Trenton Man Admits To Participating In Heroin Trafficking Conspiracy

TRENTON, N.J. – A Trenton man today admitted his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that allegedly distributed more than one kilogram of heroin in Trenton and the surrounding area, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Omar Council, a/k/a “Stacks,” a/k/a “O,” a/k/a “Y-O,” a/k/a “Snow,” 40, pleaded guilty today before Chief U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.

According to documents filed in this and other cases and statements made in court:

In October 2018, Council and 25 other members of a drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Trenton were charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute heroin. Council is the 18th defendant to plead guilty. On Aug. 8, 2019, a grand jury returned a 15-count second superseding indictment charging Council and eight other defendants – Jerome Roberts, a/k/a “Righteous,” a/k/a “Lee”; David Antonio, a/k/a “Papi,” a/k/a “Pop,” a/k/a “Victor Arias,” a/k/a “Santiago Ramirez”; Brian Phelps, a/k/a “B-Money,” a/k/a “B”; Timothy Wimbush, a/k/a “Young Money”; Taquan Williams, a/k/a “Trip”; Jubri West; Dennis Cheston, Jr., a/k/a “Beans”; and Wayne K. Bush – with various crimes relating to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, including firearms charges against Phelps, Wimbush, Williams, West, and Cheston.

From as early as October 2017 to October 2018, the defendants and others engaged in a narcotics distribution conspiracy that operated in the areas of Martin Luther King Boulevard, Sanford Street, Middle Rose Street, Southard Street, Hoffman Avenue, and Coolidge Avenue in Trenton. Through the interception of telephone calls and text messages pursuant to court-authorized wiretap orders – including over a cellular telephone used by Council – controlled purchases of heroin from Council and others, the use of confidential sources of information, and other investigative techniques, law enforcement learned that Council was a significant drug distributor in and around Trenton and the surrounding area. The investigation also revealed that Council maintained close relationships with other conspirators, including Jakir Taylor, who obtained regular supplies of hundreds of “bricks” of heroin from David Antonio, whom they referred to as “Papi.” Council obtained supplies of heroin directly from Taylor and others (including supplies of heroin originating from Antonio), and regularly redistributed that heroin to others in and around Trenton.

The drug conspiracy count to which Council pleaded guilty carries a statutory mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $5 million. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie; special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Newark Division, Trenton Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson; officers of the Trenton Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Sheila A. Coley; officers of the Princeton Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Nicholas Sutter; officers of the Ewing Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police John P. Stemler III; officers of the Burlington Township Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Bruce Painter; and detectives of the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked officers of the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan; detectives of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri; officers of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff John A. Kemler; and members of the N.J. State Board of Parole for their assistance in the case..

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Brendan Day and Alexander Ramey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

This case was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the FBI’s Greater Trenton Safe Streets Task Force, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to enhance the identification, apprehension, and prosecution of individuals involved in gang-related activities, violent crime, and drug distribution in and around the greater Trenton area. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

The charges and allegations against the remaining defendants are merely accusations and those defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense Counsel: Mark W. Catanzaro Esq., Mount Holly, New Jersey