'Stunning' Spike in Bergen Heroin Deaths Prompts Drug Takedown, Prosecutor Says

More than 100 people face charges in a drug investigation prompted by a "stunning increase" in heroin overdose deaths across Bergen County, Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said Thursday.

The approximately 120 arrests ranged from drug traffickers moving the heroin between Trenton and Paterson to dozens of buyers from leafy North Jersey communities, Molinelli said. Last year, Bergen logged 28 overdose deaths, a more than 100 percent jump over the prior year.

At a press conference in Hackensack, Molinelli displayed photos of the 90 alleged buyers nabbed over the four-month operation. In publicizing the arrests of buyers, Molinelli said he sought to deter others from purchasing drugs.

"The 28 that died in 2012 could easily have been on this list," Molinelli told reporters.

Molinelli said he hoped the initiative would raise awareness of what he called an "epidemic" of suburban heroin abuse, often among young people.

"I am trying to raise awareness of just how bad this is," Molinelli said, adding local crimes including burglary and robbery were often linked to drug users.

In a new approach, Molinelli said his team called in the parents of alleged buyers and publicized photos showing all of the accused.

"There's a war out there. We've got to change our tactics," he said. "I don't think I've ever shown buyers at this level in this way."

Many of those facing minor possession charges would not likely serve jail time and could have their records cleared under new laws, he said. The buyers hailed from towns across North Jersey including Teaneck, Wyckoff, Wayne, Hackettstown and Fair Lawn, according to the prosecutor's office.

The probe began early this year when investigators were alerted to the spike in overdoses, including a dozen deaths in a four-month span beginning in June, Molinelli said. Authorities learned that many of the Bergen County overdoses were linked to drug purchases made in Paterson and formed a task force with investigators there.

The strategy, he said, was to tackle both buyers and dealers. Most of the 23 accused dealers arrested in March and April were from Paterson, a center of the area's heroin trade. The alleged dealers peddled heroin under brand name stamps including Frank Lucas, March Madness and Victoria Secret.

One bust last Friday netted 1,000 bricks of heroin and $110,000 in cash when law enforcement foiled a transaction between Trenton-based suppliers and Paterson street dealers, according to the prosecutor's office.

That arrested stemmed from surveillance police were conducting on Paterson residents Felix Melendez, 27, and Christian Chiuyare, 33, officials said. Detectives watched as Melendez made the heroin deal with 28-year-old Kyle and 27-year-old Seth Pittman, both of Trenton, in Paterson.

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said the arrests were an example of "where the suburbs meet the cities."

"If any of us think that the drug trade and illicit drug abuse is limited to the cities, this is yet another example of how it is not," she said. "None of us, either in Passaic County or Bergen, or any of the surrounding counties, are immune to what is happening."

Police in towns including Fair Lawn, Saddle Brook, Wayne, Glen Rock, Hackensack and Mercer County authorities assisted in the investigation along with federal drug and Homeland Security agents.

Authorities across New Jersey have recently announced similar investigations targeting what they say is a heroin boom in the state. In rural Hunterdon County, prosecutors late last month charged 49 people in a 10-month heroin probe and Gov. Christie formed a task force to address the issue last year.

Click to view a list from the prosecutor's office of those charged with buying and dealing the heroin