Crime & Safety

School Custodian Facing Conspiracy, DWI Charges May be Fired Tuesday

Troy Trent, school district employee since 1992, arrested in February by East End Drug Task Force and in March on DWI charges.

The Riverhead Central School District Board of Education will vote on Tuesday to terminate a Pulaski Street School custodian who, since February, has been charged with involvement in a cocaine trafficking ring and was later charged with fleeing the scene of a DWI accident in a separate incident.

Troy Trent, 41, was . He posted $25,000 bail on Feb. 16 and currently faces a felony charge of conspiracy in the first degree. Court records show he is due in court on June 6 for conferences.

According to District Attorney Thomas Spota, “evidence gathered during the investigation established defendants Trent and (Joseph) Gilliam supplied cocaine to (Ramon) Overton who, as the indictment details, was an active street-level crack dealer in Riverhead.”

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Less than three weeks after he posted $25,000 bail, Trent – a previous DWI offender, according to D.A. spokesman Bob Clifford – was by Riverhead Police. According to clerks with the Riverhead Justice Court, Trent posted $500 bail, was released, and is due back in court on June 13.

Superintendent Nancy Carney said in February that Trent has been employed by the school district since 1992. His firing would be effective April 8.

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"If he is released, we will serve him with a letter prohibiting him from entering school property," Carney said in February. "This is a very troubling incident. But it's a single incident. We have a very dedicated and extraordinary staff throughout the school district, and this should not place a cloud over our employees as a whole."

Carney did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on Monday.


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