Bloods street gang from New York City involved in a cocaine and heroin operation
Members of the Bloods street gang from New York City involved in a cocaine and heroin operation in Blair County began to appear in the Altoona area when a couple ‘‘local girls’’ told them it was a good place to sell drugs, Altoona Sgt. John McTigue said Friday.The organization grew substantially between 2003 and 2007, doing thousands of dollars in business daily.‘‘They were moving in an unbelievable amount of drugs. They were taking out a lot of money,’’ said McTigue, the lead investigator.Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett said the New York-based drug operation took in an estimated $2 million. Corbett was in Altoona Friday as police made public a statewide grand jury presentment naming the organization’s leaders and its local distributors and runners, identifying 29 people.Not only did the seven leaders identify themselves as Bloods to associates, but New York City criminal investigators also confirmed their identities as gang members, said Corbett and police who were part of F...