Marlboro teen facing
multiple drug charges
Four others indicted
on charges stemming from April arrests
BY MARK ROSMAN
Staff Writer

MARLBORO — An 18-year-old Marlboro resident has been indicted on 36 counts of possession, possession with intent to distribute and distribution of controlled dangerous substances (CDS) that authorities allege occurred on several dates in 2003.

Paul Failla Jr., 18, was arrested at his Amagansett Drive home on April 9, 2003. He was recently indicted by a state Superior Court grand jury sitting in Freehold Borough.

Failla, who was two weeks shy of his 18th birthday on the day he was arrested, has also been indicted on charges of conspiracy to distribute CDS, resisting arrest, unlawful possession of a weapon (a baseball bat) and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

The indictments against Failla and four other individuals stem from their arrest in Marlboro nine months ago.

The same grand jury that indicted Failla also indicted his father, Paul Failla Sr., on one count of possessing a prohibited weapon or device (one or more high capacity magazines). That is a fourth-degree crime punishable by a sentence of up to 18 months in prison.

Jeffrey Daas, 18, of Marlboro, was indicted on multiple counts of possession of CDS, possession with intent to distribute CDS and distribution of CDS.

Eric Dolgoff, 18, of Freehold, was indicted on multiple counts of possession of CDS and possession with intent to distribute CDS.

Michael Braitsch, 18, of Marlboro, was indicted on multiple counts of possession of CDS and possession with intent to distribute CDS.

Failla’s mother, Sallyanne Failla, who was arrested on April 9, was not indicted on any count by the grand jury.

Assistant Prosecutor Mike Wojciechowski of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said all of the defendants were arraigned and entered pleas of not guilty. A status conference to discuss the case is set for March 1.

Failla Jr. is charged with possessing Oxycodone, Ecstasy, Methadone, Xanax, cocaine, marijuana and Adderall on vari­ous dates in 2003. He is charged with possessing Oxycodone, Ecstasy, mari­juana, cocaine and Xanax with intent to distribute. He is charged with distribut­ing Oxycodone, Ecstasy, marijuana and Xanax on various dates to an undercover detective.

Failla is charged with conspiracy to distribute CDS in relation to an incident on or about March 10, when, au­thorities allege, "he unlawfully agreed with J.F. (a juvenile) to distribute Oxycodone and/or Alprazolam (Xanax)..."

Daas is charged with possessing Oxycodone, Methadone, Ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana and Adderall on various dates in 2003. He is charged with possessing Oxycodone, Ecstasy, cocaine and mari­juana with intent to distribute. He is charged with distributing Oxycodone and Ecstasy on various dates to an undercover detective.

Dolgoff is charged with possessing Oxycodone, Methadone, Ecstasy, Adderall, marijuana and cocaine on vari­ous dates in 2003. He is charged with possessing Ecstasy, marijuana, cocaine and Oxycodone with intent to distribute.

Braitsch is charged with possession of Methadone, cocaine, marijuana, Adderall, Ecstasy and Oxycodone. He is charged with possessing Oxycodone, Ecstasy, cocaine and marijuana with in­tent to distribute.

The third-degree crimes with which the defendants are charged are punish­able by a sentence of up to five years in prison. The second-degree crimes with which the defendants are charged are punishable by a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, according to Wojciechowski.

According to the indictment, Failla distributed Oxycodone and Ecstasy to an undercover detective on Feb. 13; Oxycodone, Ecstasy and marijuana to that same detective on Feb. 25; and Oxycodone and Xanax to that same de­tective on March 10.

According to the indictment, Failla and Daas distributed Oxycodone and Ecstasy to that same undercover detective on March 24.

Failla, Daas, Dolgoff and Braitsch are accused of resisting arrest on April 9 by "purposely preventing various law en­forcement officers from effecting a lawful arrest, by using or threatening to use physical force or violence against the of­ficer, or by using any other means to create a substantial risk of causing phys­ical injury to the public servant..."

According to a press release the pros­ecutor’s office issued at the time of the arrests, the investigation began after po­lice received complaints from residents in the neighborhood of Amagansett Drive.

"People saw what was going on at the house and they didn’t want to put up with it. That’s common. We set up surveillance and conducted undercover buys. That’s standard operating proce­dure," Prosecutor John Kaye told the News Transcript.

During a search of the Faillas’ home on the day of the arrests, officers seized approximately 2.5 ounces of a substance believed to be cocaine, several hundred OxyContin pills (a painkiller) more than a quarter-pound of a substance believed to be marijuana and a quantity of the drug Ecstasy, according to the press re­lease from the prosecutor. The detectives also took into evidence more than 20 firearms, including several high capacity handguns and a machine gun, and more than $20,000 in cash.

Paul Failla Jr. is being represented by attorney Edward C. Bertucio Jr. Paul Failla Sr. is being represented by attorney Vincent N. Falcetano Jr. Daas is being represented by attorney Charles J. Uliano. Dolgoff is being represented by attorney Carl Danziger and Braitsch is being represented by attorney Mitchell J. Ansell. Messages were left at the office of all five attorneys by the News Transcript.

Ansell confirmed that Braitsch has entered a not guilty plea.

"He had no involvement with the drugs and was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Ansell said.

Danziger confirmed that Dolgoff has entered a not guilty plea and has applied for the court’s pretrial intervention program. He described that program as "an opportunity to go on probation without pleading guilty. It usually involves a period of community service and fees. If after the specified time he does well in that, and I believe he will, the charges against him will be dropped."