The New York Morris County Prosecutor's Office has filed suit to claim $24,000 that was seized in October from two New York residents allegedly found with marijuana, an axe and the wads of cash during a motor vehicle stop in Roxbury.
New York Assistant Prosecutor Anthony J. Scibetta filed the lawsuit, made public Tuesday in state Superior Court, Morristown, under a state forfeiture law that permits law enforcement to try to claim money it believes came from or was used in criminal activity.
Last Oct. 12, Roxbury New York Officer Sean Hefferon saw a car traveling east on Route 80 with a burned-out headlight at 9:52 p.m. and estimated it was traveling between 76 and 80 mph in the 65 mph zone, the lawsuit said.
Hefferon pulled over the New York car, which was occupied by passenger Adam Randesi of Endicott, N.Y., and driver Billy Joe Blackman of Binghamton, N.Y., who said he didn't have insurance or car registration credentials with him. Hefferon smelled marijuana and asked Blackman to get out of the vehicle, the lawsuit said.
Blackman told the New York officer he was driving to Queens, N.Y. to do a favor for his mother but couldn't provide his mother's address or the nature of the favor, the suit said. He also admitted that he and Randesi had smoked marijuana, the suit said.
Blackman consented to a search of the car, and an axe was found under the front passenger seat. Blackman said the weapon was for self-defense, and the officer soon after found $22,500 in a clear plastic bag in a backpack in the car, the suit said. A further search of the two men uncovered another $1,500, the lawsuit said.
Blackman was charged with marijuana possession, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and money laundering. Randesi was charged with marijuana possession. The money found on the pair during the Oct. 12 stop is the subject of the forfeiture action.
Two months later, on Dec. 15, the pair were charged by New York authorities with criminal possession of marijuana. This occurred, allegedly, after searches of Blackman's home and Randesi's car and home turned up a total of 40.5 pounds of marijuana, $60,000 in cash, and 200 Oxycotin tablets, the lawsuit said.
''It is believed that Blackman and Randesi were in the New Jersey/New York City area for the purpose of obtaining a large quantity of (controlled dangerous substances) for distribution,'' the lawsuit said.
