Two fire department officials, ex-cop among 29 people accused of drug trafficking | Police Blotter

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — A Middletown Fire Department lieutenant whose salary is more than $125,000 per year was charged Tuesday with being a major trafficker of cocaine and narcotic pills, according to state police.

Lt. Paul Smith, 48, of Deerpark, was one of 29 people charged in “Operation Bread, White and Blues.” Among the others were a volunteer fire department chief and a former police officer.

Smith was one of three people accused of being a “major trafficker,” police said.

Police said Tuesday’s busts involved two separate conspiracies — one  primarily involving members and associates of self-professed “outlaw” motorcycle clubs who were trafficking cocaine; the other involving the sale of narcotic pills that were represented to contain oxycodone but actually contained fentanyl, a highly addictive and frequently lethal narcotic.

Smith and Robert Dunham, 46, of Middletown, are alleged to have been associated with both conspiracies, police said. Dunham is chief of the Mechanicstown Fire Department in the town of Wallkill.

The 29 suspects are primarily from Orange County. Authorities said the name “Operation Bread, White and Blues” refers to the suspects’ use of the term “bread” to mean money they obtained through the sale of narcotics, “white” to represent the cocaine that allegedly was sold, and “blues” to represent the blue pills they were said to be selling.

Most of the defendants were arrested in a series of raids and search warrant executions early Tuesday in Orange and Rockland counties. Among them was John Beltempo, 49, of New Windsor, a former police officer for the Orange County town of Wallkill and the Rockland County village of Spring Valley.

State police said they were assisted by the FBI.

The arrests were the culmination of a six-month investigation, police said. They said they recovered more than $200,000 in cash, 25 handguns, one assault rifle, multiple rifles, 10 vehicles, two motorcycles, more than 2.5 pounds of cocaine and 1,300 fentanyl pills.

In addition to being charged as a major trafficker, Smith also was charged with attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal sale of a controlled substance and conspiracy, all felonies, police said.

Smith’s salary as a fire department lieutenant is $126,866, according to SeeThroughNY.

Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano said Smith, a 19-year veteran of the fire department, has been suspended without pay. 

Dunham additionally was charged with the felonies of conspiracy and criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Garry Michel, 48, of the town of Wallkill, was charged with operating as a major trafficker and is alleged to have been a “profiteer” in the conspiracy to sell narcotic pills. He was additionally charged with conspiracy.

The other defendants facing felony charges are from Orange and Rockland counties. Five were charged with conspiracy to possess and sell cocaine, and 12 were charged with conspiracy to possess and sell pills containing narcotics.

Police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating four others believed to be involved in either or both drug trafficking operations: Charles Kavanaugh, 31, of Newburgh; Gary Caldwell, 33, of Wappinger; Justin Antona, 27, of Slate Hill; and Andrew Bendig, 23, of Middletown.

Mid-Hudson News Network and The Associated Press contributed to this report.