TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
that two men were convicted today of running
a drug ring that sold cocaine, methamphetamine
and prescription narcotics in South Jersey.
Gary
R. Maddox, 33, of Washington Township, Gloucester
County, and Jason E. McKinnon, 33, of Atco,
were each convicted by a Camden County jury
of first-degree charges of racketeering and
leading a drug trafficking network, according
to Division of Criminal Justice Director Deborah
L. Gramiccioni.
Maddox
was also convicted of first-degree distribution
of cocaine, and McKinnon was convicted of
first-degree possession of cocaine with intent
to distribute.
Each
man faces a sentence of life in prison, including
30 years without possibility of parole, on
the charge of leading a narcotics trafficking
network. The other first-degree charges carry
a sentence of up to 20 years in state prison.
They were also convicted of various second-
and third-degree charges.
“This
case illustrates our resolve to target the
leaders of drug networks and prosecute them
to the full extent of the law,” said
Attorney General Milgram. “This is an
excellent example of how the Division of Criminal
Justice and State Police are partnering with
other law enforcement agencies to shut down
criminal enterprises.”
Judge
Solomon scheduled the men to be sentenced
on Aug. 7.
The
verdict followed a month-long trial before
Superior Court Judge Lee A. Solomon in Camden
County. Deputy Attorney General Russell Curley
tried the case for the Division of Criminal
Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.
The
men were indicted on Sept. 6, 2007 as the
result of a joint investigation by the New
Jersey State Police, the Division of Criminal
Justice and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The investigation uncovered a drug trafficking
network that distributed several ounces of
powder cocaine per week, as well as crack
cocaine, methamphetamine, OxyContin and other
narcotics.
“This
verdict is a tribute to the superb work of
the New Jersey State Police, the DEA, the
U.S. Attorney’s Office and our attorneys
in the Division of Criminal Justice,”
said Director Gramiccioni. “We will
continue to partner with law enforcement agencies
across jurisdictional lines in our fight against
drug and gun trafficking in New Jersey.”
The
ring, under the leadership of Maddox and McKinnon,
obtained large quantities of powder cocaine,
typically a kilogram at a time, which other
defendants assisted in selling. Some of the
powder cocaine was processed or “cooked”
into crack cocaine at a house in Voorhees.
Maddox obtained OxyContin, Percocet, methadone,
Xanax and other narcotics using prescriptions
obtained illegally from numerous sources,
including doctors, pharmacists and drug addicts.
Maddox
and McKinnon were arrested in January 2007,
when State Police detectives and DEA agents
made arrests and executed search warrants
in South Jersey and South Tucson, Arizona.
McKinnon is Maddox’s brother through
adoption.
The
indictment also charged Maddox’s live-in
girlfriend, Lori M. Gephart, 34, Michael Scott,
39, of Voorhees, Gerald Foster, 23, of Atco,
and Charles E. Muldrow, 22, of Atco. Foster
pleaded guilty to first-degree racketeering
and was sentenced to seven years in state
prison. Muldrow pleaded guilty to second-degree
distribution of cocaine and was sentenced
to six years in state prison, including two
years without possibility of parole. Gephart
and Scott also pleaded guilty and are scheduled
to be sentenced on June 26.
The
U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden prosecuted
additional defendants arrested in January
2007.
Deputy
Attorney General Curley worked with detectives
from the drug trafficking unit of the New
Jersey State Police’s Organized Crime
Control South Bureau and agents of the DEA
who conducted the investigation.
The
jury also found Maddox guilty of conspiracy
(2nd degree), distribution of methamphetamine
(2nd degree), money laundering (3rd degree),
possession of cocaine (3rd degree), and distribution
of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school.
McKinnon
was also found guilty of conspiracy (2nd degree),
possession of cocaine with intent to distribute
(2nd degree), and possession of a handgun
during commission of a drug crime (2nd degree),
and possession of a handgun by a convicted
felon (2nd degree).
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