Two Queens men charged with selling pot from converted school bus just blocks away from Rockaway schools, DA Katz says
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Two men have been busted for converting a school bus into an illegal marijuana dispensary stationed several blocks from two Queens schools, District Attorney Melinda Katz said Thursday.
Omar Herrera, 32, and David Reilly, 47, both of whom live in Rockaway Park, were arrested Wednesday and charged with the illegal sale and possession of cannabis. They were issued desk appearance tickets and released.
They operated their business, Beach Boyz Budz, from a converted school bus parked at Beach Channel Drive and Beach 108th St., near the Rockaway Ferry Dock, a move designed to attract ferry travelers, Katz said.
Two schools, Scholars’ Academy and Waterside Children’s Studio School, are each less than a half-mile away.
The arrests come as the city continues to grapple with the sale of tainted cannabis products being sold from unlicensed vendors. A recent industry report, based on purchases from 20 dispensaries and smoke shops, found prohibited levels of E. coli, salmonella, nickel and lead.
Right now, legal sales are limited to 38 medical dispensaries, with 36 more licensed retail dispensaries currently in the process of opening up shop.
“Stores, trucks and other outlets currently selling recreational marijuana are doing so illegally,” Katz said in a statement. “What consumers are buying from these sellers is not regulated and most certainly has not been tested by the state. Private testing has found that the cannabis products sold through these illegal operations often contain harmful contaminants.
And the illegal dealers are undercutting the legal sellers before they are even able to get started, translating into lost tax revenue and lost funding for essential public services.”
The investigation, which also included the city sheriff’s office, included undercover buys of more than 2 pounds of cannabis plants, 40 cannabis cigarettes, cigars and edible gummy candies, Katz said.
On Wednesday, during a search warrant execution, investigators recovered, among other items, more than 250 cannabis cigarettes and cigars and 49 bags of edibles, Katz said.
