Deli Owner Arrested For Selling Drugs Out of Lafayette Avenue Store

Police busted a well-known Fort Greene business owner Thursday night for allegedly selling marijuana out of his Lafayette Avenue convenience store, cops said.

Ralph Jawad, 48—called "Mayor of the Block" by many longtime Fort Greene residents—is in custody on several charges involving a stash of drugs and at least one weapon at his deli at 89 Lafayette Ave. near South Portland Ave., police said.

A nearby resident said he saw a "couple of cops" on Thursday night walking into Jawad's business—known in the neighborhood as Lafayette Ave. Meat Corp. or, just simply, Ralph's Deli.

"At that point, there did not seem to be any urgency to the situation," he said. "People were shaking hands and being friendly."

A search warrant was issued and cops arrested Jawad 7:35 p.m., according to authorities.

Jawad was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, criminial possession of a weapon, criminal possession of marijuana, intent to sell marijuana and unlawful possession of marijuana.

A longtime Fort Greene resident lingering outside the shuttered deli on Friday called Jawad "a good guy" who in her 35 years of living in the neighborhood was always ready to help someone in need.

"If there was somebody was hungry, he would feed him," she said.