Largest Drug Ring in Ulster County History Busted

After an 11-month long investigation, New York State Attorney General Letitia James convicted 12 defendants in a recently-busted Hudson Valley drug trafficking ring. At the center of the drug ring was 41-year-old New Paltz resident Christopher Pulichene.

Pulichene was charged with 20 individual charges. He made a plea deal in December 2022 to reduce what could have been a life sentence to 10 years in state prison, followed by five years of probation. The other 11 members of the ring were convicted on varying counts of conspiracy, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal sale and possession of controlled substances. All pleaded guilty.

Police busted the ring in June 2022 after discovering 11 kilograms of cocaine and over 20k heroin and methanphetamine pills, worth a total of $1.3 million, 39 firearms and $120,000 in cash. It was the biggest drug bust in Ulster County history. The ring had been prominent for a long time, according to Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa.

In the initial investigation, police had been on the drug pulse since 2021. The Organized Crime Task Force, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team, the Dutchess County Task Force, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office and the State Police’s Special Investigation Unit were involved.

“Going after those who fuel the gun violence and opioid epidemics is critical to keeping New Yorkers safe,” Attorney General James said. “These individuals flooded communities in the Hudson Valley with deadly narcotics, and they put New Yorkers in even greater danger by disguising their drugs as prescription medications and illegally possessing assault weapons, which are claiming lives every day.”

The ring trafficked cocaine and heroin throughout Ulster, Dutchess and Saratoga counties, with Pulichene operating partially out of New Paltz’s Wells Fargo bank on Main Street. Pulichene stored drugs in his home and in three stash houses in New Paltz, Kingston and Wappinger Falls.

The ring was wide-ranging and well-connected. The cocaine and heroin were concealed in fake Adderall pills, sourced from the West Coast, and fake Oxycodone pills, sourced from Kingston resident Alton Countryman. Cocaine and counterfeit Xanax pills were trucked to the Hudson Valley from the Gulf Coast. 

Since the drugs were packaged in Adderall and Oxycodone capsules, those who purchased the pills did not know they were ingesting cocaine and heroin. The traffickers most likely concealed their product in these pills to keep customers hooked. Buyers would get addicted to these substances and stay loyal to the ring, since authentic Adderall and Oxycodone pills would not provide the same effect. 

Attorney General James said, though, the Xanax pills were placebos that contained no psychoactives. Despite the hidden nature of the ring’s drugs, no overdoses were said to be connected to their product.

New Paltz residents and students are relieved that the problem is resolved after the jarring discovery. Many were unaware of the ring beforehand.

“As long as it’s over and done with, I feel safe,” said third-year digital media production major Rebecca Warkenthien.