Northeast man convicted
in local drug ring

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

A tattoo parlor owner and "Breed" motorcycle gang member from Northeast Philadelphia was one of three men convicted last week of operating a multimillion-dollar, locally based methamphetamine distribution ring.
William "Tattoo Billy" Johnson, 31, of the 3600 block of Morrell Ave., faces 30 years to life in prison after a federal jury on Oct. 4 found him guilty of numerous counts of conspiring to distribute crystal meth, committing violent crimes in the aid of racketeering and weapons offenses.
Authorities identified Johnson as a member of the executive board of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Breed Motorcycle Club, as well as an enforcer for the Bristol-based gang.
The same Philadelphia jury found chapter president John "Junior" Napoli, 35, of Levittown, and board member Thomas "Fuzzy" Heilman, 54, of Bristol, guilty of related crimes.
Napoli also faces 30 years to life behind bars following his conviction on multiple conspiracy, violent crimes, extortion and weapons counts. Heilman was convicted of conspiracy and faces 21 to 27 years in prison.
No sentencing date has been set, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Foulkes, who prosecuted the case along with Krishan Nair, a Pennsylvania prosecutor serving as a special assistant federal prosecutor.
According to investigators in the case, Breed members and their associates dealt more than $11 million worth of the stimulant drug in Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey between spring 2005 and summer 2006. Johnson, who also maintained a residence on the 4600 block of Bergen St., obtained much of the drugs from a non-club source, Northeast resident Robert Traverse, 39, of the 8600 block of Jackson St. Traverse previously pleaded guilty to state drug distribution charges and was not named as a defendant in the federal case.
In July 2006, authorities raided numerous locations, including Johnson’s homes and the Breed’s Bristol clubhouse, and rounded up more than a dozen suspected participants in the drug organization. Last July, a federal grand jury indicted six of the defendants, including Johnson, Napoli and Heilman.
Two other defendants, Bristol resident and former Philadelphia schoolteacher Christopher "Slam" Quattrocchi, 36, and Eric "Kicker" Loebsack, 36, of Levittown, pleaded guilty to conspiracy prior to the trial and testified for the prosecution. Both face 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentences, but U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III may grant them a so-called "downward departure" or lesser sentence because of their cooperation, Foulkes said.
Co-defendant Frederick "Pan Head Fred" Freehoff, 50, of Bristol, pleaded guilty but did not testify. Prosecutors agreed with his defense attorney to recommend a 15-year prison sentence to the judge.
Quattrocchi, Loebsack and Freehoff are to be sentenced early next year, Foulkes said.
During the two-week trial, Quattrocchi, Loebsack and other prosecution witnesses recounted the operations of the Breed-controlled meth ring and several violent beatings orchestrated by the gang’s leaders to protect and facilitate the drug operation.
Napoli ascended to the presidency of the Breed after his predecessor was hospitalized in November 2005 following a severe beating at the hands of members of the club, witnesses said.
During the July 2006 raids, investigators allegedly recovered two dozens firearms, including handguns, shotguns, rifles and a machine gun, from properties controlled by the defendants, as well as ammunition, explosives, dozens of pounds of meth and stolen motorcycles.
Defense attorneys in the case reportedly challenged the accuracy of testimony supplied by government witnesses. One attorney also claimed that agents may have planted drugs in a defendant’s home. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com