NYC cocaine delivery chief convicted of three fatal overdoses

A drug dealer who ran a cocaine delivery service in Manhattan was convicted on Monday for dealing fentanyl powder that killed three people in one day.

On March 17, 2021, Billy Ortega, 36, was acting as the dispatcher for a drug service similar to DoorDash and, under federal prosecutors’ charges, sent his fellow dealer Kaylen Rainey to deliver cocaine to three different addresses in Manhattan.

Rainey, who pleaded not guilty, allegedly sold fentanyl-laced cocaine to freshman lawyer Julia Gahramani, trade director Ross Mtangi, and social worker Amanda Sher.

All three professional New Yorkers died of overdoses that day.

“First of all, is it the same as Sunday? Because it was not good lol, had to get rid of it,” Cher Ortega wrote that day.

“There are no new … Parties,” he replied.

“Hey, try not to do too much, because it’s really strong. Hey boss, you heard Lol,” Ortega added, but Cher didn’t reply.

He then made three FaceTime calls to her number, but federal prosecutors said none of them were answered.

After Gahramani bought cocaine from the same shipment that day, the number associated with the delivery service tried to call her twice that night and five times the next morning, but none of them answered.

Ortega was convicted by a Manhattan federal jury after a brief trial and faces several decades in prison after sentencing.

“Billy Ortega ran a drug delivery service that delivered fentanyl, killing three victims in one day. Worse, Ortega was fully aware that the client had previously overdosed on the lethal fentanyl Ortega added to his product, but continued to send drugs to his victims,” ​​U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.

“By the unanimous decision of the jury, Ortega will now be held responsible for the tragic and untimely death of the victims,” he added.

The third defendant, William Drayton, who on other days acted as courier for the crew, had previously pleaded guilty, and the verdict is due on 17 February.