Social media led to another state-requested gag order related to the Kauffman murder and drug ring case Wednesday.
An Egg Harbor Township man accused of witness tampering and cyber-bullying in the case was in court for a detention hearing.
John Kachbalian, 56, is accused of using Facebook posts to embarrass and intimidate witnesses in the case. A specific target is Beverly Augello, the former wife of the only man now charged in April Kauffman's killing.
Ferdinand "Freddy" Augello will go on trial next week for murder and racketeering, in a case that included his alleged partnership with the victim's now-dead husband, Dr. James Kauffman.
While Kachbalian's detention hearing was postponed, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Seth Levy used the brief court appearance to ask that the gag order imposed on those involved in the Augello case be extended to this one.
Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury granted that request.
Augello and Kachbalian, it seems, were friends and, at one time, "brothers" in the Pagans Motorcycle Club.
Kachbalian — who goes by "the Egyptian" — has posted about the case extensively on his Facebook page, including calling out one-time Pagan and admitted informant Andrew Glick.
But as the co-defendants in the drug-ring case have taken pleas, Kachbalian has posted their stories and called them out as being "rats."
Only Augello and Paul Pagano — who is charged in the racketeering part of the case — have maintained their innocence and will go to trial. Pagano's trial has not yet been scheduled.
Kachbalian made sure to post on his page that Pagano was not included in the "Rat Roster," even though his name appeared on the state's original witness list.
In targeting Beverly Augello, Kachbalian included a post that shows a naked woman walking away from the camera. While he does not name the woman, he insinuates it's her.
In an earlier post, he notes how she took a plea in which she promised to provide testimony against her former husband on what would have been their wedding anniversary.
"Here's the best part," Kachbalian wrote, "I gave her away."
The original gag order was sparked by Facebook posts as well. Freddy Augello was posting statuses about the case and often picked apart some of the alleged evidence against him.
In granting the state's motion for a gag order, DeLury noted that both sides had played out the case in the media, pointing to the 20/20 special Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner and lead detective, Sgt. James Scoppa, participated in.
Several people were reportedly involved in the killing of the veterans advocate. Her alleged shooter, Francis Mulholland, died of an overdose before charges came. Her husband was found dead in his Hudson County Jail cell from an apparent suicide. Glick turned confidential informant.
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