New Jersey § 2c:20-2

§ 2c:20-2.

a. A person is a leader of a cargo theft network if he conspires with others as an

organizer, supervisor, financier or manager to engage for profit in a scheme or course

of conduct to unlawfully take, dispose of, distribute, bring into, transport, or store

in this State property stolen from a cargo carrier, where the amount is at least $5,000. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, leader of a cargo theft

network is a crime of the second degree. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:43-3 , the court may impose a fine not to exceed $250,000 or five times the retail value

of the property seized at the time of the arrest, whichever is greater. (2) Leader of a cargo theft network is a crime of the first degree if the scheme or

course of conduct to unlawfully take, dispose of, distribute, bring into, transport,

or store in this State property stolen from a cargo carrier included the use or threatened

use of any deadly weapon, as defined in N.J.S.2C:39-1 in the commission of the theft. Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to limit the authority or discretion

of the State to charge or prosecute any person for robbery under N.J.S.2C:15-1 or for any other offense, nor shall a conviction for robbery merge with any conviction

under this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:43-3 , the court may impose a fine not to exceed $500,000 or five times the retail value

of the property seized at the time of the arrest, whichever is greater. b. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:1-8 , a conviction of leader of a cargo theft network shall not merge with the conviction

for any offense which is the object of the conspiracy. Nothing contained in this act shall prohibit the court from imposing an extended

term pursuant to N.J.S.2C:43-7 ; nor shall this act be construed in any way to preclude or limit the prosecution

or conviction of any person for conspiracy under N.J.S.2C:5-2 , or any prosecution or conviction for any other offense. c. It shall not be necessary in any prosecution under this section for the State to

prove that any intended profit was actually realized. The trier of fact may infer that a particular scheme or course of conduct was undertaken

for profit from all of the attending circumstances, including but not limited to the

number of persons involved in the scheme or course of conduct, the actor's net worth

and his expenditures in relation to his legitimate sources of income, the amount of

property or number of incidents of theft, or the amount of cash or currency involved. d. It shall not be a defense to a prosecution under this section that the stolen property

was brought into, transported or stored in this State solely for ultimate distribution

in another jurisdiction; nor shall it be a defense that any profit was intended to

be made in another jurisdiction. e. A person convicted of a second or subsequent offense under this section shall be

sentenced to a term of imprisonment that shall include a mandatory minimum term of

one-third to one-half of the sentence imposed, during which time the defendant shall

not be eligible for parole. The court may not suspend or make any other non-custodial disposition of any person

sentenced as a second or subsequent offender pursuant to this section. For the purposes of this section an offense is considered a second or subsequent

offense if the actor has at any time been convicted pursuant to this section, or under

any similar statute of the United States, this State or any other state for an offense

that is substantially equivalent to this section.