The kingpin in a massive ring that sold at least 13 illegal guns and stole scores of motorcycles off city streets is going to prison for at least 7 1/2 years.
Tiwane Paul, 31, had asked for less time, arguing through his lawyer that he’d had a tough childhood in his native Dominica.
But prosecutor Diana Florence countered that Paul “was a very, very smart and cunning person,” and that hours of wiretaps demonstrated, “Mr. Paul was able to negotiate with people who were very difficult and, frankly, very scary.”
Paul, who faces certain post-prison deportation back to his Caribbean homeland, ran his criminal enterprise with Selwyn Mills, 22, who has pleaded guilty and is serving a 5-to-9 year prison sentence.
Of the 33 people originally arrested in Paul’s gang, one has been dismissed, 11 are awaiting trial, and the remainder have pleaded guilty.
The case made headlines last July, when prosecutors announced the cycle-snatchers had been caught in the act of reselling more than 50 high-end bikes, including a Dukati Monster and a Kawasaki Ninja.
The case was back in the news just two months later, when seven of the stolen bikes were re-stolen — from an NYPD lot in the Bronx. The twice-stolen bikes have since been recovered.