit from selling these frequently lethal substances deserve punishment, particularly those who sell large quantities for profit,” Hoovler said. “This is a very significant seizure of narcotics, one of the largest in the history of Port Jervis and underscores the magnitude of the opioid epidemic.”

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