Ocean City Man Charged in Massive Drug Ring Crackdown: AG

An Ocean City man is among three men charged with distributing cocaine in Atlantic City in connection with a drug ring that marketed cocaine and designer drugs online and distributed them via the mail, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said on Monday.

Benjamin DiPilla, 28, is charged with second-degree distribution of cocaine and second-degree conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Additionally, 62-year-old Thomas Bullock, of Millville, is charged with first-degree distribution of cocaine and second-degree conspiracy to distribute cocaine; and 31-year-old Thomas White, of Galloway, is charged with first-degree distribution of cocaine and second-degree conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

DiPilla allegedly was involved in the sale of more than half an ounce of cocaine to an undercover detective on Nov. 1, 2013 at a nightclub in Atlantic City.

Bullock and White allegedly sold a total of eight ounces of cocaine to the undercover detective at the same nightclub four times between July 24 and Sept. 17, 2014.

“Operation Skin Deep” began when a detective discovered the sale of cocaine while monitoring the activities of white supremacist groups in Atlantic City. The arrests of DiPilla, Bullock and White led to the first-degree racketeering indictment charging 12 men in connection with a drug ring that marketed cocaine and designer drugs online and distributed them via the mail.

Investigators also allegedly uncovered a conspiracy by the alleged leader of that ring, Christopher Castelluzzo, and three other members of the enterprise to murder a former associate and his bodyguard.

Castelluzzo, 31, of Lake Hopatcong, is charged with the first-degree crime of leader of a narcotics trafficking network, which carries a sentence of life in state prison, including 25 years of parole ineligibility.

He, 34-year-old Luke Atwell, of Hamilton Township (Mercer County), 45-year-old Eric Rodriguez, of Cliffside Park, and 46-year-old Henry Bracy, of New York, New York, are are also charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit murder for allegedly plotting to murder a former associate and his bodyguard in a dispute over drugs and drug money.

The men allegedly took a number of steps in preparation to kill the targeted victims, but the murders were never carried out.

Atwell allegedly acted as a managerial partner for the ring.

Rodriguez allegedly made bulk purchases of cocaine with Castelluzzo.

Others indicted include:

• Aldo T. Lapaix, 28, of Absecon, who allegedly helped procure drugs for the ring to sell and handled the packaging and shipping of drugs;
• Shazad Khan, 32, of North Bergen, N.J.,
• Jose A. Garcia-Hernandez, 51, of Absecon, N.J.,
• Mervin Menier, 43, of Union City, N.J.,
• Christian Collado, 27, of Pleasantville, N.J., and
• “Dre,” an unidentified male.

Castelluzzo, Atwell, Lapaix, Menier, Collado and “Dre” are also charged with first-degree distribution of cocaine or possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Jose Ruvalcaba, 28, of Oxnard, Calif., is a tractor-trailer driver who was arrested with Khan by detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice in a parking lot off Union Turnpike in North Bergen on April 24, 2015.

Detectives allegedly found about $1.2 million in cash in the trunk of Kahn’s Infiniti, wrapped in bundles with duct tape. It is among the largest cash seizures in New Jersey law enforcement history.

Kahn was allegedly meeting with Ruvalcaba so that Ruvalcaba could transport the cash in his tractor-trailer as payment for cocaine. Khan and Ruvalcaba are charged in the indictment with first-degree money laundering and first-degree conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Jamal Johnson, 30, of Baltimore, Md., is charged with second-degree conspiracy to distribute cocaine, along with 10 of the other defendants – all except Ruvalcaba.

In addition, Johnson is charged with second-degree eluding for allegedly fleeing on April 17, 2015, when detectives attempted to stop his car after he allegedly bought cocaine from Castelluzzo at the Omni Loung nightclub in Passaic, which is owned by Castelluzzo and Atwell.

The drug ring allegedly used that night club for its headquarters.

The detectives called off their pursuit of Johnson, but Castelluzzo was arrested at that time at the Omni Lounge.

A search warrant was executed at the club, resulting in the alleged seizure of two kilograms of cocaine and nearly 400 grams of the designer drug ethylone.

Atwell allegedly marketed the ring’s drugs on the Internet, tracked and managed the gross receipts and expenses, dealt with customers, and kept an inventory of the remaining drugs.

Lapaix allegedly helped procure drugs for the ring to sell and handled the packaging and shipping of drugs. Atwell allegedly would send computer files to Lapaix containing lists of orders, including screen-names of customers, their addresses, and the amount and type of narcotics that each customer ordered.

It is alleged that, when Lapaix received the files, he and/or his workers, Collado and “Dre,” would weigh out the drugs, package them, create tracking information, and mail each of the orders. Atwell allegedly would ensure all orders were properly filled.

Lapaix obtained the necessary supplies for packaging the orders and Atwell reimbursed Lapaix for the cost of the supplies. It is alleged that Lapaix and Castelluzzo, who also allegedly engaged in street-level narcotics sales, used several cocaine suppliers, including Garcia-Hernandez, Khan and Menier.

Search warrants executed at various locations yielded approximately a quarter of a million dollars in cash, diamond jewelry, gold bars, another quarter kilogram of cocaine, numerous rounds of ammunition, firearm silencers, cocaine testing, cutting and packaging materials, and related equipment.

The indictments were obtained on Thursday, March 3, by the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau. They were not announced until Monday because detectives are seeking several defendants who remain fugitives.

The attached image of Benjamin DiPilla was provided by the Attorney General’s Office