Michael J. Foreste, aka “Beast,” a 36-year-old from Valley Stream, New York, was convicted by a Burlington jury on October 13, 2016, on 10 federal counts tied to a six-year oxycodone trafficking scheme that flooded Vermont with hundreds of pills and laundered over $500,000 in drug profits. The verdict, delivered after two weeks of trial, marks a major strike against an interstate drug network that exploited prescription medicine and law enforcement connections to fuel addiction in northern Vermont.
Foreste was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone from 2008 through June 2014, seven individual counts of distribution, and two counts of money laundering. The jury acquitted him on one additional distribution charge. Senior U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III presided over the trial, which laid bare the mechanics of a well-organized, multi-state operation run by Foreste and associates including Andre Clarke, Carol Clarke, and Dannis Hackney.
Carol Clarke, a Brooklyn resident with a legitimate prescription for oxycodone to treat sickle cell disease, funneled hundreds of pills each month to her brother, Andre Clarke, who was then an active NYPD officer. Andre Clarke supplied the drugs to Foreste, who initially traveled to Vermont personally to sell them with help from local addicts. In April 2012, Vermont State Police intercepted Foreste on Interstate 91 North, seizing 659 oxycodone pills from his person—leading to a prior federal conviction in 2013 for possession with intent to distribute. Despite that arrest, he remained on pretrial release and continued the operation.
After the 2012 bust, Foreste shifted tactics. He partnered with Dannis Hackney of Chittenden County, who distributed the pills in the Burlington area. Foreste began mailing oxycodone via U.S. Postal Service Express Mail, while the conspirators funneled cash through multiple bank accounts to mask the illicit flow. The financial trail led directly to Foreste’s two money laundering convictions. Prosecutors proved the enterprise generated more than $500,000 in illegal proceeds over six years.
Andre Clarke pleaded guilty earlier in 2016 and resigned from the NYPD; his sentencing is set for November 7. Hackney entered a guilty plea in September 2016 and awaits sentencing. Carol Clarke remains under federal indictment and is scheduled to stand trial. Foreste and Hackney have been in federal custody since their arrests in June 2014.
Foreste’s sentencing is expected in approximately four months, though no date has been set. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count. The case was the result of a sweeping investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations, with critical support from the FBI, DEA, Vermont State Police, Burlington Police Department, and NYPD. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina E. Nolan and Kevin J. Doyle prosecuted the case. Foreste is represented by Mark Kaplan of Burlington and Natasha Sen of Brandon.
Related Federal Cases
- Shatu H. Gadson Gets 30 Months for Heroin, Cocaine in Vermont · New York
- Brooklyn Man Gets 37 Months for Vermont Heroin & Coke Run · New York
- Rutland Cocaine Ring: NY & SC Men Indicted · South Carolina
- New York Couple Charged with Heroin Trafficking · New York
- NY Man Sentenced to 110 Months for Oxycodone Selling & Money Laundering in Vermont · New York
Key Facts
- State: Vermont
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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