Drug Shocker: Rockland County Highway Dept foreman accused of using job as cover to sell coke

DA’S PRESS RELEASE

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe on Monday announced the arrest of Bernard Hughes III, 56 of 4 Trachtenberg Court, West Nyack, New York on one count of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class “D” felony.

Hughes, a veteran foreman at the Rockland County Highway Department, is accused of trafficking powder and crack cocaine in several local towns and villages during work hours. On numerous occasions over the past 12 months, undercover members of the Rockland County Drug Task Force observed the defendant using a county vehicle to transport and sell several grams of cocaine.

The arrest of Hughes stems from an August 9, 2016 federal indictment charging 11 individuals with trafficking in cocaine and crack cocaine in and around Rockland County. It is alleged that Hughes was a low-level dealer in the drug trafficking organization led by Jemel Goode of Congers, New York.

According to the charges, Hughes conspired with a mid-level drug dealer to transport and sell cocaine in Rockland County. Other amounts of cocaine were purchased by defendant for his own personal use.

Said Zugibe, “In the course of that federal investigation, it was discovered that Hughes was involved with Goode’s cocaine network.”

Hughes was arraigned in the Village of West Haverstraw Justice Court by the Honorable Kevin Russo. He was released on his own recognizance pending a future court date.

He faces up to seven years in state prison if convicted.