Marquis Douglas, of Riverhead, sentenced to 25 years for selling fentanyl-laced cocaine that killed 4 on East End

A Riverhead man who admitted selling fentanyl-laced cocaine that killed four people on the North Fork and Shelter Island on the same day in 2021 was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison Tuesday as some of the anguished victims’ families called for a tougher punishment.

Marquis Douglas, 39, pleaded guilty last year in connection with the opioid deaths of Swainson Brown, of Shelter Island; Matthew LaPiana, of East Marion; Seth Tramontana, of Greenport, and Navid Ahmadzadeh, of Southold — all of whom died after consuming a fentanyl analog on Aug. 13, 2021.

"It's an outrage that so many people in our small town of Greenport had to die," said Patricia LaPiana, the mother of Matthew LaPiana, as she addressed the Central Islip courtroom Tuesday.

She described how her husband found their son "lifeless and cold" in his bed and was "unable to revive him."

Tears fell as she and other family members spoke, remembering their loved ones — Matthew LaPiana loved to fish with his father and hang out with his dog, and Brown was an established chef — and described the devastation they feel with their absence.

U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced Douglas to 25 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release — a term recommended by the prosecution and defense as part of a plea agreement.

"The amount of drugs he's distributed over his life is chilling," said Seybert, who added his sentence was below federal sentencing guidelines "and anything that was reasonable."

The judge added: "He might be out in 20 years with good behavior."

Douglas also spoke to the court, shouting and shedding tears as he turned in his chair and looked directly at the victims' families seated across the courtroom.

Douglas, whose wife and other family members were in court to support him, said he was friends with two of the victims — an assertion rejected by one victim's family — and he would have never sold them fentanyl.

"The worst thing I ever did was touch fentanyl," said Douglas, who maintained he didn't add the fentanyl analog to the cocaine that was sold to the victims. "Why would I take these drugs and mix them? I'm from Greenport born and raised. They were my friends!"

The judge offered a sharp rebuke.

"He's not distributing drugs because he has friends in Greenport," Seybert said. "He's doing it for money, greed."

Alicia Laudecio said her brother Matthew LaPiana, who worked at times as a chef, landscaper and for a moving company, didn't know Douglas.

"The world is not the same without Matthew in it," she told the court.

Douglas' defense attorney, Richard Langone, said his client had expressed "sadness and sorrow at the losses that had occurred."

"Mr. Douglas was a product of that community and the drug culture," said Langone, of Garden City.

Prosecutor Michael R. Maffei also addressed Douglas' statements.

"This idea that he would never harm the community is laughable," Maffei said. "He moved away to Texas but kept his drug operation on Long Island going."

Prosecutors said the four victims died after ingesting cocaine laced with a fentanyl analog that had been distributed by Douglas and ultimately sold to the victims by a street-level dealer in Greenport. When Douglas was arrested in May 2022, he had 105 grams of fentanyl and 135 grams of cocaine.

"Douglas’ singular contribution to the opioid epidemic on Long Island is horrific as the drugs he distributed contributed to the deaths of four human beings," said Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "Today’s lengthy sentence should serve as a deterrent to those endangering our communities by distributing potentially lethal drugs."

Beverly Samuels, Brown's mother, said she was "really disappointed" Douglas' sentence wasn't longer. She thought Douglas would receive 25 years for each victim, she said.

"There's so much hurt and anger," Samuels, 62, said. "Four people died, four young people. I have to go to the grave all the time to talk to my son."

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.