Tim "Gotti" Baukman (left) and Alton "Ace Capone" Coles in "New Jack City: The Next Generation." In 2005, ATF agents and police were building a case against Coles, a hip-hop promoter who they believed ran a huge drug operation. When they tapped his cell phone, they found he made or received an average of 280 calls a day.
Ace Capone: Second of two parts
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Tapped Out
With surveillance and arrests, authorities close in.
He'd been released on bail, but his gold Buick Park Avenue had been impounded. On the phone, he told Coles his "work" was still in the car.
Campbell was a volunteer firefighter, and among the things he wanted to recover were fire boots and pants that he kept in the trunk.
The next day, he called Coles again: He now had a lawyer who was trying to get his "stuff" back.
"I didn't tell him what was in the boots," Campbell said as the ATF listened.
Later that night, Coles was heard phoning a girlfriend and complaining: "Mar got locked up. . . . I took a loss on this."
By then, county detectives had inventoried Campbell's car and returned the fire pants and boots to the Green Ridge Fire Company.
As a result of the wiretaps, the ATF asked to inspect the gear.
An ATF agent examining the pants noticed that inside the left leg - "between the outer protective layer . . . and the inner insulation," according to an ATF report - there was a brown bag. Inside that bag was a plastic bag containing a half pound of cocaine.
Campbell's arrest provided one other dividend to investigators.
The gun that police seized when they arrested him matched several of the fired cartridge casings found at a notorious shoot-out on Kingsessing Avenue in October 2004. Authorities had suspected that the firefight, in which 54 shots were fired in about two minutes, was tied to a drug dispute between the Coles organization and another drug gang.
Now they had evidence to back that up.
Buying a second Bentley?
During the next three months, the ATF overheard Coles conducting business, talking in code, barking at underlings, and constantly cautioning others to be wary of law enforcement surveillance and informants.They also caught glimpses of Coles' personal life.
To his associate, Tim "Gotti" Baukman, Coles complained about the aggravation of moving. He and his current girlfriend had vacated a townhouse in Newark, Del., and were building a $480,000 home near Mullica Hill, Gloucester County.
Coles was putting his clothing and furniture in storage and was camping out in an apartment until the house was ready.
"I hate this," he said. "I swear, I ain't moving no more. This is the last time."
He then complained about "the crew" moving his stuff: "I gotta be here to make sure they don't break nothing."
In a conversation with another girlfriend, Coles was heard debating the pros and cons of buying a second Bentley.
She argued against the $200,000 purchase.
"What the hell is the purpose of having two Bentleys?" she asked.
