Following a raid on Tuesday night of a suspected Manhattan drug den, New York City police arrested four alleged dealers in connection to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death. One of those arrested is Robert Vineberg, who reportedly played saxophone for Amy Winehouse, Mick Jagger, Wyclef, RZA, Tom Jones and David Bowie.
The raid began around 7:30 on Tuesday night. Working with warrants, police searched the Manhattan apartment occupied by Robert Vineberg, Thomas Cushman, Max Rosenbloom and Juliana Luchkiw. Officers discovered more than 350 bags of heroin. According to ABC News, none of the bags were marked with the “Ace of Spades” logo used on the bags found in PSH’s apartment.
Thomas Cushman, 48, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance. Max Rosenbloom and Juliana Luchkiw, both 22, were charged with lesser counts of criminal use of drug paraphernalia, criminal use of controlled substance, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Robert Vineberg, 57, earned the most severe charges: felony possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of drug paraphernalia.
Professionally, Robert Vineberg goes by Robert Aaron. His extensive resume includes more than 200 credits and stretches back to the early 1980s. He most commonly played saxophone, but also has credits for vocals, flute, guitar and keyboard.
Robert Aaron is also an independent artist. His most recent album is 2010’s Trouble Man. It is described as “a journey in jazz as it was lived and defined in the Seventies; no borders, no conventions.”
Based on the press release for Trouble Man, Robert Aaron learned his street smarts at a young age: “Forced to fend for himself from the age of 14, Robert soon left his hometown of Montreal and arrived in New York in 1976 where he made a living by busking on the streets of Brooklyn. He quickly became a regular on the New York No Wave scene and was part of the original line-up of James Chance and the Contortions. He still performs with them today. He was spotted by David Bowie and recorded the ‘Let’s Dance’ album with him. Not a bad start to his career.”
The release added Robert “never had any career plan.” Rather, he was guided by the “twin principles of pleasure and joy.”
