© Liz Dufour/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
(New York, New York) – Ettore Mazzei, 61, was once recognized as a neighborhood hero for his work as a chef, but prosecutors say he was living a double life as a drug king-pin right under everybody’s noses. It’s reported, Mazzei was very active within Staten Islands’ anti-drug initiatives where he would find people with addiction issues seeking help, and secretly provide them with drugs. Officers caught up to Mazzei while he was allegedly on a drug run making deliveries with his girlfriend. Undercover cops say a team of 20 under Mazzei’s direction sold them 461 grams of cocaine, 140 suboxone strips and 20 grams of heroin all over the course of 14 months.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said in a statement “The defendants’ alleged actions plagued neighborhoods in Staten Island by littering the streets with illegal narcotics that led to overdose deaths and endangered countless more New Yorkers”. The Richmond County DA’s Office’s Overdose Response Initiative says Mazzei’s alleged actions have also been linked to multiple overdose deaths. In his arraignment earlier this week, he was ordered a $3 million cash bail and a $5 million bond.
