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Barely a month after they were arraigned in a multi-count indictment, the six defendants received plea offers from Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor David Calviello.
None appears ready yet to testify against the others, he said, but that it mattered little: His plea offers are contingent on all six accepting.
“I don’t need a cooperator -- that’s how strong the state’s proofs are," Calviello said in a Hackensack courtroom. "But I always put it out there.
"If any defendant thinks it’s in their best interests to resolve their case expeditiously, the first one to the table reaps the greatest benefits.”
Calviello offered 10 years in prison in return for guilty pleas from Bruce “Cap” Anderson -- a convicted member of the original Bond gang -- as well as from Jamelle Singletary, Lawal Erskine, and Jamaal Sermon and alleged fence David Tadjiev.
“Each of these are facing 10 to 20 years if they’re convicted,” he said.
Calviello also offered Singletary's girlfriend, Janay Cole, 364 days in the Bergen County Jail.
“Although not a direct participant, she was still a conspirator and accomplice,” the prosecutor said.
Cole is charged with endangering her child for allowing the youngster to be present when she was packaging drugs for sale.
Her attorney, Vincent Basile, said it’s a hardship for his client to wear a bracelet as a condition of bail. Superior Court Judge James J. Guida, in turn, directed Basile to file a bail reduction motion.
The judge also instructed Calviello to put the plea offers in writing before the group’s next court date, Jan. 11.
The six are charged with various counts -- including burglary, trafficking in stolen property, money laundering and drug and weapons offenses.
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