Alleged leader of ‘Operation Zombie’ gun-trafficking ring is detained in custody

An alleged leader of what authorities called a major Philadelphia-based trafficking ring that peddled drugs and guns into Camden — including the assault rifle used in the fatal shooting of 2-year-old Nikolette Rivera in Kensington last year — was ordered detained in custody Friday.

Robert “Zombie” Crosley III, 32, of Northeast Philadelphia, was one of five defendants charged in “Operation Zombie,” a months-long investigation in which the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office; the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office; and local, state, and federal law enforcement authorities recovered 36 guns and more than 20 ounces of methamphetamine.

Meanwhile Friday, another defendant, Yuri Lyubinskiy, 39, also of Northeast Philadelphia, who authorities said was a straw purchaser in the ring, was ordered released pending trial.

Camden County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Delaney said she found Crosley to be “a danger to the community,” but said Lyubinskiy’s situation was different.

Crosley faces 38 counts including first-degree promoting organized street crime and first-degree distribution of methamphetamine, and a potential sentence of life in prison, and has a prior conviction in Bucks County of possession with intent to deliver drugs.

Lyubinskiy, who turned himself in to authorities Tuesday faces 11 counts including second-degree conspiracy in the gun trafficking and second-degree transporting firearms for sale, and has no prior convictions.

His attorney, Hercules Pappas, told the judge: “He is an Uber driver. He’s a Lyft driver. … He was paid to drive people places. He is not involved with this crew.”

But Deputy Attorney General Cassandra Montalto contended that Lyubinskiy’s lack of a prior criminal record made him “the perfect person in this organization to be obtaining weapons for Mr. Crosley and the others.” She also said there was evidence that Lyubinskiy participated in the trafficking ring.

Starting in February 2019, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; and the New Jersey State Police began investigating Crosley in the trafficking of weapons and methamphetamine, Montalto told the judge. Every time he was contacted by an undercover law enforcement source, Crosley “would indicate that he had multiple weapons for sale” and also could sell methamphetamine, she said.

He would send photos and videos of the weapons he had for sale and would use Uber and Lyft drivers to travel to Camden with his weapons, Montalto said.

Crosley, the prosecutor said, is responsible for bringing more than 20 weapons to New Jersey, including the assault rifle allegedly used in the fatal Oct. 20 shooting of Nikolette. Ten more weapons were seized from his Philadelphia residence Jan. 23, Montalto said.

When Crosley was in Camden in December and sold the assault rifle that killed Nikolette, “what Crosley didn’t know was that he was selling that crime gun to law enforcement,” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Monday at a news conference about Operation Zombie.

Although authorities have described the rifle used in Nikolette’s shooting as an AK-47, Montalto said at Friday’s hearing that it was an SKS. A spokesperson for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office confirmed afterward that it was an SKS.

The investigation revealed that Crosley allegedly obtained guns illegally by paying “straw purchasers” to buy them in Pennsylvania at dealerships and gun shows, authorities said. Straw purchasers are people with no criminal record who buy guns on behalf of felons, who are prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Crosley was arrested Jan. 22 in Camden, where he allegedly had gone to sell guns and drugs, authorities said. He had two handguns, which he said were for his protection, and four long guns, which he intended to sell, Montalto said.

Crosley’s attorney, Robert Gamburg, argued unsuccessfully for his client to be released to house arrest pending trial. He told the judge that Crosley has no prior convictions involving guns or violence.

Three other Philadelphia residents also are charged in the case: Matthew Zoba, 38, accused of managing the drug trafficking conspiracy; Victoria Zipf, 33, Zoba’s girlfriend, accused of acting as a straw purchaser and assisting in gun and drug sales; and Michael Snyder, 44, who also allegedly acted as a straw purchaser and helped with gun and drug sales.

Snyder turned himself in to New Jersey State Police on Monday and was released pending trial. Zoba and Zipf, both arrested in Philadelphia Jan. 23, face extradition hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Zoba remains in custody; Zipf is free on bail.