Major drug trafficker sentenced to 25 years to life in prison
A Uniondale man who prosecutors said supplied heroin and cocaine to dozens of drug dealers on Long Island and upstate New York was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Friday.
David Ramis, 40, was sentenced by Acting Supreme Court Justice Helen Gugerty. He had been convicted last month of two counts of operating as a major trafficker in Nassau County and other drug charges after a trial that lasted five weeks.
His attorney, Natasja Bellinger of West Islip, said she intends to appeal the sentence.
Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said the case marks the first time that someone has been convicted of being a major trafficker in the county since a law creating the charge was enacted in 2009.
The law concerns trafficking of narcotics that are sold or intended to be sold for an amount exceeding $75,000. It is the only drug crime in New York State that carries a life sentence, Singas said.
“This defendant lined his pockets by trafficking massive quantities of heroin and cocaine to dealers across Long Island and today’s sentence ensures that he will not poison our neighbors and communities again,” she said in a news release.
Officials said Ramis was supplying heroin and cocaine to approximately 50 dealers throughout Long Island and upstate New York.
Ramis was also convicted of first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, three counts of second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, eight counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two counts of first-degree conspiracy, two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy, and two counts of second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia.
The sentence is the latest development after a nine-month multiagency investigation, dubbed Operation Grand Slam, that began in January 2016 when Singas’ office started looking into Ramis.
The investigation led to indictments in July 2016 of 31 people who officials said were part of a narcotics ring on Long Island. The capture of Ramis, prosecutors said, destroyed the drug distribution enterprise in Nassau County.
As many as 30 of the cases have been resolved, prosecutors said.
“‘Operation Grand Slam’ struck a heavy blow to Long Island’s drug supply, and law enforcement at every level is working tirelessly together, with a shared commitment to end the heroin epidemic that has stolen so many lives,” Singas said.
The agencies that participated in the investigation include the FBI Long Island Gang Task Force, Rockville Centre, Nassau, Suffolk, New York State, Hempstead, Garden City and Glen Cove police departments, the Nassau and Suffolk sheriff’s departments and the Suffolk County Department of Probation.
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