Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden man was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to sell 22 guns without a license, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Joseph Rutling, 24, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to deal firearms without a license and one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. Judge Bumb imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Between April 8, 2013, and July 28, 2014, Joseph Rutling and his brother, Marcus Rutling, a/k/a “Fresh,” 33, of Camden, and Saluda, South Carolina, conspired with others to illegally sell firearms without a license, including handguns, shotguns and an assault rifle. They obtained the firearms from pawn shops, gun stores and other sources in South Carolina and brought them to New Jersey, at times using Amtrak trains to transport the guns. Marcus Rutling personally sold or participated in the sale of at least seven firearms, including handguns and shotguns, to a witness cooperating with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Joseph Rutling personally sold or participated in the sale of at least 15 firearms, including handguns, shotguns and an assault rifle, also to an ATF cooperating witness. On at least five occasions, Joseph Rutling sold ammunition with the firearms.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Bumb sentenced Joseph Rutling to three years of supervised release. Marcus Rutling also pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy and was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Oct. 8, 2015.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George P. Belsky, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked special agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, as well as officers from the Winslow Township and Clementon, New Jersey, police departments, for their work in the case.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.

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15-393                                                           
Defense counsel: Mark W. Catanzaro Esq., Mount Holly