Newark Man Gets 65 Months for Running Fentanyl Ring

A Newark man is going down for his role in a large-scale fentanyl trafficking operation.

Ali Carney, 46, of Newark, pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, as well as possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Carney admitted to selling controlled substances on a near-daily basis from April 2021 to October 2022, as part of a conspiracy involving members and associates of the Grape Street Crips gang.

The investigation, which was part of the Newark Violent Crime Initiative, revealed that the drug trafficking organization distributed over a kilogram of fentanyl-laced heroin and over 280 grams of crack cocaine.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Susan D. Wigenton sentenced Carney to three years of supervised release.

Carney’s 10 co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy, which was led by a group of Grape Street Crips gang members.

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger credited DEA agents, as well as investigators from the New Jersey State Police, U.S. Marshals, and the Newark Police Department, with the investigation.

The investigation was part of the Newark Violent Crime Initiative, a partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat violent crime in Newark.

The Newark VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the DEA New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, Union County Jail, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, New Jersey Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department.