‘Major Supplier of Narcotics’ Pleads Guilty
A man who’s accused of being the major drug supplier to a Hudson Valley drug ring plead guilty as part of "Operation Chopper."
On Thursday, 37-year-old Miguel Galvan, of New Jersey pleaded guilty to operating as a major trafficker, a felony.
As part of his guilty plea, Galvan admitted he was the “profiteer" and planned sales of narcotics on one or more occasions with drugs that were valued at $75,000 or more.
“This defendant was a major supplier of the types of narcotics that are destroying the fabric of our society and killing our residents,” Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler stated. “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.
Galvan is the twentieth defendant to plead guilty as a result of , “Operation Chopper,” including the leader Anthony J. Spagnola of Cuddebackville.
The guilty plea follows a seven-month investigation into drug sales in Orange County called “Operation Chopper.” On April 28, 2016, The New York State Police Special Investigations Unit, in conjunction with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, made over 20 arrests and seized two kilos of cocaine.
In addition to exposing the drug ring, the “Operation Chopper” investigation also revealed crimes committed by “outlaw motorcycle clubs,” officials say.
The District Attorney’s Office will be recommending a sentence of 10 years in state prison when Galvan is sentenced in April.