Lake Hopatcong man charged with leading cocaine ring, planning murder

An undercover investigation — referred to as "Operation Skin Deep" — in Atlantic City led to the arrest of a Lake Hopatcong man Monday on charges of drug trafficking, racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder, according to the office of the acting Attorney General.

The indictments against Christopher C. Castelluzzo, 31, of Lake Hopatcong were obtained Thursday, but not announced until Monday because investigators are still seeking several defendants who remain at large, according to a statement from acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman.

The Division of Criminal Justice obtained first-degree racketeering indictments charging 12 men overall in connection with a drug ring that marketed cocaine and designer drugs online and distributed them via mail. “Operation Skin Deep” also led to a second indictment charging three men with selling cocaine in Atlantic City.

Castelluzzo was charged with the first-degree crime of leading a narcotics-trafficking network, which carries a sentence of life in state prison, including 25 years of parole ineligibility. Castelluzzo and three other New Jersey men also were charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit murder for allegedly plotting to murder two men — a former associate and his bodyguard — in a dispute over drugs and drug proceeds. The men allegedly took several steps in preparation to kill the targeted victims, but the murders were never carried out, according to the indictment,

The first-degree charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder each carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison, 85 percent of which must be served without possibility of parole. In addition, Castelluzzo and five others are charged with first-degree distribution of cocaine or possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

SEE ALSO: 7 Morris County suspects arrested in alleged drug ring http://dailyre.co/1rYkSZc

“What began as an operation targeting several drug dealers in Atlantic City became a far-reaching investigation that extended into northern New Jersey and dismantled an online mail-order drug ring that was turning major profits,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “By following every lead, we dismantled this criminal enterprise and built a first-degree racketeering case.”

"Operation Skin Deep" began as an undercover investigation into cocaine sales in Atlantic City, but ultimately exposed an alleged narcotics network that was using the Internet to arrange mail-order sales of cocaine and designer drugs, including ethylone, which is known as “M” and is similar to ecstasy.

Two of the 12 men charged in "Operation Skin Deep" were arrested by detectives from the Division of Criminal Justice in a parking lot off Union Turnpike in North Bergen on April 24, 2015 with $1.2 million in cash, wrapped in bundles with duct tape and hidden inside a car owned by Luke A. Atwell, 34, of Hamilton, according to Hoffman.

SEE ALSO: Marijuana wax found in Mendham Twp. drug bust http://dailyre.co/1UPdg57

Atwell, also charged in the murder conspiracy with Castelluzzo, allegedly was responsible for marketing the enterprise’s drugs on the Internet, tracking and managing the gross receipts and expenses, dealing with customers and keeping an inventory of the drugs.

A third man charged in the murder conspiracy with Castelluzzo, Aldo T. Lapaix, 28, of Absecon, allegedly helped procure drugs for the ring to sell and handled the packaging and shipping of drugs. Hoffman said Atwell allegedly would send computer files to Lapaix containing lists of orders, including screen-names of customers, their addresses and the amount and type of narcotics that each customer ordered. Lapaix and others named in the indictment would then allegedly weigh and package the drugs, create tracking information and mail the orders.

“Our racketeering indictment alleges that this ring of criminals had a cyber-age approach to distributing multiple kilograms of cocaine as well as designer drugs,” Hoffman said. “However, we allege that they were typical drug dealers in their willingness to resort to violence, as evidenced by the murder conspiracy we charged.  Our seizure of $1.2 million from the trunk of a ring member — one of the largest cash seizures in state history — speaks to the huge illicit profits these drug traffickers were reaping.”

"Operation Skin Deep" began when a detective identified suspects distributing cocaine while monitoring the activities of white supremacist groups in Atlantic City. After allegedly making the undercover purchases from three suspects, detectives expanded the investigation to identify individuals who were supplying cocaine to those defendants. Those efforts led to Lapaix and the investigation of the other defendants charged in the racketeering indictment.

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.