TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Camden County man was sentenced to state prison today for selling prescription narcotics to an undercover detective.

James Williamson a.k.a. “Tank,” 50, of Sicklerville, was sentenced to seven years in state prison, with 30 months of parole ineligibility by Superior Court Judge John T. Kelley in Camden County. The sentence was based on Williamson’s guilty plea to second-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. The charge was contained in an Aug. 29, 2013 state grand jury indictment.

“Combating illegal prescription drug abuse remains a major goal of this office,” Acting Attorney General Hoffman said. “One crucial element in this fight is getting the drug dealers off of the streets. As today’s sentence indicates, we will continue to seek long prison terms for anyone illegally peddling these narcotics.”

In pleading guilty on Feb. 7, Williamson admitted that between Oct. 17, 2012 and Jan. 3, 2013, he sold oxycodone to an undercover detective. An investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined that Williamson sold more than an ounce of Percocet pills to an undercover detective over the course of three transactions at a restaurant in Camden. Williamson was arrested on Feb. 28, 2013.

Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi noted that this undercover operation was part of a larger investigation into doctors and pharmacies suspected to be involved in drug diversion through Medicaid beneficiaries.

Deputy Attorney General Christopher Ruzich, Sgt. Fred Weidman and Detectives John Collins, Anthony Correll, Kevin Gannon, Ralph Anilo and Kylie Mattis of the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit coordinated the investigation. Deputy Attorney General Ruzich represented the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the sentencing.

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