Michael Khodorkovskiy, who pleaded guilty in April to criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree, a class A-II felony, for distributing cocaine in East Hampton Town and elsewhere in Suffolk County, was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
Mr. Khodorkovskiy, 45, was arrested on Aug. 2, 2024, and during his guilty plea allocution admitted to selling "large quantities" of cocaine to a buyer who was an undercover police officer near his Brooklyn residence between July 2023 and his arrest, believing it was going to be distributed in Suffolk, according to the District Attorney Ray Tierney's office. He also traveled to East Hampton, where he sold cocaine to another undercover police officer, believing it was going to be redistributed in the East Hampton and Montauk areas during the summer months, according to court documents.
“Khodorkovskiy’s operation was not only expansive, it was sophisticated and targeted,” Mr. Tierney said in a statement following the sentencing in Riverside Thursday. His arrest, the D.A. said, followed a long-term investigation that uncovered more than a kilogram of cocaine, hidden compartments in his vehicle, and almost $140,000 in cash and gold coins linked to drug sales. "The sentence he received today reflects the seriousness of his crimes. Our communities deserve to be safe from the violence, addiction, and destruction that follow in the wake of drug trafficking.”
At the commencement of the police investigation, officers working undercover infiltrated Mr. Khodorkovskiy’s network by posing as customers. They would then contact Mr. Khodorkovskiy or his network to arrange for the purchase of cocaine. During the course of these sales, Mr. Khodorkovskiy spoke of those drugs being earmarked for Suffolk County for resale, according to the district attorney's office. He specifically noted that the drugs were earmarked for the Hamptons in the summer months.
At the time of his arrest, Mr. Khodorkovskiy was in possession of a kilo and a quarter of cocaine destined for Suffolk. Police discovered a hidden compartment, also known as a “trap,” in his Mercedes-Benz that was filled with more cocaine and the narcotic MDMA, also known as molly or ecstasy. Also, $38,550 dollars in cash and 39 gold coins with an estimated value of $100,000 were recovered from his Brooklyn apartment during execution of a search warrant. Following a further asset investigation, $395,055 was seized from various bank accounts that were linked to Mr. Khodorkovskiy. As part of his plea agreement, he forfeited a total of $572,353 in bank accounts, U.S. currency, and other personal property linked to his crimes.
Justice John B. Collins delivered the sentence at the Arthur M. Cromarty Criminal Court Complex in Riverside. He said that Mr. Khodorkovskiy would receive credit for time served. Prior to his sentencing, Mr. Khodorkovskiy's attorney, Matthew D. Myers, told his client's family that Mr. Khodorkovskiy would ultimately serve six years and one month in prison. He was also ordered to pay $375 in court costs.
During Thursday's proceedings, Mr. Myers offered a synopsis of his client's life. From ages 13 to 42, he said, Mr. Khodorkovskiy was a hard-working person, working at pizza restaurants, in air-conditioning, and in electronics. Ultimately, he founded a limousine business, he said, but Hurricane Sandy, in 2012, "wiped out his fleet of cars."
He started over, Mr. Myers said, but Uber "destroyed the business." He was not offering an excuse, he said, but rather that Mr. Khodorkovskiy, his life in turmoil, "made a poor decision."
Justice Collins then asked Mr. Khodorkovskiy if he had anything to say. No, was the answer. "That's unfortunate," the judge replied.
Before being led from the courtroom, Mr. Khodorkovskiy turned to face his parents and brother, who were seated in the back of the room, and sighed deeply. His mother, who had been dabbing her eyes with a tissue for several minutes, cried softly.
Outside the courtroom, Mr. Myers said that Mr. Khodorkovskiy's sentence could ultimately be reduced by another seven to eight months. Nonetheless, "it's somewhat of a harsh sentence," he said. "I think more in the ballpark of six or seven years would've taught the defendant the exact same lesson."
"This fellow is super hard-working," Mr. Myers continued, "and got pulled in by people asking him, socially, where they could get cocaine -- I mean, like a gram, like $10 worth. That was in his limo while he was driving. And then his business started really shutting down. Uber was just killing his business."
The investigation was conducted jointly by the district attorney’s East End Drug Task Force, the East Hampton Town Police Department, the Suffolk Police Department, the New York State Police, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Office of Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Robert Archer of the Narcotics Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by District Attorney Investigator Christopher Cooke of the East End Drug Task Force and Detective Arthur Scalzo of the East Hampton Police Department.