Charles Carter, of Amityville, sentenced to 20 years for selling fentanyl that killed 2

An Amityville man who sold fentanyl that contributed to two deaths was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in federal prison, a term three years longer than prosecutors had recommended.

U.S. District Judge Gary R. Brown said he believed Charles Carter's actions were “extra egregious” when he continued selling the deadly opioid after learning of the first victim's death in 2020.

“The crime here is of unspeakable magnitude,” Brown told Carter, noting that the families of both victims had asked for a maximum sentence of 40 years incarceration.

“They're not wrong,” Brown said of the families, who spoke virtually at sentencing. “They never get to see their loved ones again, and that's your fault.”

Carter, 35, who was known by the nickname Chase, pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl. He expressed remorse Thursday and apologized for contributing to a “cycle of destruction.”

“I deeply regret my involvement in dealing drugs and the pain it has inflicted,” said Carter, who was arrested in Nassau County in 2021.

The recommended sentence under federal guidelines was 20 to 25 years in prison, though prosecutors and the defense mutually sought a 17-year sentence after Carter accepted responsibility for his actions. Brown rejected the idea of a below-guideline sentence.

Carter forfeited approximately $3,200 in seized narcotics sales proceeds and a 2009 Jeep Patriot he used to facilitate narcotics sales as part of his early plea agreement, court records show. On Thursday he was ordered to pay nearly $30,000 in restitution to the families of his victims.

“Carter, who openly acknowledged his drug dealing was all ‘about the money,’ is held responsible today for callously selling fentanyl that contributed to the deaths of two victims on Long Island,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a statement. “Fentanyl is a lethal drug that is killing so many people across this nation every day.” 

Between August 2020 and February 2021, prosecutors said, Carter sold more than 40 grams of fentanyl to two overdose victims and an undercover detective from the Glen Cove Police Department.

Carter sold fentanyl to Gabriella Selloni, 23, of Glen Cove, about two days before her Aug. 6, 2020, overdose death, prosecutors said.

Glen Cove Police Det. Brian Glennon read statements during the sentencing Thursday from Selloni's father, John, and twin sister, Alexandria, that spoke of the void Gabriella's death has left in their family.

“There really is no way to explain the pain you feel,” John Selloni wrote of losing his daughter. He said the two had been “at odds” before her death and questioned if she'd “be with us instead of in a grave” if things had been different.

The family of Michael Sorce III, of Farmingdale, who died of an overdose on Feb. 5, 2021, after purchasing fentanyl from Carter, a longtime acquaintance, said he was one of four siblings in a blended family to lose their life to drug or alcohol addiction. His father, Michael Sorce II, said his son abused opioids to treat an illness.

“And, he paid the price,” the father said as he addressed the court by telephone. “I miss my son very much.”

The families called Carter “money hungry” and a “merchant of death.”

On Jan. 21, 2021, Carter wrote text messages to Sorce, stating “im. [sic] around and I got the good stuff[.] Do u need to see me..??” according to court records.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley King wrote in a presentencing memo that Carter bragged to an undercover detective of having “strong [expletive]” he “might have to cut” in October 2020 text messages.

“His sole motivation for this behavior was greed, to get money,” King said at sentencing.

King said Carter knew he was selling fentanyl, which he said has become so prominent in the stream of drugs on Long Island that all opioid users “should assume” the drugs they are using contain fentanyl.

Defense attorney John Kaley, of Manhattan, said Carter was once a promising athlete who became addicted to marijuana and painkillers after suffering an injury in high school and later developed a gambling habit.

“He was just caught up in his own addiction and lost touch with the right way to behave,” Kaley told the judge.

Brown said despite the longer-than-expected sentence, Carter was “very lucky” to have been arrested instead of continuing in the drug trade.

“You would have wound up dead in short order,” Brown said.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.