Five people were charged, including former New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) officer John Cicero, with narcotics distribution offenses in and around Westchester County and New York City.
Three of the defendants, Marco Caso, Eric Baker, and Matthew Matteo, a/k/a “Matthew Mateo,” were arrested yesterday and presented in White Plains federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith. CICERO has not been arrested and remains at large. The fifth defendant, Irma Materasso, is in state custody on other charges and will be transferred to federal custody at a later date. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Kenneth M. Karas.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, these defendants trafficked large quantities of methamphetamine and GBL – a liquid date-rape drug – throughout Westchester and New York City. Methamphetamine devastates communities and GBL spreads danger all over the Southern District of New York, which is why the defendants face serious federal charges.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “As a former police officer, sworn to protect others, Mr. Cicero has seen firsthand the harm these drugs do to our society which makes the charges announced today even more egregious. He now faces the same grim reality criminals he once locked up did – a long prison sentence, this time in a federal jail cell.”
Westchester County Police Commissioner Thomas Gleason said: “We are pleased that our partnership with the FBI and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies continues to support our efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs into Westchester County.”
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed yesterday in White Plains federal court:
From at least 2017 through February 2020, Caso, Cicero, Materasso, Baker, and Matteo, a/k/a “Matthew Mateo,” conspired to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine. In addition, from at least 2017 through February 2020, Caso, Cicero, Materasso, and Matteo, a/k/a “Matthew Mateo,” conspired to distribute gamma-butyrolactone (known as “GBL”), which is a liquid date-rape drug.
