Cherry Hill mother and son charged with drug trafficking

A Cherry Hill mother who was a longtime diving coach at the College of New Jersey and her son have been charged by federal authorities with running drug trafficking operation involving counterfeit prescription pills containing heroin and fentanyl.

During a hearing Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Camden, Candace Gottlieb, 59, was ordered held without bail. She was arrested on June 1 after federal and local authorities executed a search warrant at her residence. Investigators seized approximately 6,000 counterfeit pills, cocaine and marijuana packaged for sale, two handguns, and about $2,000 in cash, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement. She was fired from the  part-time position shortly after her arrest.

Her son, Tyler Gottlieb, 27, also was arrested on June 1, but in California. The next day, a second search warrant was executed at a residence connected to Tyler Gottlieb and investigators found additional firearms, including an AK-47 rifle, 1,000 rounds of ammunition, high-capacity ammunition magazines, and marijuana and packaging materials, Carpenito said.

In March, authorities seized $67,760 from Tyler Gottlieb at Philadelphia International Airport as he was about to board a flight to California. In the months that followed, FBI agents obtained 802 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and heroin from both Candace and Tyler Gottlieb. Agents also purchased cocaine through a transaction orchestrated by Tyler Gottlieb and seized approximately 40 pounds of marijuana he tried to mail to New Jersey. Agents also obtained samples of cocaine and marijuana from the mother. Both face a maximum 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine if convicted.