Half these people should already be in jail considering the number of times we read their names in the police blotter.

Do they make a parental bumper sticker for that? So proud....

Hope they actually see some jail time instead of just giving them proabation

We are very proud of our Police Department !!!

thats great news for hopatcong and roxbury...glad to hear something is being done with the crazy amount of drugs in this area...

CONGRATULATIONS to all involved in this joint effort to take our community back from the thieves, users and drug dealers who seemingly were operating with impunity! Obviously sharing intelligence and resources has resulted in great success..hope to see more of this in the future. We can all sleep a little easier tonight!

Congratulations Chief Robert Brennan great job for Hopatcong Police

Although this is great and long awaited news for our community, my heart goes out to the families of these individuals as I am sure addiction spurred the bad choices that led to these arrests. I hope for some this is the rock-bottom moment that will ultimately scare them into recovery

The police did a great job... The mayor looks petrified in this photo however...

Great Job only thing is why did you have to wait 10 months to arrest the bums?????? if you knew about it in Dec 2011 why wait and have more kids get hooked????? I'm sure someone will respond they where building a case. If they are the dealers what happened to all the people you must have taped buying the drugs are they the next gang you round up?

Brendan... "distribution of a CDS within 500 feet of a park" can you give us more info about what park? what neighborhoods these crooks were operating in?

These kids are all scumbags and they will get in front of a judge and they will cry that they are an addict. The judge will then sentence them to rehab- when they get out they are back in business again. The judge needs to put them in jail for a long time the addict crap shouldnt get them off. Patterson is infested with heroin and then it comes to Morris County, Why isnt Patterson doing anything??? I have wrote to the governor for three years about how easy it is to get off rt 80 and buy heroin quicker then getting a coffee at quick check. The Patterson police know this because I personally gave them numbers and text messages of dealers and they didnt want them,. Nice job Roxbury and Hopatcong, tooo bad Patterson police arent as good as you.

How much did that Billboard with there pictures on it cost our town? Do you think it had to be made in color? Mayor you should know better that we have no money in this town it could have been done in Black and White. The waste of money could have been used to teach the kids in school about drugs instead of a useless Billboard.

Oh and I do have plenty of text messages from dealers along with thier names and numbers, some are in Wharton , some Rockaway if anyones interested ?? Patterson asked me what I would like them to do about it? Nice cops in patterson . DO YOUR JOB or quit and let someone who wants to do it have it.

What the police won't tell you is that the people buying the drugs are the people they arrested. They all used together and sold to one another over and over again. Also, there are about five people who are suspiciously missing from the investigation I.e. cooperating witnesses. In other words a few of the group that made deals because they were arrested prior to the operation. How do I know this? Easy. I know 20 of the 24 people arrested. Several of them were friends at one point. All the operation accomplished was getting a small group of drug users off the street for now. Not that I'm not saying it can't have some good impact. Probably see less petty crime like vehicles being broken into and maybe some of the individuals will take this as an opportunity to straighten up their lives and be productive members of our community. But no big drug kingpins were taken down and this will not stop an inflow of drugs to our towns. The drugs are in plentiful supply just a short ride away in towns like Newark, Irvington and Orange. Stopping our drug problem will require much more work.

Living in this community for over 30 years, I recognize and know some of these kids and their parents. It is very sad and my heart goes out to these families, (It could have been any one of our children) The only good that might come out of this is that they are young and HOPEFULLY will learn a HARD lesson, as this will follow them their whole lives anyway. (jobs, etc)

I heard most of the arrested where back on the street before they had the press conference.

State Park, your an Idiot. FYI the town did not pay for the poster

none of you people know these guys like i do. a good hand full of them were my friends. i am glad i got my act together when i did. but just because you do something bad doesnt make you a bad person. so none of you have the right to judge them. you don't know them. we were born with this disease. everyone suffers from addiction, whether its to drugs, cigarettes, food, sex. whatever. not our fault that our addiction is illegal. so screw all of you. find something better to do with your lives than sit here on your little computers and talk shit about people you don't know and have no idea what they've been through.

Seriously Stacey? I'll give you that most of them may be addicted and I'll give you that it's tough to quit but distributing, intent to distribute and possession of stolen property are not diseases.
In addition, I do know one of the arrested. He has a young child. So while you are sitting here defending those arrested and making them out to be the victim I'm here to tell you that little boy is the victim. One of three things are going to happen. Either he's going to go without something because with Daddy in jail there is one less person supporting this child or his grandparents are going to have to step in or our tax dollars are going to have to kick in.
I'm sure you are right that some of the arrested are nice people. The guy I know has never been anything but polite and nice to me. That doesn't change the fact that he is instrumental in perhaps helping others become addicted or fuel their addiction in order to make money to support his own addiction. In my opinion that is not so nice.

@ Amazed78 my 19 year daughter was found dead in her car in Patterson, I dont know how she died untill an autopsy is back in 12 weeks, I have her phone an thats how I was able to see the texts and numbers and they were drug related. The detectives say they have too many drug dealers already and arent interested.

This generation is in BIG trouble ....hopefully these kids will get help now...prayer is needed...sorry for the parents,but these kids just meet the wrong people.....families need God more then ever.....

So very sad for all involved....

I'm really tired of people defending this entire things with the disease comment. It's a disease that they foolishly and willingly brought upon themselves. You aren't born with an addiction to this or any other drug; at some point they made a conscious decision to do what they did. Just because drug addiction is a disease does not mean you can do whatever you like. Yes, if you have an addiction you need help. I understand that part of having an addiction is funding that addiction, but that does NOT excuse this type of behavior. These people should be punished for what they've done. They've taken their disease and spread it around to other people and now their friends and family, while a tragedy to them, want to defend a organized drug ring. You got caught doing something you knew was wrong. Own up to it and get you life on track. I grew up in the same town, knew the same people, went to the same schools, and didn't make the decision of doing drugs, falling into these types or crowds, and making money off of selling dangerous substances to others. Enough with the excuses.

Does this make these 25 unfortunate people evil? No. Terrible? No. But they should pay the price because they know what they did was wrong. Ask yourself if you child was killed or something else horrible happened because of the actions of these people. Would "But they have a disease" make you feel better? No. So own up to what you've done and deal with it.

I commend the police department who brought those to justice. Drugs are luring our innocent children down the wrong path. This is just the beginning of an endless battle.
Unless, we join forces and fight drug abuse our future is doomed.

Cool

Like it or not, addiction IS a disease....does run in families and I guarantee ALL of us know someone who has this disease. Addictive tendencies can show up in eating habits /shopping habits/ collectors/ etc. How many smokers do you know? They are addicts. I totally agree that if you do the crime - you MUST deal with the consequences. I don't know ALL of those listed, but I know a few as they are in the same age group as my kids.......and they are indeed opiate addicts. They need help and this is the first step in their facing reality.The word addict brings up visuals of strung out junkies sitting on street corner in a seedy part of any given city. The reality is that the new face of addiction could be your grandchild, your neighbors daughter, a co-worker. Don't be blind to the truth

PAleease....I looked on the cdc website and saw no such a thing. (http://www.cdc.gov/DiseasesConditions/). I had a rough life and actually know people with diseases. Disease doesn't make you rob, steal, and vandalize. These are grown *ss people. Grown people make grown up decisions knowing full well the consequences . These people deserve everything they get! Good job HPD! Keep them outta here and off our streets!

I went to the Hall of Records and obtained the police report of the investigation (it is open to the public, anyone can get it). I was shocked to learn the alleged "ring leader" of the group was not arrested or named in the poster. Here is a link to their Facebook page Facebook.com/profile.php?=73322363. Hopefully if enough of us ask for this criminal to be arrested and brought to justice the police will take down this monster.

ADDICTION: The fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.

DISEASE: A disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, illness; sickness; ailment.

Well it looks like my 10th class reunion will be held in the county lockup. I know most of the people from Hopatcong on this list. They dont need help they need a kick in the a**.

DISEASE: A disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, illness; sickness; ailment. A incorectly functioning organ. The brain is an organ. Mental Disease is often overlooked, but it still is a silent one. Whatever imbalance these people have caused them to do the drugs, could have been as simple as an absent father, or being bullied at school. Yes I know not everybody who had that happen to them turns to drugs but some do. Please do not overlook people with Mental diseases its serious and it sometimes kills people, directly or indirectly.

DISEASE: A disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, illness; sickness; ailment. A incorectly functioning organ. Mental Disease is often overlooked, but it still is a silent one. Whatever imbalance these people have caused them to do the drugs, could have been as simple as an absent father, or being bullied at school. Yes I know not everybody who had that happen to them turns to drugs but some do. Please do not overlook people with Mental diseases its serious and it sometimes kills people, directly or indirectly.

If Addiction is not a disease..........then why is drug treatment covered by medical insurance? ( under mental health ) ??
Look - I do not feel SORRY of any of these guys..and TOTALLY agree they are where they are because of their actions. I feel sorry that their addiction brought them to this level.Drug addiction WILL make you lie/ cheat/ steal.....its part of the brain chemistry change. The NEED for the substance drives the compulsion to do whatever it takes for that next hit. But for any of you who say addiction is not a disease ...you are ignorant of the facts. Just because you haven't experienced it, doesn't mean it does not exist. I guess you don't feel sorry for Grandma with the oxygen tank - because of emphysema brought on by years of smoking cigarettes? Nah...she brought it on herself...RIGHT?

Hopatcong is a terrible place to raise kids. I'm so glad I got out when I did, otherwise my name may have been up there. I feel bad for the people involved, and I guarantee had those individuals grown up in a town like let's day Madison or Chatham, this would not have happened to them. This was no huge dent to the drugs in the town, what a joke that comment was. The people they arrested were small time users and dealers. Where's the Big fish? Hopatcong are to stupid to ever catch those guys. Lmao

Chief Brennan is truly a man of his word. He said he was going to start to deal with the horrific drug problem in the town and he didn't let us down. Keep up the good work and kudos to you and your department. I am sure there is alot more work to be done, but I have the utmost confidence the job will get done. Let's not forget the great job Roxbury police did in this joint effort. When everyone works together you can move mountains.

Congratulations to Hopatcong and Roxbury PD's on a job well done. I know one of these individuals personally and know of one of the others. I am sure my kids know most of them but thankfully they are not involved with this sorry bunch.

I only counted 22 mug shot photos, and the title of the artice is "Drug Bust Nets 25 in Hopatcong, Roxbury." My friend is in law enforcement and she explains when there is a snitch, they help identify other drug dealers, in return for their mug shot not appearing in the media. If you look a the list of names, and check off whose photo does not appear, you can spot the snitch, or snitches. I fear for the snitches and their families. I work two jobs and still I have a hard time putting food on the table and paying the bills. These pampered suburban youth can buy drugs and profit off the misery of others. We have a chance to rid our town of these crime families, and the Police can only do so much. Vigilante justice is needed. Today. I don't want my child's mind and body ravage by the scourge of drugs.

Yeah the blonde girl in the bust. use to go to the Black River barn. and buy weed off Johnny John the bartender that works there. unbelievable. and he still works at the barn. after he got busted selling weed. back in March. show you what kind of honors run the barn and the people he has working for them

The Romney Boyz solved the case!

Why do I see a certain surname again and again in relation to drugs and alcohol? Gee, wonder if there is any relation?

God's plan for the 25 drug families. He will take care of them. Hey, do me a favor. The next time you're near the pond, drop a stone in. Do you know what'll happen? It sends ripples. Imagine 25 stones, and the amount of ripples. These arrests send ripples though our families, our classmates, our relatives, our bouncers, our ministers, our bikers, our vandals, dropouts, shoe collectors, Celtic fans, Spanish ex-girlfriends, legal divorced secretaries, vulgar and naughty moms, bitter moms, moms who say, "She thinks she is better than everybody, our jailed husbands, our uneducated moms, our tanning moms, our moms with overharvested eyebrows, etc. Let's invite these criminal of the street and into church.