Earlier today, following three weeks of trial, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, returned guilty verdicts against Harvey Christian, Anthony Christian and Jason Quinn, on charges of racketeering—including murder conspiracies and, against Anthony Christian, the murder of Jerome Estella as racketeering acts—as well as firearms possession and multiple counts based on their trafficking in crack cocaine. The charges arose out of the defendants’ long-time dominance of a drug crew that operated in the Park Hill housing complex in the Clifton neighborhood of Staten Island. When sentenced by United States District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano, Harvey Christian faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment; Anthony Christian faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment; and Quinn faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 65 years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The verdicts were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).

“For all of their adult lives, the Christian brothers and their associates terrorized the residents of Park Hill, forcing them to live in fear of violence,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “Today, their ability to earn money through crime comes to an end, and so does their rule of the streets. This verdict sends the message that that violence and drug-dealing have no place in our communities.” Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI, New York City Police Department and the Richmond County District Attorney for their outstanding assistance in this case.

For over two decades, Harvey Christian, also known as “Black,” and his brother, Anthony Christian, also known as “Nitty,” led a violent narcotics distribution ring. Jason Quinn was one of their most trusted associates. In the mid-1990s, the Christian brothers and their associates, including Quinn, sought to take control of more drug territory in Park Hill. To achieve this, the defendants engaged in massive gun battles for months. During one of the battles, in May 1995, law enforcement recovered 77 shell casings inside a residential building, outside on the street, and on the roof. In 1999, Anthony Christian ordered another member of the enterprise to murder a rival drug dealer named Corey Brooker. In the course of looking for Brooker, the enterprise member had a dispute with Brooker’s associate Jerome Estella. Anthony Christian then authorized the other enterprise member to murder Estella, and provided him with the 9 millimeter handgun he used to then murder Estella.

In the year before their arrests in 2011, multiple search warrants and arrests related to members of the organization and their associates were executed in and around Park Hill and elsewhere in New York. These searches and arrests resulted in the seizure of firearms and ammunition, including a Mac-11 pistol, as well as large quantities of crack and powder cocaine. During a search of the Christian brothers’ apartment in the Park Hill housing complex in February 2010, the NYPD recovered multiple bullet-proof vests, crack-cocaine and marijuana.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Allon Lifshitz, Richard Tucker and Kevin Trowel.

The Defendants:

• HARVEY CHRISTIAN
• Age: 42 years
• Staten Island, New York

• ANTHONY CHRISTIAN
• Age: 41 years
• Staten Island, New York

• JASON QUINN
• Age: 40 years
• Staten Island, New York