TOMS RIVER, NJ — Daniel P. Kessel has been a familiar presence at town council meetings over the last few years, repeatedly urging officials to allow legal cannabis sales in their towns since New Jersey voters gave a thumbs up to legalizing recreational use by adults in the 2020 election.
Kessel has been especially persistent in Toms River, where he lives, telling town officials they are losing out on potential tax money because of the refusal of town officials to allow dispensaries and retail recreational cannabis shops in the township.
He won’t be attending any council meetings for a while, however, after the 37-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with illegal marijuana distribution in the Ocean County area.
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Kessel was sentenced Jan. 5 in three separate cases against him in connection with his operation of “BudHub,” through which he was illegally distributing marijuana in Ocean County, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
Superior Court Judge Kimarie Rahill sentenced Kessel to five years in New Jersey state prison for his guilty plea to conspiracy to maintain a controlled dangerous substance production facility in an August 2020 case in Berkeley Township.
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In addition, Rahill sentenced him to five years in prison for his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit financial facilitation and failure to pay income tax in a 2021 case in Berkeley Township and Toms River, Billhimer said.
Rahill also sentenced Kessel to five years in prison for his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute marijuana in a quantity of more than 5 pounds but less than 25 pounds, in connection with a 2023 case in Toms River, Billhimer said.
The three sentences will run concurrently, Rahill ordered. Kessel pled guilty to all charges before Rahill on Aug. 14, 2023, the prosecutor said.
Kessel first was arrested Aug. 25, 2020 after authorities investigating marijuana distribution determined he was using a home in the Holiday City section of Berkeley Township to store and distribute narcotics.
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A search of the home turned up about 7 pounds of hashish, 2 pounds of THC, drug paraphernalia, equipment and supplies indicative of manufacturing and distributing narcotics, and about $18,000 in cash, Billhimer said. Detectives learned Kessel had a safe deposit box at a Bank of America branch in Toms River and seized $61,000 in cash from the safe deposit box, he said.
Kessel was arrested and taken to the Ocean County Jail, and later released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform, Billhimer said.
While the charges were pending in the first case, authorities began investigating again and determined Kessel was illegally selling marijuana again, this time using a camper and a trailer at a Toms River home and a home in Holiday City at Berkeley for the distribution.
They began surveillance Sept. 13, 2021, and on Oct. 20, 2021, searched both sites and seized $457,000 in cash from the two locations, along with freezing a Venmo account with $49,000 and a CashApp account with $45,000, Billhimer said. Kessel was arrested and taken to the county jail and released again because of bail reform, the prosecutor said.
The third investigation led to surveillance that started Jan. 31, 2023, and ended Feb. 21, 2023 with Kessel’s arrest and the seizure of several ounces of marijuana and THC products, Billhimer said. Kessel was held in the Ocean County Jail from Feb. 21 until his guilty plea in August, the prosecutor said.
In total, authorities seized more than $630,000 from Kessel’s homes and accounts.
Kessel was released after his guilty plea in August but has been held in the Ocean County Jail, pending transfer to state prison, since he was sentenced.
Billhimer said Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke handled the cases.
The following agencies, units and police departments assisted in the investigations:
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