13th member of 'Route Boys' drug trafficking, burglary ring pleads guilty

They were known as the "Route Boys."

And between 2020 and June 2022, federal prosecutors said members and associates of the burglary and drug-trafficking organization committed burglaries of pharmacies and convenience stores across Long Island and throughout the New York-metro area, stealing oxycodone and promethazine-codeine cough syrup, cash, tobacco products and even ATMs.

On Thursday, Eric Nunez, 26, of Brooklyn, the last of 13 defendants associated with the Route Boys named in a 22-count superseding indictment, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and the use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking activities before Judge Gary R. Brown in U.S. District Court in Central Islip.

Officials said that when sentenced, Nunez and fellow defendants Cavier Nedrick, 26, of Hauppauge, Carlos Acevedo, 26, of Brooklyn, Ramon Collado, 26, of Brooklyn, Naresh Deonarrain, 27, of Brooklyn, Charlie Maisonet, 21, of Brooklyn, Jose Rosado, 30, of Queens, Alberto Santiago, 27, of Queens, Jeffrey Vargas, 23, of Brooklyn, and the Route Boys founder Jason Liriano, 25, of Brooklyn, all face up to life in prison.

Another crew member, Jonathan Santiago, 24, of Franklin Square, faces up to 20 years in prison, while crew member Luis Cerda, 33, of Queens, faces up to 10 years in prison.

A 13th defendant, Devin Lopez-Dominquez, 22, of Brooklyn, faces five years in prison.

“With today’s guilty plea, and a dozen others previously, the criminal organization known as the 'Route Boys' has been routed for their crime spree targeting local businesses throughout the Tri-State area, distributing drugs stolen from pharmacies and using firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Breon Peace said in a statement. “This Office is working tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to protect local businesses and hold accountable those who endanger our communities with dangerous drugs and guns.”

Authorities said that in addition to the crimes committed in Nassau and Suffolk, the Route Boys committed burglaries in Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester and Rockland, as well as in New Jersey and Connecticut, stealing from convenience stores, check-cashing businesses, laundromats and restaurants, branching out to also steal free-standing ATM machines. They also stole from what officials described as "mom-and-pop" pharmacies, smashing through windows to gain entrance, then taking a range of controlled substances — including oxycodone and cough syrup.

The stolen pharmaceuticals were then sold using advertising on social media, officials said — sometimes "immediately after a night of burglaries."

The NYPD, Nassau and Suffolk police,  the Drug Enforcement Agency, district attorneys offices in Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn and Queens, as well as the Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and the FBI New York Field Office were all involved in the case, authorities said.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”