Long Beach city employee sold heroin at bus depot where she worked, DA says

A Long Beach woman accused of selling heroin while working as a part-time clerk at the city's bus depot faces drug and official-misconduct charges, authorities said.

Chelsey Lindsey, 22, was arraigned Wednesday on a grand jury's eight-count indictment that included several felony drug charges, records show. She was fired after her arrest, officials said.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice's office said Long Beach police arrested Lindsey at work Wednesday, when they said they found her with five oxycodone pills and a small amount of marijuana.

The charges in the indictment claim Lindsey possessed and sold heroin at her city job on two days in June. Authorities also charge that she possessed and sold heroin in March in Long Beach.

Authorities said Lindsey's arrest came after Long Beach police started a probe into heroin dealers in the area following a series of drug overdoses there.

A city spokesman said Thursday that Lindsey started her $10-an-hour job in November.

A judge on Wednesday set Lindsey's bail at $20,000, which her lawyer, Dana Grossblatt of Jericho, said her client has since posted.

Grossblatt said Thursday that it was her client's first arrest and she maintains her innocence.

"We will be thoroughly investigating this case and believe that Miss Lindsey will be vindicated," Grossblatt said.

Rice said in a prepared statement that it was "outrageous to think that a public employee collecting wages paid by taxpayers would actively contribute to an epidemic of heroin abuse."