Alleged Crime Family Member Of Toms River Admits Drug Possession

TRENTON, NJ — A Toms River man who federal authorities say is an associate of the DeCavalcante crime family has admitted possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute and possessing a firearm during the course of a drug crime, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Mario Galli III, 28, of Toms River, pleaded guilty Monday before Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of possession of a FEG 9mm Model PGK-9HP gun, loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition, by a convicted felon in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Galli was arrested after search warrants were executed at his home and the home of a co-conspirator on Sept. 19 and Sept. 20, 2019, by investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. The searches turned up between 400 and 500 grams of cocaine, and the search of Galli’s residence turned up the firearm, Carpenito's office said.

At the time, Galli was on supervised release from a 2016 federal conviction for conspiracy to distribute in excess of 500 grams of cocaine. He served 30 months in federal prison on that charge.

He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine on the cocaine charge and five years, to be served consecutively, on the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm during a drug crime, authorities said.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 7.

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