Enough Fentanyl to Kill 32M People Seized in Single NYC Bust: Prosecutors
The drugs are worth a street value of $30 million, according to narcotics prosecutors
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Authorities confiscated nearly 195 pounds of fentanyl in a pair of busts that prosecutors said included one sting that netted 32 million lethal doses.
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195 pounds of fentanyl were seized in 2 NYC busts; one of the busts netted 32 million lethal doses of the drug, authorities say
Four people were arrested after the busts in August and September that also netted 75 pounds of heroin and cocaine; street value was $30M
Overdose deaths hit an all-time high in New York's five boroughs in 2016
Authorities confiscated nearly 195 pounds of fentanyl in a pair of busts that prosecutors said included one sting that netted 32 million lethal doses of the drug, an opioid 50 times stronger than heroin.
Four people were arrested after the busts in August and September that also netted 75 pounds of heroin and cocaine. Bridget G. Brennan, New York City's special narcotics prosecutor, said the busts come as overdose deaths hit an all-time high in New York's five boroughs in 2016.
"The sheer volume of fentanyl pouring into the city is shocking," she said. "It's not only killing a record number of people in New York City, but the city is used as a hub of regional distribution for a lethal substance that is taking thousands of lives throughout the Northeast."
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Yale University researchers are examining how political affiliations may influence physicians in a variety of scenarios that can arise when a new patient comes in for a physical.
The best hospital in New York is New York-Presbyterian Hospital, according to U.S. News & World Report. In addition to being ranked the best hospital in New York, this Manhattan hospital ranks as eighth best hospital in the country. New York-Presbyterian also has the third best performing cardiology and heart surgery team in the nation, based on the study.
Mount Sinai Hospital is the second best hospital in New York and also the 18th best hospital in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report. This hospital is ranked third in the nation for the specialty of geriatrics.
The third best hospital in New York is NYU Langone Medical Center. This hospital is also ranked as 19th overall in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report and landed a spot on the coveted "Honor Roll."
Strong Memorial Hospital of the University of Rochester is high performing in cardiology and is the fourth best hospital in New York, according to U.S. News & World Report. It additionally is ranked 39th in the nation for neurology.
Ranked at No. 5 on the list is St. Francis Hospital. This hospital is ranked 33rd in the nation for cardiology and heart surgery.
Also tied for sixth on the list of New York's best Hospitals is NYU Winthrop Hospital. This hospital is located in Mineola and is a good place for diabetes treatment, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Rochester General Hospital is tied for sixth on the list. This hospital is high performing in G.I. surgery, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Montefiore Medical Center is high performing in the specialty field of cancer and is ranked as the eighth best hospital in New York, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Also tied for ninth on the list of New York's best hospitals is St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse. St. Joseph's is a good choice if you need orthopedic care, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Lenox Hill hospital is high performing with cancer patients, according to U.S. News & World Report. The hospital is in Manhattan and is tied for No. 9 on the list.
Ranked at No. 11 is Buffalo General Medical Center. This Buffalo hospital is high performing in knee replacement surgery, according to U.S. News & World Report.
St. Peter's Hospital is located in Albany and comes in at No. 12 on the list of New York's best hospitals. St. Peter's ranks highly in aortic valve surgery, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Albany Medical Center is tied for No. 13 on the list. It also ranks highly in the field of orthopedics.
Also tied for 13th is North Shore University Hospital. This hospital is high performing in the field of Geriatrics, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Stony Brook University Hospital is tied for No. 13. This hospital performs well with GI surgery patients, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Long Island Jewish Medical Center is ranked 16th on the list of New York hospitals. This hospital is high performing in Nephrology, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Huntington Hospital in Huntington is the 17th best hospital in New York, according to U.S. News & World Report. Huntington hospital is a great place to go if you need knee replacement surgery, the study says.
Tied for 18th on the list is Northern Weschester Hospital. This Mount Kisco hospital has high rankings in orthopedics, according to U.S. News & World Report.
South Nassau Communities Hospital is tied for 18th on the list. Urology is a specialty of this Oceanside hospital, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Tied for 18th on the list of best New York hospitals is Staten Island University Hospital. This Staten Island hospital is high performing with diabetes and endocrinology patients, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Orange Regional Medical Center in Middletown is also tied for No. 21 on the list. Orange Regional ranks well for hip replacement surgery, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital in Binghamton is also tied for No. 21. Heart failure treatment at this hospital is performed well, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Also tied for No. 21 on the list is Glens Falls Hospital. This hospital is high performing when it comes to colon cancer surgery patients, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Another of the Mount Sinai hospital branches is tied for 21 on the list. Mount Sinai Beth Israel is located in Manhattan and specializes in heart failure treatment, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Mount Sinai St. Luke's - Roosevelt is also tied for 21, according to U.S. News & World Report. One of this hospitals high performing specialties is nephrology.
Highland Hospital is located in Rochester, New York. This hospital comes in at 21st on the list and ranks high in knee replacement surgery care, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Tied for 21 on the list is John T. Mather Memorial Hospital. This hospital is high performing in heart failure cases, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Also tied for 28th best is Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. This hospital is high performing in neurology and neurosurgery, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn is tied for 28th best hospital in New York. Maimonides ranks high in the treatment of heart failure.
Coming in at No. 30 on the list is New York Presbyterian in Queens. Colon Cancer treatment is one of the treatment specialties at this hospital, according to U.S. News & World Report.
In the first bust, on Aug. 1, 2017, police and federal agents seized more than 140 pounds of fentanyl — the most in the city's history — after watching Rogelio Alvardo-Robles and Blanca Flores-Solis receive what appeared to to be a package of cocaine from an unknown trafficker at a Walmart in Manhawkin, New Jersey. Authorities said that after the exchange, they went back to an apartment building in Queens' Kew Gardens neighborhood, where a DEA agent approached them and seized the alleged drugs.
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Hackensack University Medical Center is ranked in the top 50 hospitals in the nation for neurosurgery, orthopedics and urology, according to U.S. News & World Report. It is also ranked as the best hospital in New Jersey.
Morristown Medical Center in Morristown is ranked as the 35th best hospital in the nation for cardiology and heart surgery and ranked 49th in orthopedics, according to U.S. News & World Report. The hospital was also the only hospital in the state to be ranked “high-performing” in all procedures and conditions evaluated.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is one of two New Brunswick hospitals on the list.
Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune has done great work with abdominal aortic aneurysm repair and aortic valve surgery, according to U.S. News & World Report.
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AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City is one of very few Garden State health providers U.S. News & World Report highlighted for its work in orthopedics.
Valley Hospital of Rigewood has done great work for the heart health community between aortic valve surgery and heart failure, according to U.S. News & World Report.
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Virtua Voorhees, another South Jersey hospital, was ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report for their work with heart failure and colon cancer.
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Brick's Ocean Medical Center was one of many health providers on U.S. News & World Report's list recognized for their work with COPD, heart failure and colon cancer surgery.
Summit's Overlook Medical Center was highlighted for its work with diabetes, among other illnesses, in the U.S. News & World Report ranking.
The Somerset Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital located is recognized by U.S. News & World Report for its work with diabetes.
The Riverview Medical Center, located in Red Bank, specializes in hip and knee replacement surgeries, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainboro was highlighted for several medical fields on the list, including heart failure and knee replacements.
The Capital Health Hopewell branch, located in Pennington, also ranked No. 13 for its work with heart failure and COPD. It is also highlighted for its work in the orthopedics field.
Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton was also highlighted for COPD, heart failure and kidney issues in the ranking.
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Community Medical Center in Toms River is one of the Garden State's best hospitals for heart failure and colon cancer surgery, according to the U.S. News & World Report.
Cherry Hill's Kennedy Health System is a strong South Jersey hospital when it comes to colon cancer surgery, COPD and heart failure, according to U.S. News & World Report.
St. Joseph's Healthcare System in Paterson ranked highly for COPD, colon cancer and heart failure.
St. Peter's University Hospital is one of two New Brunswick hospitals that made the list. In addition to scoring highly for colon cancer surgery, COPD and heart failure, St. Peter's was also distinguished for lung cancer surgery.
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St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston also provided more information to the U.S. News & World Report survey than some of the other Garden State hospitals on the list. For example they were able to provide information on aortic value surgery and heart bypass surgery which many other hospitals were ineligible to.
Hunterdon Medical Center, located in Flemington, also scored highly for COPD, heart failure and colon cancer on the list.
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center is one of the Garden State's hospitals that was highlighted for COPD, colon cancer and heart failure on the list.
Knee replacement surgery was one of the categories the Elmer branch of the Inspira Medical Center was highlighted for on the list.
The Vineland branch of Inspira Medical Center also appears on the list and was also highlighted for its work with knee replacement surgery.
Holy Name Medical Center, located in Teaneck, received high marks in the study for heart failure, COPD and kidney related illnesses.
Afterward, authorities said they got a search warrant for their apartment and found 97 packages of drugs in suitcases and a purse in a bedroom; 84 of the packages were either filled with pure fentanyl or heroin laced with the powerful drug. Authorities said the trove could have had enough doses to kill 32 million people from overdoses.
Then, on Sept. 5, authorities seized another 53 pounds of fentanyl-laced heroin and another 2 pounds of uncut fentanyl during a stop near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. That bust came after detectives and DEA agents watched Edwin Guzman and Manuel Rivera-Santana pick up a duffel bag from men inside a tractor trailer and drove back into New York City.
After the stop police got a search warrant to open the locked duffel, and found 25 1-kilogram bricks with the drugs.
The four people arrested in the two busts each face criminal drug possession charges; Guzman and Rivera-Santana also face conspiracy counts.
Attorney information for the men wasn't immediately available.
Prosecutors say the drugs are worth a street value of $30 million.
