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Julio “El Chino” Santana 52, pleaded guilty in December to one count of possession with intent to distribute more than five ounces of cocaine. He’ll have to serve 4½ years behind bars before he’ll be eligible for parole, under the terms of his plea deal.
Authorities called Santana a major player in a drug distribution ring that stretched across five North Jersey counties from the Bronx — Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, Morris and Union — and was “responsible for the importation of multiple kilograms of cocaine into New Jersey.”
Among those charged in the case were Aubrey Ward, an Englewood School crossing guard (large inset, above); Clarence Edward West Jr., of Englewood, who was 65 at the time of last summer’s arrests; Mingo R. Roach, of Dumont, who was 53; and Jose Suarez (then 44), and then-69-year-old Pablo C. Lopez, both of Union City.
Their cases remain in the hands of a grand jury in Morristown.
Search-warranted raids turned up more than two pounds of cocaine worth roughly $93,000 on the street, as well as four or so pounds of marijuana, authorities said in September. Also seized were 13 vehicles used by those charged and more than $7,000 in alleged cash proceeds.
The probe began in April with a tip received by a Morristown police officer, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office said. Prosecutors’ investigators from Bergen, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties were then brought in.
Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp identified Santana and another New York City man, Camilo Rogelio, known as “El Maestro,” as suppliers, along with an unidentified third man.
With the exception of three people, the remainder of those arrested are over 40 years old.
Six have violent criminal histories, Knapp said.
Most were “wholesale drug distributors as opposed to lower-level drug dealers or users,” the prosecutor said.
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