M.O.B. Boys Drug Set Manager Sentenced to 200 Months in Federal Prison

TRENTON – A drug set manager for a former Camden drug-trafficking organization known as the “M.O.B. Boys” was sentenced to 200 months in federal prison today for his role in a drug conspiracy that was responsible for the distribution of multiple kilogram quantities of powder cocaine and large quantities of crack cocaine through the group’s own street-level drug sets and other Camden area drug dealers, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson also ordered Izeem Coleman, 26, a.k.a. “Zeem,” of Camden, to pay a $1,500 fine and to serve seven years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison term. Coleman was a fugitive when arrested on June 2, 2006. Coleman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute powder cocaine and crack cocaine on Aug.30, 2007.

At his plea hearing, Coleman admitted that from January 2006 until May 2006 he worked for the leaders of the MOB Boys, Rashad Smith, 35, of Gloucester Township, Troy Clark, 39, of Camden, Jermaine Coleman, 36, of Camden, and Trevor Smith, 36, of Berlin Township, (no relation) and participating in the sale of crack cocaine in the area of 1200 Block of Morton Street.

Coleman admitted that his duties while working for the MOB Boys included, among other things, making hand-to-hand drug sales at the drug set located on the 1200 Block of Morton Street; packaging crack cocaine into small bags for street-level distribution; handing out packs of crack cocaine to other workers for sale at the drug set; collecting proceeds of crack cocaine sales from other workers of the drug set; and delivery of bulk quantities of cocaine to other Camden area drug dealers who were customers of the MOB Boys.

Also today, Judge Wolfson sentenced three additional members of the MOB Boys organization. A street dealer, money counter and bulk cocaine customer were sentenced to terms ranging from four years probation to 87 months in prison.

On May 17, 2006, federal, state and local law enforcement authorities announced that the notorious crack and powder cocaine distribution organization had been dismantled and that the four leaders of M.O.B. Boys and 16 co-conspirators were charged in federal criminal Complaints. According to the Complaints, the drug gang was responsible for the distribution of multiple kilograms of powder and crack cocaine through both bulk distribution quantities to other drug traffickers and end user quantities sold at open air drug markets in the city. On June 6, 2008, Judge Wolfson sentenced Rashad Smith, one of the leaders of MOB Boys, to 30 years in federal prison for his guilty plea to one-count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of powder cocaine and 50 grams or more of crack cocaine. At his plea hearing, Smith admitted that from January 1998 until May 2006 he agreed with Clark, Jermaine Coleman and Trevor Smith to sell crack cocaine on the 1200 block of Morton Street in Camden as the “Middle of the Block Boys” or the M.O.B. Boys.

Also on June 6, 2008, Judge Wolfson sentenced Rashan Williams, 27, of Camden, who was another supplier to the M.O.B. Boys of powder cocaine to 96 months in prison. Williams pleaded guilty before Judge Wolfson on Dec. 14, 2007, to two counts of using a communication facility in furtherance of a drug conspiracy.

Clark, Coleman and Trevor Smith have each pleaded guilty to drug charges and await sentencing. All other co-defendants have entered guilty pleas.

In determining the actual sentence, Judge Wolfson consulted the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Christie credited Special Agents of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Janice K. Fedarck, Philadelphia Division, and Investigators with member agencies of the Camden HIDTA Task Force, with the ongoing investigation.

The Camden HIDTA Task Force comprises the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Warren W. Faulk; the Camden Police Department, under the direction of Chief Edward Hargis; the Camden County Sheriff's Department, under the direction of Sheriff Charles H. Billingham; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Joseph R. Fuentes, Superintendent; The FBI’s Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Janice K. Fedarck; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gerard P. McAleer in Newark; the U.S. Marshal's Service, under the direction of U.S. Marshal James T. Plousis; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Mark Potter, in Philadelphia.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Smith, of the U.S. Attorney's Criminal Division in Camden.

– end –

Defense Attorney: Ralph Kramer, Esq. Haddon Heights

Press Releases | Philadelphia Home