A Jersey City man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after authorities wiretapped his cell phone, revealing that he was running a local cocaine ring, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Rayfael Roman, 34, of Jersey City, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to a charge of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
McNulty imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
Roman admitted that from September 2017 through Feb. 7, 2018, he conspired with others to distribute cocaine. He also admitted that in February 2018, he spoke on the telephone with a conspirator and agreed to sell that person one kilogram of cocaine for $29,500.
Law enforcement officials intercepted these conversations using a wiretap on Roman’s cellular phone.
Before Roman and the conspirator could complete the cocaine sale, law enforcement officers obtained and executed a search warrant for Roman’s apartment in Jersey City.
They found approximately 2-and-a-half kilograms of cocaine, approximately $30,000 in cash, and various other materials commonly associated with drug distribution, such as an electronic money counting machine, a digital scale, and drug-packaging materials.
In addition to the prison term, McNulty sentenced Roman to five years of supervised release.
Additionally, Carpenito credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office under the leadership of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, and special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
