Methamphetamine, a drug that stimulates the central nervous system, is known as "speed." Schiavo, according to police reports after his arrest, was operating one of the largest methamphetamine labs on the East Coast, an operation capable of producing an estimated $26 million worth of the crystalline drug each year.
His Westville apartment contained a computer and computer records, which police believe the 57-year-old Schiavo used to keep track of his business operations. A house in nearby Washington Township was identified as the location of a methamphetamine lab operated by Schiavo.
That a police investigation would link a major methamphetamine operation to two suburban, residential communities in South Jersey came as no surprise to longtime narcotics investigators.
Neither did the violence.
South Jersey, particularly Gloucester, Camden and Burlington Counties, has long been considered part of the methamphetamine capital of the East Coast.
Philadelphia, its Pennsylvania suburbs and areas as far away as the Poconos are also part of a sprawling region where, police said, the illegal production, distribution and sale of the drug are considered a major problem.
The traditional involvement of area organized crime figures in the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine is one reason the drug is so prevalent in the region, law enforcement officials said. Another major factor is the availability of isolated, yet easily accessible, areas where methamphetamine labs can be set up.
"This seems to be one of the main centers," said Lt. Charles Gray, assistant bureau supervisor of the New Jersey State Police Narcotics Bureau and a 20-year veteran of narcotics investigations.
"You'll see some of it in Mercer County, but nothing significant. And once you get up north - Essex or Hudson County - it's very rare."
