A Kearny man with a connection to Portland, Oregon, for unknown reasons, has been federally indicted after he was alleged to have been caught in Kearny possessing more than half-a-pound of illicit drugs, according to affidavits filed in the case.
Mark Thomas Eager, 32, has been charged with the possession of and distribution of a controlled-dangerous substance, fentanyl, following a months-long inquiry conducted by the federal Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Portland Police Department, among other agencies, that began in January.
According to the affidavit, an undercover federal agent posed as someone seeking fentanyl after seeing a post by on the dark-website “Dread” by a person using the moniker “Wresh10” that advertised free samples of “China White Synthetic Heroin.” One of the replies to the post allegedly noted a friend had died from ingesting one of those samples, at which time “Wresh10” reportedly wrote a note of apology for the overdose.
Sometime after, the affidavit says, there were three controlled buys of the aforementioned “heroin” — which turned out to be fentanyl — and it was supposedly paid for with traceable crypto currency which led investigators to Eager and one other as-of-yet unnamed person. Those three purchases were all discovered as having been successfully shipped to the undercover buyer, by Eager, through a United States Post Office in Portland.
On May 29, 2024, based on the evidence accumulated from the dark web and the oft-maligned app Telegram, investigators believed they had sufficient evidence to seek a warrant for Eager’s arrest at two of his known residences.
On June 11, 2024, a warrant was executed at his Laurel Avenue home in Kearny, where HSI recovered 361 grams of fentanyl, the affidavit says.
The affidavit also says after being Mirandized, Eager allegedly told the feds he, indeed, was selling the Schedule II narcotic and reportedly netted profits of around $42,000 in crypto currency, which has since been seized and forfeited.
In addition to the powdery fentanyl recovered at the execution of the warrant, 16 counterfeit M30-stamped pills — which are normally what is stamped by pharma companies to identify oxycodone — were discovered and tested as illegally manufactured fentanyl pills.
Additionally, at processing, the feds say they learned Eager had a robbery warrant out for his arrest by the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office that had been issued Jan. 17, 2023. The affidavit says he admitted to knowing he had been wanted.
The newest case will be tried in the District of Oregon court in Multnomah County.
Based on all of the aforementioned information, and a belief he would continue to sell drugs were he to be released, the feds have sought a motion to detain Eager, without bail, until trial. Eager is currently being housed on remand at the Hudson County Jail, South Kearny, where he presumably awaits extradition to Oregon.
Eager has been arrested numerous times over the last decade-plus by Kearny police, including charges of robbery (2020), credit-card theft (2016), possession of cocaine (2016), possession of marijuana (2012).
If convicted, Eager faces up to 10+ years in federal prison, according to a legal brief.
Learn more about the writer ...
Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.