Toms River mobsters prison sentence knocked down to 15-months

A Toms River man, who is a member of the Elizabeth based Decavalcante crime family, was sentenced on Friday to 15-months in prison for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced,

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Jason Vella, 39, entered into a guilty plea back in October of 2020 in Trenton Federal Court before U.S. District Judge Anne Thompson.

At the time, Vella was facing a possible maximum 20-years in prison along with paying a $250,000 fine.

He was arrested on September 19, 2019 by the Ocean County Prosecutors Office who executed a search warrant at Vella's home where they found 150 grams of cocaine in his possession, drug paraphernalia, $2,295.00 in cash as well as pieces of jewelry.

Vella was arrested alongside fellow mafia associate Mario Galli III, also of Toms River, where investigators overall found 500 grams of cocaine along with the cash, glassine envelopes, a money counter, baking soda, grinders and digital scales.

In addition to the 15-months in prison, Vella is being sentenced to three years of supervised release.

The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel V. Grady O'Malley of the U.S. Attorneys Office’s Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Dennis Carletta Esq., Cedar Grove, New Jersey.

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