TRENTON, N.J. (OCPO): An Ocean County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 15 months in prison for possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Jason Vella, 39, of Toms River, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Judge Thompson imposed the sentence by videoconference today.

On Sept. 19, 2019, investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutors Office executed a search warrant on Vella’s residence and recovered 150 grams of cocaine, drug paraphernalia, $2,295 in cash and pieces of jewelry. 

In addition to the prison term, Judge Thompson sentenced Vella to three years of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited the members of the FBI’s Organized Crime Task Force under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; and investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel V. Grady O=Malley of the U.S. Attorney=s Office’s Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

Stock Photo: Cocaine