Two Manville resident were among 27 people arrested and charged April 23 to 25 with drug-related offenses in Somerset and Middlesex counties.
Somerset Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said the investigation, called Operation American Dream, was initiated when detectives assigned to his office’s narcotics task force received information that 28-year-old Bruce J. Baillie Jr., also known as B.J., of Middlesex sold cocaine, Ecstasy, prescription pills and ketamine in the two counties.
The operation was named after Mr. Baillie’s boasts to customers and friends that he was “living the American dream,” police said.
Frank Arcidiacano, 36, of Richmond Court, Hillsborough, was one of 23 people charged with attempt to possess a controlled dangerous substance and conspiracy to possess a controlled dangerous substance, both third-degree crimes. He was released on his own recognizance.
Of the other 22 similarly charged and released on their own recognizance, two were from Manville. They are Tracie Moran, 42, of Knopf Street, and Christina Rish, 25, of Jackson Avenue.
Five of the remaining 20 were from Bound Brook, and three each from Middlesex, Piscataway and Bridgewater. Two were from Somerville, and one each from Bloomsbury, Edison, Colonia and Springfield.
Police said the investigation revealed that Mr. Baillie distributed cocaine and Ecstasy from his residence. Police said he had three “runners” making drug sales under his direction. They said those three were Joseph Gauthier, 29, of Middlesex, and Kevin Nee, 33, and Shafil Khan, 32, both of Bridgewater.
At about 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, task force detectives arrested Mr. Baillie in Newark. At the time, he had more than three ounces of cocaine, 100 pills of Ecstasy and $2,500 in cash, police said.
At about 9:30 p.m. detectives arrested Mr. Gauthier on Main Street in South Bound Brook, police said.
At about 9:30 a.m. on Monday, April 25, Mr. Khan turned himself in at the Somerset prosecutor’s office, police said. At about 10:30 a.m. Mr. Nee was arrested at his home, they added.
Mr. Baillie and Mr. Gauthier were charged with the second-degree crimes of possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to distribute CDS. Bail was set for both at $100,000 cash or bond.
Mr. Nee and Khan ware charged with third-degree crimes of possession of CDS with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to distribute CDS. Bail was set for both at $20,000 cash or bond.
All four were lodged in the Somerset County Jail.
Police departments in Bridgewater. Somerville, Manville, Middlesex Borough, Newark, Elizabeth helped in the investigation, as well as the Essex County Bureau of Narcotics and the Middlesex and Union counties prosecutors’ offices.

