Federal authorities have dismantled a long-running narcotics network operating inside Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, arresting 19 individuals connected to at least 65 overdoses — two of them fatal — in an open-air drug market that flourished for nearly five years, officials announced Thursday, as reported by The New York Post.
According to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court, the defendants are accused of distributing fentanyl, heroin, and crack cocaine in and around the park.
Investigators say the organization, known as the “WSP Enterprise,” was made up of two closely linked groups of dealers — one associated with the Mac Ballers subset of the Bloods gang, and another run by longtime dealer John Livigni.
The defendants allegedly operated around the clock, maintaining their own territories within the park and using distinct colored packaging to identify their products. Prosecutors said the network distributed millions of doses of narcotics throughout Greenwich Village since 2020.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said the arrests represent a significant step toward reclaiming one of the city’s most recognizable public spaces. “New York families want us to use all available resources to get deadly fentanyl off our streets,” Clayton said.
“Together with the NYPD and the DEA, our office made a commitment to find and bring to justice those who target our children and our parks.”
The drug ring’s activities were linked to multiple overdoses, including the deaths of an 18-year-old from Colorado who had recently arrived in New York for a summer internship and a 43-year-old homeless man found near the park last year.
Both victims reportedly died after consuming drugs purchased from the group.
Among those charged is Maliek “Scarface” Lugg, a suspected Bloods member, who prosecutors said distributed drugs in purple bags — the same packaging tied to the Colorado teen’s fatal overdose.
Lugg has a criminal history spanning over two decades, including multiple drug-related arrests and armed robberies. Livigni, also charged, has been arrested more than 50 times since the 1990s.
Authorities said the NYPD’s 6th Precinct had previously arrested many of the defendants more than 80 times combined under state laws, but most were released and returned to dealing.
The ongoing cycle of arrest and release prompted federal agencies to take over the case earlier this year, leading to Thursday’s indictments.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch commended the joint effort, saying, “These drug traffickers allegedly flooded Washington Square Park with dangerous narcotics that claimed two lives and harmed countless more people. They turned this iconic park into an open-air drug market.”
Fourteen suspects were arrested Wednesday night and Thursday morning, while others were already in custody on separate charges. Each defendant faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
Mayor Eric Adams previously announced a community coalition with the NYPD aimed at addressing open drug use and homelessness in the area.
Local leaders welcomed the arrests. “Arresting drug dealers in the park? That’s fine with me,” said Greenwich Village Democratic District Leader Arthur Schwartz. “There are constant complaints about drug dealing and users leaving the park.”
The Washington Square Park Conservancy also praised the operation, saying the park’s “thousands of visitors each day deserve a vibrant greenspace that is safe.”
