United States Drug Enforcement Administration

NEWARK, N.J. – DEA New Jersey Division Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Craig Carpenito announced 12 members, associates and suppliers of a drug trafficking organization based in Newark have been charged in connection with their roles in distributing heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine and using firearms to protect their illegal operation.

The 12 defendants were charged in a complaint unsealed today (six others have been previously charged on separate complaints). Eight of the 12 defendants charged today are scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark federal court. One remains at large.

“That these defendants allegedly used a neighborhood rec center as a place to conceal and sell dangerous drugs is almost beyond comprehension,” said U.S. Attorney Carpenito. “While neighborhood children were coming here to play basketball and chess, they may have been just a few feet away from narcotics and the criminals who sell them. Getting the people who ran this operation off the street is a priority for law enforcement, and together with our partners in the DEA, the Newark Police, the New Jersey State Police and many others, we are doing just that.”

“Today’s operation highlights how cooperation between law enforcement at all levels can successfully lead to the dismantlement of a drug operation,” said Special Agent in Charge Gibson. “Those arrested not only held a community hostage with their violence and drug dealing, but they also utilized a community recreation center to deliver and store their heroin. These people were concerned only with making money with no concern for damage they were causing.”

“Once again, a great collaboration with our federal partners helps Newark to become a safer place,” said Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose. “Last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office was responsible for over 100 violent cases. I’m glad to see this trend continue in 2019. The people of Newark are the benefactors.”

The charges and arrests are the result of a long-running wiretap investigation led by the DEA. The organization’s leaders – Edward Williams and Wali Duncan – obtained their supply of narcotics from Rahim Jackson and Arthur Hardy, who would deliver the narcotics personally or through runners. On numerous occasions, large narcotics deliveries took place in and around the Rotunda Recreation and Wellness Center on Clifton Avenue, where Hardy was the director and Jackson and Williams were employees. These individuals also used the center to stash drugs and money.

Williams and Duncan are members of the G-Shine set of the Bloods street gang, which operates at the Janice Cromer Village public housing complex, also known as the Broadway Townhomes, in Newark. Duncan supplied narcotics to numerous individuals who would sell them in the neighborhood, which is near two elementary schools and a high school.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gibson; members of the Newark Department of Public Safety, under the direction of Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose; and the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to the charges.

He also thanked the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II; the Rockaway Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Martin McParland; and special agents of the ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson in Newark, for their assistance.

This investigation was part of the Violent Crime Initiative, which was formed in August 2017 to combat violent crime in and around Newark. Federal, state, county and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals, Newark Department of Public Safety, Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Essex County Sheriff’s Office, N.J. State Parole Board, Union County Jail, N.J. State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, N.J. Department of Corrections, East Orange Police Department and Irvington Police Department.

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