NEWARK, N.J. — Timothy Alan Blank, a 55-year-old man from Los Angeles, has been sentenced to over eight years in federal prison for trafficking approximately five kilograms of fentanyl with plans to distribute the deadly synthetic opioid in New Jersey, according to U.S. Attorney Alina Habba.
U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin handed down a sentence of 100 months in prison and three years of supervised release at the federal courthouse in Newark. Blank previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Court documents and testimony revealed that Blank drove from California to New Jersey in early March 2024, transporting the narcotics in the trunk of his personal vehicle. On March 8, 2024, law enforcement officers in Fort Lee, NJ, stopped the vehicle and discovered the fentanyl during a lawful search.
Blank confessed after his arrest that he intended to distribute the narcotics within the District of New Jersey. The five kilograms of fentanyl represent a volume capable of causing thousands of fatal overdoses, underscoring the seriousness of the offense amid a national opioid crisis.
The investigation was spearheaded by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark, led by Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, with support from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Lee Police Department, and the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent D. Romano of the Criminal Division in Newark.
