24 Busted In NJ Ring That Allegedly Turned Candy Into Drugs

FREEHOLD – Twenty-four people were charged in a large-scale drug network in New Jersey that largely involved turning candy – such as "Nerds Rope" and "Sour Patch" – into drugs, authorities said. One of the people arrest is the husband of a T.V. “Mob Wives” star, prosecutors confirmed.

The drug ring operated largely throughout Monmouth, Ocean, and Bergen counties as well as parts of New York. Those arrested were from those counties as well as Camden, Gloucester, Morris and Atlantic, authorities said.

All of it had an estimated street value of $1.9 million.

And those arrested have a variety of backgrounds. Lee D’Avanzo, 52, the husband of "Mob Wives" star Drita D’Avanzo, was charged with fourth-degree conspiracy to possess marijuana and fourth-degree possession of marijuana in excess of 50 grams.

Just last month, the “Mob Wives” star and her husband were busted on drug and gun charges, police said.

The ring's leader, Dylon J. Addvensky, 27, of Freehold, also is the owner of Deeez Donutz, a gourmet doughnut truck based in Jackson, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The investigation, dubbed "Operation On The Ropes" uncovered a scheme to secretly convert legitimate candies, including the popular Nerds Rope and Sour Patch candy brands, into an illegal THC-infused product, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the substance that creates most of marijuana's “high.”

Operation On The Ropes culminated with the execution of over a dozen search warrants in Monmouth, Ocean, and Bergen counties resulting in the seizure of approximately 21,000 packages of candy infused with suspected THC, 1,100 pounds of suspected marijuana, as well as over 6,000 flavored THC vape cartridges, according to the MCPO.

“The network operators used regular candy to further their scheme, buying hundreds of boxes of product from wholesalers before transporting it to a processing facility where they would unwrap the individual pieces of candy, lay it out on trays and then spraying the candy with a concentrated formula of THC distillate. Once the THC dried on the candy it was repackaged as an illegal marijuana edibles product for distribution across New Jersey,” said Gramiccioni.

The illegal operation utilized a warehouse on Park Avenue in Manalapan Township and a hangar at Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall Township as production and storage facilities. The approximate 21,000 pieces of candy were manufactured with unknown amounts of THC and totals over 100,000 individual doses, according to the MCPO.

The THC products that were processed were then intermingled with THC products that the network operators illegally trafficked into New Jersey from a supplier in California. The THC products have an estimated street value of nearly $900,000, according to authorities.

“The packaging on this THC laced ‘candy’ is almost indistinguishable from regular drug store candy. Your kids may be getting high right before your eyes, if you are not paying close attention. This illegal operation makes juveniles and anyone who consumes these products susceptible to random levels of drug toxicity,” said Monmouth County Chief of Detectives John G. McCabe.

Also seized were machines and paraphernalia used to repackage and repurpose the legitimate candies as marijuana-related edible products. The investigation did not reveal use of the airport to transport any of the illegal drugs to other areas inside or outside of New Jersey.

Seized during the investigation were 1,200 THC-infused Sour Patch watermelon candy packages labeled, “Stoner Patch” edibles; 6,250 “Baked Burgerz” edibles; 3,111 TCH-infused “Nerd Ropes,” individually repackaged in red, pink, yellow and blue wrappers, according to the MCPO.

Also seized were 1,151 Tic Tac-type containers without labels; numerous boxes and trays of Nerd Ropes in various stages of the infusion process; and 6,542 THC vape cartridges in a variety of 16 different flavors.

“The operation used their own wrappers and labels to repackage the drug-infused candy. There were no sanitary measures taken, no safety apparatus, and there were certainly were no standards in place to ensure the product was not contaminated. Consumers of these products had no way of knowing exactly what they were ingesting,” said Middletown Township Police Chief Craig Weber, President of the Monmouth County Chiefs Association.

A total of $10,151,711 in assets, $1,483,859 in cash, and 21 high-end exotic vehicles, including cars like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, Rolls Royce, and Mercedes Benz, with an estimated total value of approximately $2,783,445, were also seized as part of the criminal investigation.

Arrested and charged in Operation On The Ropes:

• Dylon J. Addvensky, 27, of Freehold Borough, the alleged leader of the narcotics trafficking network
• Eric L. Karlewicz, a/k/a Anthony Mazza 40, of Colts Neck
• Nicco C. Romanowski, 27, of Freehold Township
• Anthony Dalessandro, 30, of Los Angeles
• Ariel Baez, 45, of Lodi
• Mathew R. Caracappa, 24, of Freehold Township
• Lawrence A. Cella, 28, of Jackson Township
• Richard C. Chamas, 43, of Jackson Township
• Lee D’Avanzo, 52, of Staten Island
• Nicholas A. D’Ambrosio, 28, of Manalapan
• Alfonse D’Ambrosio, 26, of Howell Township
• Angelynn J. Fecso, of Colts Neck
• Matthew V. Filosa, 28, of Freehold
• Paul G. Hobbs, 27, of Jackson Township
• Ryan D. Hult, 39, of Riverdale in Morris County
• Jason M. Lambros, 21, of Point Pleasant Beach
• Joseph A. Mari, 28, of Voorhees Township in Camden County
• Gianna P. Mazzone, 23, of Egg Harbor Township
• John T. Page, 25, of the Mickleton section of Greenwich Township in Gloucester County
• Hannah R. Olstein, 25, Freehold Township
• Daniel J. Riley, 25, of Brick Township
• Kevin M. Shields, 31 of Jackson Township
• Alexa L. Stimpfel, 27, of Freehold
• Matthew C. Tracy, 27, of Jackson Township

There is an ongoing investigation into the financial activities of the criminal enterprise. Anyone with information are urged to contact Captain Maria Reverendo of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, at 1-800-533-7443.

Anyone who feels the need to remain anonymous but has information about a crime can contact Monmouth County Crime Stoppers confidential telephone tip-line by calling 1-800-671-4400; can text "MONMOUTH” plus their tip to 274637; or, they can email a tip via the website at www.monmouthcountycrimestoppers.com.