Chiropractor in West Keansburg, NJ

FREEHOLD -- A Monmouth County grand jury on Monday indicted 20 people as part of a drug distribution network that included several members of the same family who recruited others to package heroin and cocaine flowing through the county's Bayshore area.

Four of those indicted are charged with being the leaders of that network, which acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said sold large quantities of heroin almost daily.

Seven others are accused of conspiring with the alleged leaders to distribute heroin and cocaine in a network that Gramiccioni said operated out of houses and apartments in Monmouth and Middlesex counties.

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Dubbed "Operation Family Tides," the 10-month investigation by several county and local law enforcement agencies revealed the members obtained large quantities of heroin in raw undiluted form and then recruited people to package the opiate for sale primarily in the Cliffwood section of Aberdeen.

The 136-count indictment names Gregory "IA" Moore, 34; Terrence "T9" Brown, 38; Edward "Head" Guttridge II, 30, all of Cliffwood, and Halee Wing, 37, of East Orange, as leaders of the narcotics ring. The four men are charged with leading a narcotics trafficking network, conspiracy, drug possession with intent to distribute and drug distribution.

Those charged as being co-conspirators are Isaiah "Zeke" Edwards, 25, of Old Bridge; Raymond "Hood" Jackson, 30, of Keyport; Bianca Edwards, 22, of Old Bridge; Joseph "Rule" Jackson Jr., 44, of Matawan, Krystal Mell, 26, of Keansburg, Alina Alma, 24, of New York City and James, "King James" Hemenway, 37, of Woodbridge. They were charged with conspiracy, drug possession with intent to distribute and drug distribution. Brown, Isaiah Edwards, Gutridge, Raymond Jackson, Mell and Joseph Jackson, Jr. also face additional drug distribution charges. Additionally, Gutridge and Jessica German, 21, of New York City, were each charged with drug possession.

Members of the operation also sold powder and crack cocaine, Gramiccioni said.

He said the investigation also uncovered two locations - an apartment in Perth Amboy and another apartment in Woodbridge - where heroin and cocaine were processed and packaged.

In the indictment, Gutridge, Wing, Alma, and Timothy Davidson, 38, of Old Bridge, are charged with maintaining or operating a drug production facility, drug possession with intent to distribute in connection with the apartment in Perth Amboy. Hemenway is charged with maintaining or operating a drug production facility and drug possession with intent to distribute related to the Woodbridge apartment, Gramiccioni said.

The indictment also named seven people who are accused of buying drugs from members of the narcotics ring. They were identified as Ryan Murphy, 26, and Taheem Brown, 22, of Cliffwood; Jason Remp, 21, of Hazlet; James Mitchell, 57, Shannon Lecomte 21, and Denise Giuriceo, 41, of Keansburg and Christine Owens, 44, of the West Keansburg section of Hazlet. They are charged with drug possession and conspiracy to possess drugs.

Did you know some of Capt. Kidd's men were said to have married Middletown women? Or that farmers shipped produce to NY from the Bayshore?

Editor’s Note: This month, Middletown’s Neighborhood Spotlight program is focusing on the North Middletown section of town. Here’s some information about the history of that area, from a news release submitted by Township Spokeswoman Cindy Herrschaft:

North Middletown, located in the Bayshore, was known as East Keansburg for nearly 75 years before the name was officially changed in 1987. East Keansburg was born in the early 20th century, taking its name from Keansburg, a then-very popular resort town to its west. The earliest use of name dates back to 1914 with a development named East Keansburg Park. It was one of several housing developments taking advantage of a booming summer tourist market along the Bayshore.

Parks in North Middletown include Ideal Beach on Bayside Parkway, Roosevelt Park on Port Monmouth Road, the Tonya Keller Community Center at Bray Avenue and McMahon Park on Albert Avenue. Ideal Beach gets is moniker from Ideal Beach Realty Company, which sold about 1,200 lots in the early 1920s along Raritan Bay. The beachfront was maintained by a civic association of East Keansburg lot owners until a 1927 storm wrecked the boardwalk and flooded much of the beach. The township assumed ownership by ordinance in 1929 with the assistance of state aid. Over the years the beach, which fronts the Raritan Bay, been home to summer fireworks, beauty contests, and family beach parties.

In the 1800s, before its heyday as a summer mecca, North Middletown and the adjacent waterfront was vital link for farmers. Bray’s Landing, located west of Pews Creek, was named for the farmer who owned the land on which a dock was built. While the surrounding land was poor for farming, the Bayshore was at one time was considered to be a good central point farmers to ship produce to market in New York City.

Today visitors will find a free municipal parking lot in the heart of North Middletown’s neighborhood commercial district at intersection of Ocean Avenue and Port Monmouth Road. A Bus Commuter Lot is located at intersection of Route 36 and Thompson Avenue. A permit is required to park in the commuter lot.

Find out what's happening in Middletownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

North Middletown is also home to the East Keansburg Fire Company located at 214 Thompson Avenue and the Middletown First Aid and Rescue Squad located at 11 Cruise Place.

Legend has it that some of the earliest European visitors to North Middletown were pirates. Back in 1699 pirates purportedly made their ashore headquarters at Bray’s Landing, in the area known today as Ideal Beach. According to old historical accounts, several of Captain Kidd’s men married Middletown women, and after execution of their leader in 1701, made their homes in Middletown. Piracy in those days was considered a reputable profession with important commission by the governments during the colonial wars. From captured Spanish ships the pirates were said to have brought qualities of silks, Spanish laces and other luxuries further inland at Middletown Village.

Photo: Courtesy Middletown Township, Ideal Beach Party

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Rumors that the "Joker" sequel "Joker: Folie à Deux" with Joaquin Phoenix reprising his role, is now filming in Belleville, could be true. There is no official comment.

Yes, there is some big movie shooting there. And yes, the old Essex County Isolation Hospital has had its signage changed to "Arkham State Hospital." But then, that's just the kind of fiendish prank that Arthur Fleck, a.k.a., The Joker, would perpetrate.

What is no joke is the uptick of film production in the Garden State.

"It hasn't amped up, it's exploded," said Steve Gorelick, the executive director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission.

Some 94 feature films 18 major TV shows and miniseries, and a number of smaller shows were filmed here only last year. "In 2017, revenue from film and TV was about $67 million a year," Gorelick said. "Last year — we're still tabulating — it will be in excess of $670 million."

Coming attractions

Even at this moment, a half-dozen movies and shows are before the cameras in the Garden State. Among them:

∎ "The Walking Dead" (East Rutherford, through May)

∎ "Severance" (Bell Works, Holmdel, through June)

∎ "Black Ink Crew: New York" (Cresskill and Bayonne, through April)

∎ "Mean Girls: The Musical" (Middletown, through April)

∎ "Re-Election" (an independent comedy feature, shooting in Jersey City in the early summer)

∎ "Fantasmas" (an HBO miniseries, shooting in Kearny, through April)

∎ "Diarra from Detroit" (a BET mystery series, just finished shooting in various North Jersey locations).

And then there's that other movie. The one that all the fanboys are excited about. The one that may or may not be filming in Belleville. "I can really comment on that," Gorelick said.

Major studios

As notable as the number of movies being made in New Jersey is the number of soundstages that are now headquartered in — or planned for — New Jersey.

There are currently four large soundstage facilities based here: two in Kearny, one in Moonachie, and one in Jersey City. Within five years, they are expected to be joined by Lionsgate Studios in Newark, Netflix on the the grounds of the old Fort Monmouth near Eatontown, and 1888 Studios in Bayonne. Over the next decade, New Jersey could be a center of film production in a way it has not been since the early 20th century, when Fort Lee was Hollywood on the Hudson.

Part of it is the state's generous incentives: a 30 to 35 percent tax credit, with a 2 percent diversity bonus (for use of a diverse cast and crew). But part of it is the state itself, Gorelick said.

"We have a talent pools as deep as any in the world," he said. "There is all the variety we have, all the different locations that are all within 10 minutes of each other. And there's the cooperation from the cities and towns. If you don't have that, all those other aspects can't be utilized."

If you’re going to be a hometown bar, it stands to reason that you’d want to serve hometown beer.

Fortunately there are plenty of neighborhood dive bars across New Jersey that proudly pour brews created close to home.

“It’s not that I have anything against any other breweries, but I would rather support my state’s breweries,” said Al Cross, manager at The Snug Harbor in Kearny, Hudson County. “And it doesn’t matter where (in the state they’re from).

“We get stuff from Brotherton too, and Brotherton’s all the way down in Shamong (Burlington County); they make a great IPA and they make some other really good beers, so I serve them, too. It’s not like regionalized so much, it’s just the ones that I think and my customers think and overall people think are the best.”

THE MORE YOU KNOW:Get all the details on the bars featured in this story

Cross, who’s worked at The Snug Harbor for nearly 30 years, said the Elm Street bar started catering to the craft beer crowd almost a decade ago.

“But there was no really New Jersey breweries to get it from (at the time),” he said. “So we would have Founders (Brewing Co., Michigan) and Dale’s Pale Ale (from Oskar Blues Brewery, Colorado) and 60 Minute IPA (by Dogfish Head, Delaware) and whatnot, and people loved it, which made us increase our taps.”

Over the years The Snug Harbor doubled its taps from eight to 16; half of those taps are typically reserved for New Jersey beers, and there’s a general focus on the incredibly popular India Pale Ales.

“Right now, everything is IPA-centric, everything,” Cross said. “We have like four or five going almost all the time. The craft world is extremely IPA-centric. We do serve an array of all styles — we have wheat beers, we have light beers, we have IPAs, we have stouts, we have saisons, we have pilsners, we have lagers, and everything is constantly rotating.”

Cross said he’s also worked out a strategy for introducing local clients to the brave new world of inventive New Jersey craft beers.

“You can see the advanced palate on some people and then you just see your regular craft beer palate and then like the newbies that come in, they want to try something,” he said. “And you always start them off with a lager because an IPA would blow them away. You give them a lager or a pilsner, they’re like, ‘Oh, this is really good.’ Then you’ve got them, and they’re going to start trying other stuff as time goes by.”

GRATEFUL BEER: NJ brewery releases Grateful Dead-inspired beer

The new name is Jersey’s dive bar scene is Nic’s Hometown Tavern in Hazlet, Monmouth County, which opened in early November. Co-owner Scott Nicholl, an architect by trade, said the look of the Route 36 watering hole “certainly isn’t dive bar, but the feeling and comfort is.”

Nic’s opened with two New Jersey beers in its 16 taps, but just a few months later half of the tap lines are ruled by local products.

The most popular Jersey beers, Nicholl said, are typically Carton Brewing from nearby Atlantic Highlands, Kane Brewing Company from Ocean Township and Middletown’s Belford Brewing Company.

Icarus Brewing Co. from Lakewood is gaining popularity, Nicholl said, and the brewery will be the focus of a tap take-over on Friday, April 13 at Nic’s.

Strong local products, it seems, are helping to change the concept of what drinking at a local dive bar can be.

“It’s amazing, it’s all these hipsters taking over everything,” Nicholl said. “I grew up in bars through the ’80s and ’90s and … (now) there are 16 taps, eight of them are local breweries, but the other eight are constant domestics that no one’s ever going to change.

“My father’s going to drink a case of Miller Lite, it doesn’t matter what kind of beer you give him and he certainly isn’t interested in finding a better one. But now, it used to be you’d have like one kind of interesting beer, one variety, now we can carry eight, which has just never been the case before.”

DRINK UP: The best beers we had at Asbury Park Beerfest

For further local dive adventures, be sure to check out the Bond Street Bar in downtown Asbury Park, Monmouth County. In recent years it’s become the gateway to a sprawling, multi-level, partially underground drinking complex, but the original Bond Street is still a no-nonsense bar that constantly serves up the likes of Kane, Carton and Asbury Park Brewery.

Just north of Asbury Park in Long Branch stands another longtime Monmouth County favorite, the Nip-N-Tuck Bar and Grill on Norwood Avenue. Nip-N-Tuck has been pouring Jersey brews, particularly Kane products, for years.

And of course, it’s impossible to discuss New Jersey’s dive bar landscape without talking about the iconic Jay’s Elbow Room in Maple Shade, Burlington County.

Tommy Michaux’s family has owned the storied South Jersey bar for 40 years, but they only started carrying New Jersey craft beers five or six years ago.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Michaux said. “I knew nothing about (local beers) when I started (carrying them), but I could see the industry was going in that direction.”

Since 2013, the bar has grown from eight tap lines to 20, with six of those currently occupied by New Jersey beers. Particular favorites of Jay's include Kane, Carton and Fairfield-based Magnify Brewing Company.

DRINK UP, GIVE BACK: Three area beer events support good causes

Michaux said Carton’s signature Boat Beer session ale and 077XX East Coast Double IPA “put them on the map,” and he's currently pouring a favorite for his customers: Regular Coffee, an imperial cream ale that “just draws people from everywhere. They’ll come to drink that.”

"I only now have two (tap) handles that don't change," Michaux said, "and that is I have a Bud Light handle — that's my all day, every day, $2 pint — and then I've got Yuengling Lager which, in South Jersey, that's kind of a staple of the Philadelphia area. And those handles never change.

"Everything else changes. Like today, I have on Kane Sneakbox (American Pale Ale), yesterday it was Kane Head High (American-style IPA). So when the Head High kicks, I don't replace it with the Head High, I replace it with something else, because I go by the Winston Churchill philosophy. You're going to love this: Winston Churchill said, 'To improve is to change, to perfect is to change often,' so that's what I do with the craft beers. I'm always mixing it up."

Are you looking for some outdoor fun and adventure this summer? Or maybe you're just thinking up some ideas to help the kids cool off in the summer heat? The tri-state area has a handful of water parks that may do the trick. Below is a list of water parks in the area. As always, please check before visiting a park.

Lake Compounce and Crocodile Cove822 Lake Ave.Bristol, CT 06010Popular ride: Storm SurgeMore Info

Splash Away Bay at Quassy Amusement2132 Middlebury RoadMiddlebury, CT 06762Popular ride: Rocket RapidsMore Info

Casino Pier and Breakwater Beach Waterpark 800 Ocean TerraceSeaside Heights, NJ 08751Popular ride: Salem’s ScreamMore Info

CoCo Key Water Resort 915 Route 73 Mount Laurel, NJ 08054Popular ride: Barracuda BlastMore Info

Mountain Creek Water Park200 NJ-94Vernon Township, NJ 07462Popular ride: Legendary Canyon CliffsMore Info

Ocean Oasis Water Park and Beach Club3501 Boardwalk - End of Surfside PierWildwood, NJ 08260 Popular ride: Cliff DiveMore Info

Raging Waters Water Park3501 Boardwalk - End of Mariner’s PierWildwood, NJ 08260Popular ride: Rocket Raft RunMore Info

Runaway Rapids Water Park at Keansburg Amusement Park275 Beachway Ave.Keansburg, NJ 07734Popular ride: Mega Bunga FallsMore Info

Big Kahuna’s Outdoor Water Park at Sahara Sam’s Oasis535 North Route 73West Berlin, NJ 08091Popular ride: Rip 'N' RollMore Info

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor1 Six Flags Blvd.Jackson, NJ 08527Popular ride: Bada Bing, Bada Bang, Bada Boom!More Info

The Land of Make Believe & Pirate's Cove354 Great Meadows Road - Route 611Hope, NJ 07844Popular ride: Pirate’s PlungeMore Info

Tomahawk Lake Water Park155 Tomahawk TrailSparta, NJ 07871Popular ride: Sitting BullMore Info

Enchanted Forest Water Safari3183 State Route 28Old Forge, NY 13420Popular ride: Killermanjaro's RevengeMore Info

Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags Great Escape1172 State Route 9Queensbury, NY 12804Popular ride: Bonzai PipelinesMore Info

White Water Bay Indoor Waterpark at Six Flags Great Escape Lodge 89 Six Flags DriveQueensbury, NY 12804Popular ride: AvalancheMore Info

SplashDown Beach16 Old Route 9 WestFishkill, NY 12524Popular ride: The MegalodonMore Info

Splish Splash2549 Splish Splash DriveCalverton, NY 11933Popular ride: Bombs AwayMore Info

Zoom Flume Water Park20 Shady Glen RoadEast Durham, NY 12423Popular ride: Typhoon TwisterMore Information

Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom3830 Dorney Park RoadAllentown, PA 18104Popular ride: CascadeMore Info

Great Wolf Lodge 1 Great Wolf DriveScotrun, PA 18355Popular Ride: Hydro PlungeMore Info

Kalahari Indoor Waterpark250 Kalahari BoulevardPocono Manor, PA 18349More Info

Sesame Place 100 Sesame RoadLanghorne, PA 19047Popular ride: Count’s Splash CastleMore Info

The Boardwalk at Hersheypark100 Hersheypark Drive Hershey, PA 17033Popular ride: Breakers Edge Water CoasterMore Info