Man, Nephew Admit to Roles in Heroin Distribution Ring: AG

A Camden man and his nephew pleaded guilty to first-degree charges that they distributed heroin and operated a heroin mill as members of a major heroin supply network in Camden, Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy said on Tuesday.

They were indicted as the result of a joint investigation called “Operation China White” that was led by the New Jersey State Police, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. They also were charged in a separate investigation by the same agencies called “Operation 3Ni.”

Jose O. Fortuna, 40, pleaded guilty to first-degree maintaining a heroin production facility, a charge contained in the indictment in Operation China White, and first-degree distribution of heroin, in connection with Operation 3Ni.

He faces 14.5 years in state prison, including five years of parole ineligibility, on the heroin distribution charge. He also faces a concurrent sentence of 12 years, including 4 ½ years of parole ineligibility, on the heroin production facility charge.

His nephew, 26-year-old Wilson Fortuna, pleaded guilty to first-degree distribution of heroin, a charge contained in the indictment in Operation China White, and second-degree conspiracy, in connection with Operation 3Ni.

He faces 11 years in state prison, including more than three years of parole ineligibility, on the distribution charge, and a concurrent sentence of seven years on the conspiracy charge.

Wilson Fortuna admitted he supplied heroin to drug dealers within the ring targeted in Operation China White, and was a heroin dealer arrested in Operation 3Ni.

He obtained heroin from the mill run by his uncle inside his home on the 300 block of North 41st Street in Camden.

They and four other people were arrested in October of 2013 after detectives and agents executed search warrants at Wilson Fortuna’s home and at the home shared by Jose Fortuna and 38-year-old Jasmine Vallar.

Investigators discovered Jose Fortuna and Jasmine Vallar were allegedly operating a heroin production facility in their basement.

This included a steel hydraulic press, 12 containers of a dietary supplement used as a cutting agent, scales, tools used for cutting and packaging, a currency counter, and $30,000 in cash. They also found a plastic bag containing three-quarters of a kilo of heroin.

The charges against Vallar are pending and she is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The attached images of Jose and Wilson Fortuna were provided by the Attorney General's Office