Suffolk County District Attorney's Office > Press Office > Press Releases > Press Releases 2013 > 20+ Defendants Charged after Months-Long Wiretap Investigation
20+ Defendants Charged after Months-Long Wiretap Investigation

BOSTON, Nov. 15, 2013—More than 20 men and women were arrested in Boston and other municipalities last night and this morning after a lengthy wiretap investigation targeting a sophisticated drug trafficking network, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and Acting Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said today.

Warrant sweeps based on evidence developed by the DA’s Narcotics Unit and Boston Police Special Investigations Unit began last night and continued today in Dorchester, Roxbury, Beacon Hill, and Mattapan – but also in Abington, Attleboro, Duxbury, Quincy, and Salem, officials said.

The investigation – dubbed “Operation Limehouse” after the opium-soaked section of London described by Charles Dickens, Sax Rohmer, and others – led to 21 arrests, with additional arrests possible. Those taken into custody today included top-level importers, who allegedly brought heroin, cocaine, and marijuana into Massachusetts, lower-level distributors, and participants at levels in between.  All were arraigned in the Boston Municipal Court today and charged with conspiracy to violate the state’s drug laws; many were additionally charged with drug distribution and/or possession offenses based on the circumstances of their arrests. They are:

Top Level – Importers:

  1. “ALEX FLORES,” residence unknown, held without bail until his identity can be confirmed;
  2. “JOSE MORALES” of Roxbury, held without bail until his identity can be confirmed;
  3. RAFAEL “CHI-CHI” PEGUERO (D.O.B. 1/6/70) of Dorchester, held on $2 million cash bail;

Tier 1:

  1. GEORGE “CHOPS” CHATMAN (D.O.B. 11/17/53) of Attleboro, held on $1 million cash bail;
  2. WILLIAM “BILLY” HARRIS (D.O.B. 9/11/53) of Mattapan, held on $300,000 cash bail and bail revoked on pending drug distribution case;
  3. EDISON JOHNSON (D.O.B. 12/6/77) of Dorchester, held on $50,000 cash bail;
  4. DAVID “DE-BO” NUNES (D.O.B. 4/10/67) of Roxbury, held on $300,000 cash bail;
  5. JERONE “RONI” PERRY (D.O.B. 12/22/72) of Abington, held on $80,000 cash bail;
  6. ANTHONY “EVIL” TAYLOR (D.O.B. 10/14/63) of Mattapan, held on $150,000 cash bail;

Tier 2:

  1. DENEICE BREWSTER (D.O.B. 11/18/58) of Beacon Hill, held on $150,000 cash bail;
  2. DANIEL DAUGHTERY (D.O.B. 9/18/69) of Dorchester, held on $150,000 cash bail;
  3. WILLIAM “RUFF” RUFFIN (D.O.B. 8/28/77) of Dorchester, held on $100,000 cash bail;
  4. ANTHONY “ANT” WALLACE (D.O.B. 12/11/86) of Roxbury, held on $10,000 cash bail;

Tier 3:

  1. ROOSEVELT HILL (D.O.B. 2/15/61) of Salem, held on $2,000 cash bail;
  2. CHRISTOPHER “WHITE BOY BOBBY” McDONALD (D.O.B. 9/22/67) of Roxbury, held on $500,000 cash bail;
  3. JAMAL WYNN (D.O.B. 7/5/72) of Mattapan, released on his own recognizance but had bail revoked on pending drug distribution case;

Tier 4:

  1. ANTWAN ANDREWS (D.O.B. 3/10/87) of Roxbury, released on his own recognizance but bail revoked in pending Middlesex Superior Court case;
  2. FRANK HUGAL (D.O.B. 6/1/66) of Dorchester, held on $50,000 cash bail;
  3. ENRICO “RICO” LAING (D.O.B. 2/24/65) of Roxbury, held on $25,000 cash bail;
  4. KELLY NEWALL (D.O.B. 3/21/91) of Quincy, released on her own recognizance; and
  5. CHARLES “GENE” DOWDY (D.O.B. 8/3/51) of Mattapan, released on his own recognizance.

“The defendants charged in this case, by and large, aren’t young men or fresh to the game,” Conley said. “They’re in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and even older.  They had a business plan and a mission statement – to make as much money as possible by selling narcotics through carefully-selected runners and distributors. This was a highly organized, highly disciplined group that worked with major suppliers.  It had tentacles that reached from the heart of Boston to as far north as Salem and as far south as Attleboro.”

Investigators seized more than two kilograms of heroin, more than $140,000 in cash, three handguns, ammunition, and other contraband at 22 separate locations. Images of the seized evidence can be viewed at http://bpdnews.com/news/2013/11/15/media-availability. The arrests and seizures came after more than a year of investigation that began with traditional controlled buys and surveillance but escalated to judicially-approved phone intercepts this summer after investigators exhausted all other avenues for reaching the top-level suppliers.

Flores and Morales are expected to return to court on Monday, by which time investigators hope to determine their true identities. The others will return to court on various dates throughout December.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.