Two Belleville residents were among 14 suspects charged last week in connection with a multi-state drug trafficking ring that supplied large quantities of methamphetamine to northern New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Taken into custody were Ricky (“Ricky Belleville”) Tulud, 43, and Janice Vidallon, 31, both of whom are accused of distributing the drug in N.J.
Vidallon also allegedly brokered shipments of meth from suppliers in northern California.
The others suspects are from Jersey City, North Bergen, Bergenfield, Union, and Queens — as well as Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
According to Fishman, one of the network’s coordinators was a former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration officer — John Freehauf, 36, of Jersey City — who reportedly negotiated the price of the meth and ordered multiple pounds per month from interstate suppliers between July 2013 and April 2014.
In N.J., Freehauf was the supplier to both Tulud and Vidallon, authorities said.
Packages of the drug were sent here via the U.S. mail, and a postal worker, Maria Lisa Pascual, 36, of North Bergen, allegedly used her position to track the parcels. She was recently terminated by the Postal Service.
If convicted, Tulud, Vidallon and the other defendants each face 10 years to life in prison and a $10 million fine.
– Karen Zautyk
