Last ‘Route Boys’ member pleads guilty, ending multi-year investigation

October 7, 2023 Robert Abruzzese

The Federal Court Building in Brooklyn, where Staten Island NYPD Officer Christopher Terranova was charged with Child Exploitation and Coercion of Minors.
Photo: Rob Abruzzese/Brooklyn Eagle

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A sweeping investigation into the criminal activities of a group known as the “Route Boys” culminated on Friday as Eric Nunez, the last of 13 defendants, pleaded guilty in federal court in Central Islip, New York.

The charges spanned a 22-count superseding indictment, which included drug distribution, use of firearms, pharmacy burglaries, and ATM thefts. The defendants are now awaiting sentencing, with some facing potential life imprisonment.

“With today’s guilty plea, and a dozen others previously, the criminal organization known as the ‘Route Boys’ has been routed for their crime spree targeting local businesses throughout the Tri-State area, distributing drugs stolen from pharmacies and using firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking,” Peace said.

The Route Boys were responsible for a string of burglaries across Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester, and Rockland Counties, as well as in New Jersey and Connecticut. Their criminal activities date back to late 2020.

According to court filings, they targeted small pharmacies, convenience stores, check-cashing businesses, laundromats, and restaurants. The burglaries often involved smashing windows to steal cash, tobacco products, and controlled substances like oxycodone and promethazine-codeine cough syrup. The stolen pharmaceuticals were then sold, sometimes promoted via social media.

Nunez and 12 others, including crew founder Jason Liriano, now await sentencing. Their potential sentences vary from five years to life imprisonment.