A 38-year-old man pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and multiple drug-related charges on Monday, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced.
Officials said Frank Gulli, who maintained residences in Egg Harbor Township, Brigantine, Somers Point and Margate, pleaded guilty to first degree Leader of a Narcotics Trafficking Network, second-degree Possession of Heroin and/or Fentanyl in an amount greater than ½ oz and Possession of CDS (Heroin and/or Fentanyl) within a Public Zone.
The case against Gulli was made by a group of detectives from three local jurisdictions, who epitomized intra agency cooperation to rid Atlantic County of a dangerous drug distribution ring.
According to authorities, the investigation involved multiple search warrants, the first search warrant on March 17, 2017, that was initiated by Detective John Glasser of the Brigantine Police Department; followed by two search warrants in Linwood on April 27, 2017 and May 1, 2017 initiated by Detective Charles Champion of the Linwood Police Department; then a July 11, 2017 search warrant initiated by Detective Richard Vogt of the Egg Harbor Township Police Department. All three detectives participated in the investigations and search warrants of the others, and worked together to collect various witness statements and other evidence. In total, the detectives seized more than 80 bricks of heroin and fentanyl, which equates to approximately 4,000 packets of the deadly drug.
Officials said Gulli also pleaded guilty to Resisting Arrest and posing a risk of serious injury to multiple police detectives. During his guilty plea, Gulli said that on April 27, 2017, he attempted to flee from execution of the Linwood search warrant and nearly ran over three detectives with his car. Detectives pursued and seized 40 bricks of heroin from the trunk of Gulli’s vehicle. Last, Gulli admitted to the crime of Tampering with Evidence on April 30, 2017 by sending a message from the Atlantic County jail to one of his co-defendants, instructing him to move heroin/fentanyl before police could find it. Following that message, detectives seized an additional 40 bricks of heroin/fentanyl from a co-conspirator in Linwood.
As a result of the cooperation among municipalities, second-degree cases in each of the municipalities of Brigantine, Linwood and Egg Harbor Township combined to prove Gulli was a first-degree Leader of a drug trafficking organization.
The plea agreement entered in the case on May 7 recommends Gulli serve 18 years in New Jersey State prison and agrees he serve at least half that sentence before being considered for parole, which is the maximum percentage of parole ineligibility allowed under New Jersey statute.
Anyone with information involving serious crimes is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-909-7800 or go to the Prosecutor’s Office Web site at http://www.acpo.org/tips.html and provide information by filling out the form anonymously on the Submit a Tip page. People can also call Crime Stoppers at 609-652-1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS) or visit the Crime Stoppers Website at http://www.crimestoppersatlantic.com/. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic County.