Two area residents were sentenced on May 19 for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine in the Bayshore area of Monmouth and Middlesex counties, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Daniel McHugh, 51, of Sayreville, was sentenced to 90 months in prison. McHugh previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, according to Honig.
McHugh also admitted conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine and possessing with intent to distribute a quantity of crack cocaine.
Brian Hall, 49, of Freehold, was sentenced to eight months of home confinement and three years of probation. He previously pleaded guilty before Martinotti to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin.
Martinotti imposed both sentences on May 19 in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, from May 2017 to November 2018, McHugh, Hall and other individuals engaged in a narcotics conspiracy that operated in the Raritan Bayshore region of Middlesex and northern Monmouth counties.
Through the interception of telephone calls and text messages pursuant to court-authorized wiretap orders, controlled purchases of heroin and cocaine, the use of confidential sources of information, and other investigative techniques, law enforcement personnel learned that McHugh regularly obtained heroin and cocaine for further distribution from co-defendant Guy Jackson.
Some of the heroin distributed by the conspiracy contained fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid.
When McHugh was arrested, law enforcement officers recovered quantities of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine intended for further distribution, as well as $3,800 in cash that McHugh agreed to forfeit.
In addition to the prison term, Martinotti sentenced McHugh to four years of supervised release and ordered forfeiture of $3,800.
According to a press release, the May 19 sentencings were part of a coordinated takedown in November 2018 of 15 defendants charged in a federal criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine. Officials said 13 defendants have pleaded guilty.
Supplier Gregory Gillens was sentenced on Sept. 8, 2020, to 10 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy.
Lead defendant Guy Jackson is scheduled to be sentenced on June 22.
Defendant Deberal Rogers has been indicted; the charges and allegations contained in the indictment against him are accusations and Rogers is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The charges against one defendant have been dismissed.
Honig credited multiple police departments with assistance in the investigation leading to the May 19 sentencings, including the Matawan Police Department, under the direction of Chief Thomas J. Falco Jr.; the Holmdel Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Mioduszewski; the Old Bridge Police Department, under the direction of Chief William A. Volkert; the Hazlet Police Department, under the direction of Chief Ted A. Wittke; and the Aberdeen Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Alan Geyer.
Honig also credited the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni; and the Jersey Shore Gang and Criminal Organization Task Force, which included representatives from the Bradley Beach, Brick Township, Howell, Marlboro, Toms River and Union Beach police departments and the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.
