13 Busted In 'Major,' Violent N.J. Heroin, Cocaine Ring: Feds

Thirteen people have been busted in a what was described as a "major" and "violent" New Jersey heroin and cocaine ring, according to state officials.

Those arrested include the alleged leader, Fernando Diaz-Rivera, who for years allegedly has been one of the biggest heroin and cocaine suppliers in New Jersey, according to a news release from Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino.

The Attorney General’s Office and assisting agencies arrested most of the targets Wednesday on first-degree racketeering and/or narcotics charges. Two of the targets remain fugitives, according to the release.

Fernando Diaz-Rivera, 33, aka “Gordo,” who has homes in Salem and Salinas, Puerto Rico, is charged with leading a narcotics trafficking network, a first-degree crime that carries a sentence of 25 years without parole to life in prison, according to the release.

The ring allegedly distributed a combined total of 20 to 30 kilos of heroin and cocaine per month in Camden and North Philadelphia. In recent months, Diaz-Rivera allegedly ran the ring from Puerto Rico, giving orders to other top ring members, particularly Luis Ortiz-Merced, aka “Moodo,” 33, of Philadelphia. Diaz-Rivera currently is in custody in Puerto Rico, according to the release.

The ring allegedly has ties to Mexican drug suppliers. Several high-level members of the drug ring have prior convictions for weapons offenses, and it is alleged that the ring used guns and threats of violence to conduct its business, according to the release.

The Attorney General’s Office seized more than 6 kilograms of heroin and approximately 9 kilograms of cocaine during the investigation, intercepting shipments from Chicago and Puerto Rico.

Those drugs are worth more than $600,000 wholesale, and once cut and packaged for sale on the street, could have commanded up to $2 million or more, according to the release.

Porrino, who made the announcement Thursday at the Camden County Metro Police Department Headquarters, said the ring was led by Diaz-Rivera and supplied a majority of the drug dealers and drug sets in Camden, "directly fueling the violence that goes with street-level drug dealing and its perpetual turf battles."

“By dismantling his network, we will starve many of those dealers of a reliable source of high-quality heroin and cocaine, making the city safer and reducing the flow of these pernicious drugs into South Jersey and North Philadelphia,” Porrino said in the release.

Porrino noted that heroin "is taking a devastating toll on individuals, families and communities across New Jersey and the United States."

"By taking down these top heroin suppliers in Camden and North Philadelphia, which are major distribution hubs, we’re stopping thousands of doses of heroin from reaching users across the region each week,” he said.

Diaz-Rivera allegedly exercised control over the criminal enterprise using several key members, including Ortiz-Merced. He allegedly gave orders to Ortiz-Merced regarding the operation of the enterprise, and Ortiz-Merced in turn gave orders to lower-level members of the enterprise, according to the release.

Ortiz-Merced allegedly was responsible for the enterprise’s finances, managing its supply of drugs, dealing with the enterprise’s suppliers, and overseeing the enterprise’s street-level drug sets.

Diaz-Rivera also allegedly gave orders to several of the enterprise’s wholesale distributors, including:

• Francisco Vinicio Savinon-Paulino, 38, of Bronx, New York, also known as “Vinicio,”
• Luis Medero, 34, of Camden, also known as “Chucho,”
• Helmer Garcia, 27, of Camden, also known as “E,” and
• Javier Rosa-Romero, 30, of Salinas, Puerto Rico, and Camden, also known as “Jav.”

These wholesale distributors allegedly brokered deals for kilogram quantities of drugs to be fronted to lower-level members of the enterprise and collected proceeds from drug sales to be funneled back to Diaz-Rivera through Ortiz-Merced, according to the release.

The individuals being fronted drugs sold them to drug sets in Camden and North Philadelphia on a wholesale level and ran their own drug sets in those locations. These members of the enterprise allegedly included:

• Angel Padilla, 43, of Camden, also known as “Choiry”
• Alexis Burgos, 37, of Mount Holly, also known as “Papote”
• Juan Carlo Moreno Borrero Jr., 19, of Salinas, Puerto Rico, and Camden, also known as “Moreno”
• Angel Rosa-Ramos, 24, of Camden, also known as “Chongo”
• Angel Martinez, 38, of Camden, also known as “Pica”

At Diaz-Rivera’s direction, Ortiz-Merced allegedly used a portion of the proceeds to reinvest in new product. The rest allegedly was given to Diaz-Rivera’s girlfriend, Karina Elice Olmeda-Burgos, 21, of Salem. Diaz-Rivera instructed Olmeda-Burgos on what to do with the money, according to the release.

In late September, Medero and another associate, Aleisha Marin-Vializ, 27, of Camden, allegedly drove from Camden to Chicago to pick up 10 kilograms of drugs on behalf of the enterprise. They arrived back in Camden in the early morning hours of Oct. 2, according to the release.

The rental car they were driving was stopped by detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice, and approximately 5 kilograms of cocaine and 5 kilograms of heroin were found under the rear seat of the vehicle, according to the release.

Padilla allegedly had an alternative supplier, Jonathan Contreras, 28, of Camden, who allegedly arranged to send drugs through the mail from a supplier in Puerto Rico to himself and another associate, Marcos Mendoza, 19, of Camden, at an address in Camden, according to the release.

Two packages were intercepted by the Division of Criminal Justice and the U.S. Postal Service, and 4 kilos of cocaine were seized.

The following defendants remain fugitives:

• Angel Rosa-Ramos
• Karina Elice Olmeda-Burgos

Ten defendants were arrested yesterday, and three were previously in custody. Diaz-Rivera and Rosa-Romero were already being held in a federal detention center in Puerto Rico on weapons charges. Ortiz-Merced was being held in Pennsylvania on a prior drug charge.

Savinon-Paulino was arrested Wednesday and is being held in New York City. The other defendants were arrested in New Jersey and are being held in the Camden County Jail with bails ranging from $250,000 to $400,000, according to the release.

All of the defendants, with the exception of Contreras and Mendoza, are charged with first-degree racketeering. Contreras, Mendoza, Diaz-Rivera, Ortiz-Merced, Medero and Marin-Vializ are charged first-degree possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, and Padilla is charged with first-degree distribution of narcotics. All of the defendants also are charged with second-degree conspiracy.

The first-degree charge filed against Diaz-Rivera of leading a narcotics trafficking network carries a sentence of up to life in state prison, with a mandatory minimum term of 25 years without possibility of parole and a fine of up to $750,000. The other first-degree charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison.

Photo: OAG