Nassau Man Gets Life In Jail For Running Drug Ring

A Hempstead man was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison on Friday for his role in running a drug ring that supplied narcotics all across New York, from Long Island to Albany.

Michael Price, 37, was sentenced by Justice Teresa Corrigan, who ruled that he was a persistent felony offender, which extended his sentence. On Dec. 4, 2017, Price was found guilty of two counts of second-degree conspiracy, third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

“Michael Price poisoned our streets, endangered lives and caused countless people to become addicted to dangerous drugs like heroin for nothing more than greed,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas. “This prosecution is an example of my continuing efforts to attack the addiction epidemic by holding dealers accountable while providing treatment for their victims. ‘Operation Gram Slam’ represented a model partnership of more than a dozen law enforcement agencies whose excellent work disrupted the supply of illegal narcotics throughout Long Island and New York State.”

Starting in January 2016, the DA's office began investigating Price and others running a major heroin and cocaine ring that operated on Long Island and in Albany. The other leader of the ring, David Ramis, was sentenced to 25 years to life earlier this month.

In July 2016, the DA indicted 31 people for their roles in the ring, in a takedown dubbed Operation Gram Slam. It was the result of a nine-month-long investigation by the FBI's Long Island Gang Task Force into local heroin distributors, and was aided by the Rockville Centre Police Department, Nassau County Police Department, Suffolk County Police Department, New York State Police, Hempstead Police Department, Garden City Police Department, Glen Cove Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, and the Suffolk County Department of Probation.

Photo courtesy Nassau County District Attorney's Office