NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Bronx man accused of leading a “violent” drug ring and hiring a hitman to murder a rival dealer has been found guilty, federal prosecutors say.
A jury found Sydney Scales, 42, guilty on charges including murder-for-hire conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, a firearms offense and crack cocaine distribution on Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said Friday.
Prosecutors said Scales led a ring that distributed crack cocaine, powder cocaine, heroin, fentanyl in marijuana in the Bronx and in other places between 2016 and 2019.
In June 2017, Scales hired a hitman and asked him to murder “at least one rival drug dealer,” prosecutors said.
Scales also orchestrated a shooting that targeted rival dealers as they stood in front of a convenience store near the West Farms subway station entrance in the Bronx, according to prosecutors.
“Sydney Scales was the leader of a violent drug operation that peddled drugs and brought guns and violence to our streets,” U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement.
“Scales caused at least one drug-related shooting, and he hired a hitman in an attempt to murder rival drug dealers who were having a barbecue in front of a neighborhood barbershop,” Strauss added.
Scales’ attorney information wasn’t immediately available Friday.