TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that a Cumberland County man was
sentenced to prison today for illegally
distributing prescription narcotics.
According
to Director Taylor, Tony McGowan, 51, of
Millville, was sentenced to five years in
state prison by Superior Court Judge Darrell
M. Fineman in Cumberland County. McGowan
pleaded guilty on Aug. 17 to two counts
of second-degree distribution of a controlled
dangerous substance, admitting that on two
occasions, on Feb. 4 and Feb. 16, 2011,
he sold oxycodone tablets outside a convenience
store in Millville. In each instance, he
sold 80 tablets to an undercover detective
of the Division of Criminal Justice.
McGowan,
who formerly was employed by the New Jersey
Department of Human Services as a training
technician at the Woodbine Developmental
Center, was terminated by the Department
of Human Services after his arrest on March
17, 2011 in this investigation. There is
no evidence that McGowan obtained the narcotics
from his place of employment. As a result
of his guilty plea, he will be permanently
barred from public employment in the state.
He forfeited a Ford F-150 pickup truck and
a Ford Econoline van that he used in his
drug distribution activities.
Deputy
Attorney General Pearl Minato prosecuted
the case for the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau and represented the state
at the sentencing.
The
Division of Criminal Justice began investigating
McGowan after learning that he was dealing
prescription narcotics. Two undercover detectives
from the Division of Criminal Justice’s
Corruption Bureau and Gangs & Organized
Crime Bureau made a total of six purchases
of narcotic pain and anti-anxiety pills
from McGowan, including oxycodone, hydrocodone
and Valium. Detectives executed a search
warrant at McGowan’s residence at
the time of his arrest and seized approximately
2,600 presciption pills, including hydrocodone
pills.
Deputy
Attorney General Minato, Sgt. Richard M.
Carlin and Detective Paul A. Marfino Jr.
were assigned to the case for the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Detective
Cortney Lawrence of the Division of Criminal
Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau
and Detective Michael Duffield of the Division
of Criminal Justice MVC Unit were also assigned
to the case.