Former Woodbine Dev. Center Employee Faces Prison

TRENTON – Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that a Cumberland County man was sentenced to prison today for illegally distributing prescription narcotics.
According to Director Taylor, Tony McGowan, 51, of Millville, was sentenced to five years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Darrell M. Fineman in Cumberland County. McGowan pleaded guilty on Aug. 17 to two counts of second-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, admitting that on two occasions, on Feb. 4 and Feb. 16, 2011, he sold oxycodone tablets outside a convenience store in Millville. In each instance, he sold 80 tablets to an undercover detective of the Division of Criminal Justice.
McGowan, who formerly was employed by the New Jersey Department of Human Services as a training technician at the Woodbine Developmental Center, was terminated by the Department of Human Services after his arrest on March 17, 2011 in this investigation. There is no evidence that McGowan obtained the narcotics from his place of employment. As a result of his guilty plea, he will be permanently barred from public employment in the state. He forfeited a Ford F-150 pickup truck and a Ford Econoline van that he used in his drug distribution activities.
Deputy Attorney General Pearl Minato prosecuted the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau and represented the state at the sentencing.
The Division of Criminal Justice began investigating McGowan after learning that he was dealing prescription narcotics. Two undercover detectives from the Division of Criminal Justice’s Corruption Bureau and Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau made a total of six purchases of narcotic pain and anti-anxiety pills from McGowan, including oxycodone, hydrocodone and Valium. Detectives executed a search warrant at McGowan’s residence at the time of his arrest and seized approximately 2,600 presciption pills, including hydrocodone pills.
Deputy Attorney General Minato, Sgt. Richard M. Carlin and Detective Paul A. Marfino Jr. were assigned to the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Detective Cortney Lawrence of the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau and Detective Michael Duffield of the Division of Criminal Justice MVC Unit were also assigned to the case.