AS OPIOID DEATHS CONTINUE TO SOAR & WITH SULLIVAN STILL LACKING KEY FEDERAL DRUG-TRAFFICKING DESIGNATION, SCHUMER BRINGS NEW YORK HIDTA AND DEA TOP BRASS TO SULLIVAN COUNTY – DOUBLING DOWN TO SECURE FED RESOURCES TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN NEW YORK’S OVERDOSE DEATH EPICENTER
Sullivan Continues To Have The Highest Overdose Death Rate In NYS, With 218 Overdose Incidents And 24 Fatalities In 2022 Alone, But Is Still The Hudson Valley’s ONLY County Not In The HIDTA Zone
Last Year, Schumer Personally Visited Monticello To Meet Drug Task Force & Called ONDCP Director Pushing For HIDTA Designation – Now He Is Doubling Down To Deliver Vital Fed Resources, Bringing NY HIDTA Boss To Meet With Sullivan County Drug Task Force
Schumer To Feds: Give Sullivan County The Critical Support It Needs To Stop Drug Traffickers, Save Lives, And Keep The Community Safe
Standing in Monticello, New York, with the Sullivan County Drug Task Force and local law enforcement officials to continue his long-standing advocacy to combat the overdose epidemic in Sullivan County. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today doubled down on his all-out push to secure Sullivan County a federal High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) designation. Despite having the highest per capita fatal drug overdose rate in New York, with 218 overdose incidents last year, including 24 incidents that were deadly, Sullivan is the only county in the Hudson Valley without that isn’t included in the New York/New Jersey HIDTA zone. The senator explained that access to these invaluable federal resources will help local law enforcement combat the opioid epidemic through increased federal support in their efforts to stop dangerous drug trafficking.
Schumer has fought tirelessly for Sullivan’s inclusion in the NY/NJ HIDTA, personally visiting Monticello to meet with the Drug Task Force last year and subsequently calling Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) last year to urge the counties approval. Now, as the county prepares its latest submission for a much-needed HIDTA designation, the senator personally brought two experts with decades of experience in fighting federal drug trafficking Chauncey Parker, Director of the NY/NJ HIDTA, and Frank Tarentino, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) New York Division, to meet with local stakeholders and provide technical assistance to bolster their application to the ONDCP. Schumer explained that he is pulling out all the stops to help obtain this critical designation that will help to curb the overdose crisis in Sullivan County and across the nation.
“Sullivan County once again has the highest opioid death rate in all of New York State, and yet, it’s the only county in the Hudson Valley not included in the federal High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. The bottom line is that we need to stop those who are selling drugs and killing people. People who are putting fentanyl in the drug supply, whether a supplier making fentanyl in China or a dealer right here in Sullivan County, there is only one reason they’re doing that - to make money at a complete indifference to human life. And here in Sullivan County we have seen far too many neighbors and loved ones lost because of these criminals who target our most vulnerable. Local law enforcement and our Drug Task Force are doing all they can to fight the opioid crisis, but, to fight this epidemic, they need federal support to stop those who are selling drugs and killing people,” said Senator Schumer. “That’s why I’m here to double down and put my full weight into getting Sullivan County its HIDTA designation and am proud to be joined by two New Yorkers with decades of experience in drug policy, Chauncey Parker, Director of our New York HIDTA and Frank Tarentino, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA New York Division. Today’s session will help Sullivan improve its application so they can finally get the federal resources needed to stop dangerous drug traffickers.”
Schumer explained that all of the data available shows that Sullivan County is disproportionately burdened by opiate use disorder (“OUD”) and overdose-related mortality per capita. Final reports of the NYSDOH reveal that Sullivan’s fatal overdose rate involving opioid painkillers, including fentanyl were 245% higher than the NYS average, with overdoses involving synthetic opioids (other than methadone) 231% higher. Sullivan County’s opioid overdose death rate for 2019 was 39.8 deaths per 100,000, while neighboring regions of the State, including Orange and Ulster Counties, reported rates of 20.7 and 17.9 per 100,000, respectively. All of these rates exceed the New York State average per capita opioid-related death rate of 16.1 per 100,000; moreover, all of the preliminary data available for more recent deaths indicates the problem is only getting worse. According preliminary reports by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), published in January 2023, in 2021, Sullivan’s opioid overdose death rate was 49.5 per 100,000 people, 108% higher than the statewide average. In 2022, Sullivan County reported 218 overdose incidents, including 24 fatalities. Additionally, high drug use and availability have contributed to Sullivan County’s consistently low health ranking as 61st of New York’s 62 counties.
The senator said Sullivan County and its major transportation routes, including Route 17, also have a well-documented history of drug-related arrests. Just four days into 2023, for example, Sullivan County conducted its first major drug bust of the year seizing eight ounces of crack cocaine and six grams of fentanyl. While Sullivan County's law enforcement agencies, including the Sullivan County District Attorney's Office and the Sullivan County Opioid Epidemic Task Force, have committed significant resources to respond to the drug trafficking problem throughout Sullivan County and the entire region, they continue to report a dire need for additional resources to combat the trafficking of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamines, making Sullivan’s inclusion in the NY/NJ HIDTA critical
Schumer has a long history of fighting for Sullivan County’s inclusion in the HIDTA zone. Just last April, the senator visited Monticello to meet with local law enforcement and public health officials and push for the County’s inclusion in the NY/NJ HIDTA. Following his personal visit, Schumer personally called Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of ONDCP, to stress that the Sullivan County Drug Task Force lacked resources to combat this intensifying issue, urging ONDCP to approve the County’s application. In July of 2022, 6 of 28 HIDTA applications were funded, but Sullivan County still did not receive the designation. Never giving up, Schumer once again personally called Dr. Gupta asking why Sullivan County wasn’t funded, and how the community could improve its application to receive this critical designation. ONDCP cited technical deficiencies within the application for meeting the criteria to qualify. Knowing that this decision didn’t match the overwhelming data and overdose rates being seen in the community, Schumer requested that the national ONDCP office work with Sullivan County and the NY/NJ HIDTA to provide technical assistance. With today’s meeting Schumer is continuing his efforts by helping Sullivan County improve its application, personally bringing Chauncey Parker, Director at NY/NJ HIDTA, and Frank Tarentino, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA New York Division as the county prepares to submit its application by the March 31st deadline.
Specifically, a HIDTA designation would directly support coordinated law enforcement strategies at all levels and would make more federal resources available to reduce the supply of illegal drugs, like fentanyl, in Sullivan County. This includes giving local law enforcement the ability to purchase key equipment, such as narcotics analyzers and other equipment to combat drug trafficking at the ground level. Schumer also said a HIDTA designation would strengthen treatment access by facilitating critical partnerships between public health agencies and law enforcement and grants can be used to purchase critical equipment like Naloxone kits for first responders to mitigate the number of overdoses and prevent deaths.
A copy of Schumer’s original letter to Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, appears below:
Dear Director Gupta,
I once again write in strong support of the request submitted by Sullivan County’s Drug Task Force to the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy to designate Sullivan County as a High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) within the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area of New York and New Jersey (NY/NJ HIDTA).
Following our conversation last year, Sullivan County continues to have the highest per capita fatal drug overdose rate in New York State. Disturbingly, according to New York’s most recent county-level opioid data, in 2021, the opioid overdose death rate in Sullivan County was 108% higher than the state average. For the year 2022 and during the first week of 2023, Sullivan County’s Drug Task Force reported 215 overdoses, 25 fatalities, and 140 incidences of Narcan being used on a call.
Sullivan County and its major transportation routes, including Route 17, also have a well-documented history of drug-related arrests. Just four days into 2023, for example, Sullivan County conducted its first major drug bust of the year seizing eight ounces of crack cocaine and six grams of fentanyl. While Sullivan County's law enforcement agencies, including the Sullivan County District Attorney's Office and the Sullivan County Opioid Epidemic Task Force, have committed significant resources to respond to the drug trafficking problem throughout Sullivan County and the entire region, they continue to report a dire need for additional resources to combat the trafficking of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamines, making Sullivan’s inclusion in the NY/NJ HIDTA critical.
As I stressed during our last conversation, Sullivan is the only county in the entire Hudson Valley region without a HIDTA designation. Last year, I visited Monticello, New York, to personally meet with the dedicated members of Sullivan County’s Drug Task Force. I can confidently say that their initiatives would be greatly aided by this designation as a HIDTA county, unlocking critical access to real-time data, guiding operations, and planning for resource deployment to provide immediate assistance during critical incidents of drug-related activity and violence.
For these reasons and many more, I continue to strongly support Sullivan County’s inclusion in the NY/NJ HIDTA. Not only will this greatly benefit federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies through intelligence sharing and increased coordination, but it will also save lives in a county that has seen far too many loved ones lost to opioids and addiction.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this important request.
Sincerely,
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