What to Know
- A former NYPD cop -- who remains at large -- and four others have been charged with narcotics distribution in and around Westchester County and New York City, prosecutors say
- The group allegedly conspired to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine
- In addition, four of the accused conspired to distribute gamma-butyrolactone -- known as “GBL” -- which is a liquid date-rape drug, prosecutors say
A former NYPD cop -- who remains at large -- and four others have been charged with narcotics distribution in and around Westchester County and New York City, prosecutors say.
Three of the defendants, Marco Caso, Eric Baker and Mathew Matteo were arrested Tuesday and presented in White Plains federal court. Former NYPD officer John Cicero has not been arrested and remains at large, according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey S. Berman.
Meanwhile, Irma Materasso is in state custody on other charges and will be transferred to federal custody at a later date.
According to indictment, from at least 2017 through February 2020, Caso, Cicero, Materasso, Baker and Matteo conspired to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine. In addition, from at least 2017 through February 2020, Caso, Cicero, Materasso and Matteo allegedy conspired to distribute gamma-butyrolactone -- known as “GBL” -- which is a liquid date-rape drug.
"Methamphetamine devastates communities and GBL spreads danger all over the Southern District of New York, which is why the defendants face serious federal charges,” Berman said.
Caso, 48, of New York, New York, Cicero, 38, of Bronxville, New York, Materasso, 36, of New Rochelle, Baker, 37, of Sommerset, New Jersey, and Matteo, 22, of the Bronx, New York, were each charged with conspiring to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to prosecutors. Caso, Cicero, Materasso, and Matteo are also charged with conspiring to distribute GBL, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
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"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," FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said in a statement.
Attorney information for the accused was not immediately known.
