Authorities have harshed the alleged buzz of 11 men accused of wholesaling marijuana out of a Harlem furniture store — including one unhappy-looking guy who was arrested in a cereal-parodying t-shirt reading “WEED — Breakfast of Champions.”
Alleged ringleader Frank McTaggart, 44, was ordered held without bail today after lead prosecutor Jordan Arnold argued that for more than a year McTaggart’s crew “took over” the W. 132 St. block surrounding Rally Furniture.
The furniture store was just a front, prosecutors said — so much so that the dusty chairs and tables inside only moved when crew members dragged them out onto the sidewalk for drug-fueled, all-night block parties.
The 11 were hit with conspiracy and pot sale charges, among them David Dawson, 29, who’d been hauled to court in a Wheaties-spoofing t-shirt, which featured a drawing of a lit joint and the words “Generally High” where the General Mills logo should have been.
The arrests were the work of prosecutors with the Manhattan DA’s Violent Crininal Enterprises Unit and NYPD narcotics detectives.
“Another city block is being reclaimed from drug dealers, thanks in large part to local residents who came forward to report suspicious activity,” DA Cyrus Vance said, touting his office’s participation in more than 2,000 community events since he took office in Jan. 2010.