Former United States figure skating champion Nicole Bobek appeared in a Jersey City court Monday morning in connection with a methamphetamine distribution ring in the Hudson County area.
Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said Bobek, 31, appeared in Central Judicial Processing Court via video link from the Hudson County jail in Kearny. DeFazio said she was arrested in Florida as a fugitive last week and brought back to New Jersey on Thursday by Hudson County Sheriff’s officers. DeFazio said she is charged with conspiracy to distribute and played a “significant role” in the methamphetamine distribution ring, which authorities believe distributed $10,000 worth of methamphetamine per week.
Methamphetamine is a lethal drug that comes in such forms as crystal and can be smoked, snorted, injected or taken orally.
DeFazio said Nicole Bobek is being held at the jail on a $200,000 cash or bond bail. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
Bobek is one of 20 people who were arrested in connection with the meth ring, which was brought down due to a yearlong investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Municipal Task Force and the Bayonne Police Department. The other arrests took place in June.
Others charged include seven Jersey City residents, a North Bergen resident, and a Union City resident. – Ricardo Kaulessar