NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A 41-year-old man who led a drug ring that led to the 2018 overdose death of Colin Kroll, the co-founder of the popular video app Vine, was sentenced to 22 years in prison, the Department of Justice announced on Friday.
Ariel Tavarez was the leader of a New York City drug delivery service called Mike's Candyshop that sold heroin and cocaine that was sometimes laced with fentanyl.
Customers placed orders via text message to a centralized phone number, then an operator — usually Tavarez — would arrange for a courier to deliver the drugs.
Kroll, who was a customer of the business, overdosed on a combination of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl on Dec. 16, 2018 after purchasing drugs from Mike's Candyshop two days earlier.
"Ariel Tavarez was the leader of Mike's Candyshop, an illegal on-demand drug delivery service that served deadly narcotics directly to customers in New York City. At Tavarez's direction, a Mike's Candyshop courier delivered a fatal dose of heroin laced with a fentanyl analogue to Colin Kroll, co-founder of Vine and HQ Trivia," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. "Along with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to treat overdose deaths as crime scenes, and bring those responsible to justice."
A Brooklyn federal court judge sentenced Tavarez to 22 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge.
Five other members of the group received lesser sentences.
