Father and son among 8 accused in heroin network from Brooklyn to Suffolk, DA says

Three of the eight people arrested in a drug ring with a reach from Brooklyn deep into Suffolk County have been charged with "operating as a major drug trafficker" in indictments made public Monday by Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota.

One of the three facing that top count, Richard Bruno Jr. 26, of Holbrook, was charged along with his father, Richard Bruno Sr., 59, of Farmingville, who faces a lesser count.

"This is, quite frankly, the largest seizure in recent memory of heroin, which was being sold and distributed in Suffolk County," Spota said at a news conference Monday in Hauppauge. "It's tragic, here is the father, who is an adviser to his son . . . storing all this heroin in his house."

The younger Bruno, of 1410 Spruce Dr., is charged with several counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance as well as second-degree conspiracy and operating as a major drug trafficker, records from the district attorney's office show.

He was being held with bail set at $2 million bond or $1.5 million cash. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison, Spota said.

Authorities said the son and "his crew of resellers" dealt heroin and cocaine in Westhampton, Selden, Centereach, Stony Brook and the Town of Babylon.

The father stored much of the heroin in the attic of his home at 66 Cedar Oaks Ave. in Farmingville, Spota said. He has been charged with several counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, as well as second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia, and faces 8 to 20 years in prison if convicted, Spota said.

But the father's attorney, Bob Macedonio of Central Islip, said his client was unaware of the drug-dealing operation -- and had nothing to do with the drugs being stored in his home.

"Everything was found in the attic, nothing in the general part of the house," Macedonio said, asserting that the only access to the attic was through an opening in the son's bedroom.

Macedonio said his client is a general contractor and a hardworking man who was "completely unaware" his son was dealing drugs -- or was storing them in the attic of his home.

"If any kid should be smacked in the head, it's this kid," Macedonio said."The father had no idea," Macedonio said. "Did he know the kid had a drug problem? Absolutely. . . . But, did he know the kid was a major drug dealer using his home as a base of operation? Absolutely not."

Officials said that during the arrests investigators also seized 19,000 glassine envelopes of heroin packaged for street sale, as well as assault-style semi-automatic weapons and a defaced handgun.

Guns and heroin packaged for street sales were recovered, in addition to about $500,000 in cash, Spota said.

Also charged as major drug traffickers are Bryan Koppelman, 32, of 160 Dare Rd., Selden, and Jonathan Rincon, 26, of 2246 Ocean Ave., Brooklyn. Like Bruno Jr., Koppelman and Rincon face indictments charging criminal sale, criminal possession and conspiracy. Koppelman also is charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon -- and with first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child.

Also charged in the case are Michael Saladino, 26, of 1410 Spruce Dr., Holbrook; Erick Castor, 30, of 56 Pickwick Lane, North Babylon; Joseph McQuade, 28, of 77 Fairview Ave., Holtsville; and Rodney Montalvo, 39, whose address is listed as the Clarion Hotel on Veterans Memorial Highway in Ronkonkoma.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com,laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa,

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.