Sean Figaro, 35, rejected a deal from prosecutors, went to trial and was convicted by federal jurors Camden in July 2019 of selling heroin, gun possession by a convicted felon and witness tampering, among other charges.
He'll have to serve out the sentence handed down this week because there’s no parole in the federal court system.
Figaro was arrested in early 2017 by members of the Atlantic City Child Exploitation Task Force during a raid at the Econo Lodge on Pacific Avenue.
Officers recovered Figaro’s cell phone and a safe that held a .22-caliber Jennings pistol loaded with five rounds – including one in the chamber – as well as 119 individually packaged bags of heroin and “various items used for packaging drugs for distribution,” a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Camden says.
They also got a search warrant for Figaro’s phone, which prosecutors said held additional evidence, including text messages that offered heroin for sale and described how he earned his living: “my occupation is drug dealership;” and “I’m a dealer, not a pimp, not law, a street hustler.”
In order to dissuade a witness from testifying against him, Figaro first called her a “rat” and a “snitch” on Facebook, then feigned affection while promising to love and care for the witness, the complaint says.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb sentenced Figaro to five years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI Atlantic County Resident Agency; the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office; the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office; and the New Jersey Human Services Police with the investigation leading to the verdict and sentencing, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diana Vondra Carrig and Kristen M. Harberg.
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