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NJ Ring That Dealt Fentanyl, Crack Smashed By Federal, County, Local Crime-Fighting Team

Eleven accused members of a drug ring that authorities said openly peddled crack and potentially fatal fentanyl in a Newark neighborhood were charged federally on Wednesday.

The open-air drug market operated at the corner of Brookdale Avenue and Abinger Place in Newark, authorities said.

The open-air drug market operated at the corner of Brookdale Avenue and Abinger Place in Newark, authorities said.

 Photo Credit: GoogleMaps
Jerry DeMarco

The ring's "primary supplier," Frazier Burton, 46, was caught with 100 bricks of heroin and fentanyl when tactical officers arrested him Wednesday morning, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said.

At 50 bags per brick, that's 5,000 individual packages -- all of which Honig said carried the neighborhood drug network's particular stamps.

The case took several months for an ad hoc team of local, county and federal investigators to assemble.

Detectives made undercover buys, analyzed phone records and generally kept watch on the corner of Brookdale Avenue and Abinger Place for several months, Honig said.

It all came together Wednesday, when charges were brought against Burton and 10 fellow Brick City residents:

  • Leon "Dino" Clark, 40;
  • Abdul "Ab" or "Dred" Price, 43;
  • Elijawan "Eli" White, 33;
  • Janice Anderson, 53;
  • Sherriff Simpson, 38;
  • Kesean "Jackj" Holley, 29;
  • Terrance "B-Love" Brown, 42;
  • Corey Ewings, 38;
  • Elijah "Horse" Robinson, 40;
  • Barry Jordan Jr., 48.

Each was charged with conspiring to distribute a pound and a half combined of fentanyl and crack.

Honig credited special agents of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations in Newark and Bloomfield police with the investigation leading to the charges.

She also thanked Newark and East Orange police, the Essex County sheriff’s and prosecutor’s offices and department of of corrections for their assistance.

All are part of the Newark Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), which fights violent crime in and around the city, Honig said. Also participating in the VCI, she said, are her office, the ATF, the DEA, U.S. Marshals, New Jersey State Parole, the Union County Jail, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, the New Jersey Department of Corrections and Irvington police.

Handling the case for the government are Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha C. Fasanello of Honig's Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark and DeNae M. Thomas of her Violent Crimes Unit.

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