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Cellphone video captured the DEA arrest of Ramon “Rafael” Fabian-Pena in January 2020.
A U.S. District Court judge in Newark sentenced Fabian-Pena to 2½ years in federal prison during a videoconference last week, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said.
On Thursday, the judge sentenced Jose Reyes of the Dominican Republican to nearly six years, she said.
Both must serve just about all of their terms because there’s no parole in the federal prison system.
Reyes oversaw the Passaic delivery, directing Fabian-Pena to take possession of the drugs, Honig said.
Law enforcement officers who were watching then rushed in and arrested several suspects while seizing a bag filled with six kilos of cocaine, she said.
Among those participating in the DEA New Jersey Task Force investigation, raids and arrests were members of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and Hamilton Township police, the U.S. attorney said.
(The New Jersey State Police led the task force, which is comprised of DEA special agents and officers from various county and local police departments in the state.)
Rather than face trial, Reyes and Fabian-Pena took deals from the government, pleading guilty to having and conspiring to distribute cocaine, Honig said.
In addition to the prison terms, Chief U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson sentenced each to three years of supervised release, she said.
Passaic Mayor Hector Carlos Lora applauded the “commitment and efforts of our law enforcement agents to keep the streets of Passaic clean” -- and urged citizens to do the same.
“Our police officers must be given the encouragement, resources, and support to go out and combat the scourge of crime and violence in our cities if we are to expect clean and safe communities to live in,” Lora said.
Criminals are brazen, often with “complete disregard for innocent lives,” the mayor added.
The work that produced the large drug seizure should “send a direct message to criminals who constantly threaten the quality of life of our law abiding residents,” he said.
Handling the case for the government are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cassye Cole of Honig’s Criminal Division in Newark.
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