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Lindenwold Man Admits Trafficking High-Dosage Oxycodone Pills as Part of Camden & Gloucester City Drug Rings

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden County, New Jersey, man admitted on July 7, 2020 that he bought and sold 80 milligram oxycodone pills as part of his role in drug trafficking operations based in Gloucester City and Camden, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Wayne Muse, 73, of Lindenwold, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of oxycodone and one count of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute a quantity of oxycodone.


According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Muse and others, including Rocco DePoder and Erick Bell, allegedly agreed to distribute oxycodone in South Jersey between January and March 2020.

On Feb. 13 and 14, 2020, Muse communicated with DePoder using the telephone – in communications that were intercepted during a wiretap investigation led by the FBI – and arranged to sell DePoder 60 80 mg. oxycodone pills, which Muse planned to purchase from an individual identified as “Seller-1.” On Feb. 14, 2020, DePoder paid Muse $600, and Muse used $300 of that money to buy the 60 oxycodone pills from Seller-1. Muse then provided the 60 oxycodone pills to DePoder, keeping the remaining $300. Between January and March 2020, Muse also sold oxycodone pills to Bell.

Each count of the information carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a maximum fine of $1 million.

Others, including DePoder and Bell, were charged in criminal complaints in March 2020.  Their cases are pending, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of FBI Philadelphia Division, South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Driscoll; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; the Camden County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Gilbert L. Wilson; the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, under the direction of Director Jared M. Maples; the Camden County Police Department, under the direction of Chief Joseph Wysocki; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bethanne M. Dinkins, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the FBI Newark Division, New Jersey State Police, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gabriel J. Vidoni of the Office’s Camden branch and Sara F. Merin of the Newark Office.