| TRENTON
– Attorney General Stuart Rabner and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced that the Division of Criminal
Justice obtained a guilty plea today from
the leader of a major drug trafficking network
that was based in the Stanley Homes Housing
Complex in Atlantic City.
According
to Director Paw, Michael Wiggins, 31, of
Galloway, pleaded guilty to a charge of
leading a drug trafficking network before
Superior Court Judge Albert Garofolo in
Atlantic County. He faces a sentence of
26 years in state prison, 13 without possibility
of parole when he is sentenced on March
23.
Deputy
Attorney General Andrew Butchko prosecuted
the case and took the guilty plea for the
Division of Criminal Justice. The prosecution
stemmed from a multi-agency investigation
dubbed “Operation Lord Stanley”
which has led to guilty pleas from about
20 defendants.
“The
guilty plea obtained today will ensure that
this drug kingpin will be going to prison
for a long time and won’t be poisoning
the streets of Atlantic City with crack
cocaine,” said Director Paw. “This
is an outstanding result that illustrates
what law enforcement can achieve with well
coordinated joint-agency investigations.”
The
investigation determined that the ring,
based in the First Village of the Stanley
Homes Housing Complex, obtained cocaine
from sources in New York City and processed
it into “crack” for distribution
in the Atlantic City area. The ring at one
time was distributing as much as $1 million
of cocaine a month.
Operation
Lord Stanley was initiated by the Atlantic
City Police Department and involved the
cooperative work of members of the Division
of Criminal Justice, the Atlantic County
Prosecutor’s Office, the Gloucester
County Prosecutor’s Office, the State
Police, Egg Harbor Township Police Department,
Galloway Township Police Department, Hamilton
Township Police Department, Hammonton City
Police Department, Mullica Township Police
Department, City of Pleasantville Police
Department and the Atlantic County Narcotics
Strike Force.
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