Nassau Man Found Guilty Of Being Major Drug Trafficker

A Uniondale man who supplied drugs across Long Island and upstate New York was convicted on Monday of acting as a major trafficker — the first time someone in Nassau County has been found guilty of the crime since the law was passed.

David Ramis, 40, was found guilty of a slew of drug-related charges, including operating as a major trafficker, a Class A felony. He is facing 49 years to life in prison at his sentencing on June 15. Operating as a major trafficker is the only drug crime in New York that has a life sentence.

“Today’s conviction marks the first time a defendant has been convicted of operating as a major trafficker in Nassau County since the law was enacted in 2009,” said District Attorney Madeline Singas. “When David Ramis was arrested as part of Operation Gram Slam [in 2016], an entire heroin distribution ring was dismantled in Nassau County. We will aggressively prosecute anyone who is dealing this poison in our communities.”

Starting in January 2016, the DA's office began investigating Ramis, believing he was supplying heroin and cocaine to 50 dealers across Long Island and upstate. Authorities conducted a nine-month-long investigation, and learned that Ramis often conducted sales in front of his home. He told some of his "top customers" that he saw them so much he should double their orders because he didn't want to drive around with drugs so frequently. Authorities also say that some of his users said the heroin Ramis sold was so strong they were surprised it didn't kill them.

When police arrested Ramis, they recovered more than 130 grams of heroin and a kilogram of cocaine from search warrants and car stops. Police found 150 grams of cocaine in a hidden compartment Ramis built into his car to transport drugs.

Authorities say that the drugs Ramis sold to his top-three customers during a three-month period were worth more than $250,000.

Ramis was one of 31 people from across Long Island that were indicted in July 2016 as part of "Operation Gram Slam," which was one of the largest drug take-downs in the county's history. In addition to the drugs, authorities seized three handguns, three assault rifles and $75,000 cash. The investigation began in 2015 following a traffic stop arrest in Rockville Centre, which led to the FBI's Long Island Gang Task Force looking into local heroin distributors.

• RELATED: 'Operation Gram Slam' Among Largest Narcotics Takedowns in Nassau County History: DA

“We have said this before, but it cannot be stressed enough: the law enforcement partnerships all of the agencies involved in this case have developed are making a major impact on the criminal enterprises on Long Island," said William F. Sweeney, the assistant director-in-charge of the FBI New York Field Office. "The work we’re doing day in and day out is bringing pushers and dealers to justice, and stopping them from exacerbating the deadly drug epidemic killing thousands of people in this country. Our FBI Long Island Gang Task Force and our partner agencies aren’t going away.”

After a five-week trial and three-and-a-half days of jury deliberation, Ramis was found guilty of two counts of operating as a major trafficker, first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, three counts of second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two counts of second-degree criminal possession 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.

Photo: Nassau County District Attorney's Office