A New York City police officer and two other men were arrested on drug charges after an investigation that was sparked by a fatal overdose on Long Island.

Joseph Recca, 28, was arrested Tuesday on charges of drug possession and sales, official misconduct and unauthorized use of a computer, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said. Recca resigned from the New York Police Department shortly after his arraignment Wednesday.

“This is an NYPD officer who, along with two co-conspirators, was allegedly involved in operating a local drug distribution network in our community, which is very disturbing,” Sini said. “Our message is consistent: If you are dealing drugs in Suffolk County, we are coming for you, and no one is above the law.”

Sini said Recca and his co-defendants, Michael Corbett, 53, and Michael Sosa, 25, sold what they claimed was oxycodone, but investigators suspect the pills contained fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.

All three men pleaded not guilty at their arraignment. Newsday reports that Recca was released with electronic monitoring. He is scheduled to return to court Monday.

Recca’s attorney, Matthew Rosenblum, called Recca a “revered officer” who was a victim of rising anti-police sentiment. “If he were not a cop,” Rosenblum told reporters, “this case would not be on TV.”

Attorneys for Corbett and Sosa said the charges against their clients were unfounded.

The investigation began after a man died from a drug overdose and Suffolk police uncovered evidence that Recca had sold drugs to the man just before his death, authorities said. Sini said authorities have not linked those drugs to the fatal overdose.

(AP)