River Styx Grill Owner Pleads Guilty to Heroin Distribution Charges

The owner of Hopatcong’s River Styx Grill entered a guilty plea in Morristown Superior Court Monday to possessing 1,900 heroin folds with the intent to distribute it through a drug ring in Sussex, Essex and Morris counties, according to Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp.

Jefferson resident John Davieau, 55, pled guilty specifically to a second-degree charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than half an ounce of heroin, Knapp said. 

Judge Mary Gibbons Whipple told Davieau that following his plea, he will “almost certainly” end up in state prison. 

As part of his guilty plea, Davieau listed his co-conspirators as Hopatcong residents Rachel Dean, 30, Amanda Skinner, 25,  and 28-year-old Joseph M. Pokrzywa; James Mauer, 25, of Andover, 28-year-old Ledgewood resident Maria McHugh and Frank Griffin, 52, of Newark.

Davieau and the others were arrested Aug. 6 after a six-month investigation by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, Hopatcong Borough Police, Jefferson Township Police and other law enforcement agencies. The restaurant owner, who reportedly is selling the property, faced 103 counts that included conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin and distribution within 500 feet of Lake Hopatcong, a public park. 

The investigation culminated in the seizure of 10 bricks of heroin (500 doses), six vehicles and $23,000 in proceeds from drug sales, a prosecutor's office statement said. Under the terms of Davieau's plea agreement with the state, prosecutors will recommend a five-year sentence in New Jersey State Prison. Davieau also agreed to forfeiting more than $55,000 and a 2008 Dodge Durango.