TRENTON — The
New Jersey Department of the Treasury has announced the arrest of Dennis
John Fetterman of Williamsburg, Va., on charges related to the possession
and transportation of contraband cigarettes. Special
agents from the State Division of Taxation’s Office
of Criminal Investigation and Montville, N.J., police officers followed
Fetterman, who was suspected of selling untaxed Virginia-stamped cigarettes,
to an auto dealership in Parsippany, N.J., where local police joined
the investigation. An arrest was made after Fetterman removed several
cartons of cigarettes from his vehicle and carried them inside the
dealership. Fetterman then agreed to allow a search of his vehicle,
where 45 cartons of Virginia-stamped cigarettes were discovered. That
inspection also revealed a small amount of marijuana in the vehicle’s
center console.
The
initial charges against Fetterman included possession and transportation
of untaxed cigarettes, possession of a controlled dangerous substance,
failure to keep records, and operating without a consumer’s
license. Fetterman posted the $10,000 cash bail set by Judge Anthony
Frese of
Parsippany-Troy Hills Municipal Court.
“Enforcement of the Cigarette Tax Act is one of our highest
priorities,” said Robert K. Thompson, director of the Division
of Taxation. “We will continue to find and prosecute criminals
who think they can make an easy profit in New Jersey from illegal trafficking
of cigarettes.”
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