Hamptons Cocaine Delivery Service: Brooklyn Man Sentenced: DA

EAST HAMPTON, NY — A Brooklyn man was sentenced Thursday after running a cocaine delivery service to East Hampton, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Michael Khodorkovskiy, 45, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision after pleading guilty in April to second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance for distributing cocaine in Suffolk County, Tierney said.

According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution,
between July 2023 and August 2024, Khodorkovskiy sold large quantities of cocaine to an undercover police officer near his residence in Brooklyn. He sold those drugs believing that they were going to be distributed in Suffolk County, the DA said.

He also traveled to East Hampton and sold cocaine to another undercover police officer, believing it was going to be redistributed in the East Hampton and Montauk areas during the busy summer months when they experience a high influx of visitors and tourists, Tierney said.

At the commencement of the police investigation, officers working in an undercover capacity were able to infiltrate Khodorkovskiy’s network and pose as customers, Tierney said. The undercover officers would then contact Khodorkovskiy or his network to arrange for the purchase of cocaine, the DA said.

During the course of those narcotics sales, Khodorkovskiy spoke of those drugs being earmarked for Suffolk County for resale; specifically, Khodorkovskiy noted the drugs were earmarked for the Hamptons in the summer months, Tierney said.

He was arrested on August 2, 2024, by members of the District Attorney’s East End Drug Task Force, the DA said.

At the time of his arrest, Khodorkovskiy was found to be in possession of a kilo and a quarter of cocaine destined for Suffolk County, the DA said.

Khodorkovskiy owned a Mercedes Benz, in which police discovered a hidden compartment, also known as a "trap," that was filled with additional cocaine and the narcotic MDMA, Tierney said. Additionally, $38,550 dollars in cash and 39 gold coins with an estimated value of $100,000 were recovered from Khodorkovskiy’s Brooklyn apartment during the execution of a search warrant, the DA said.

After further asset investigation, $395,055 in U.S. currency was seized from various bank accounts that were linked to Khodorkoyskiy, the DA said.

On April 21, Khodorkovskiy pleaded guilty before Supreme Court Justice John Collins to second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance a Class A-II felony, Tierney said.

As part of his plea agreement, Khodorkovskiy forfeited a total of $572,353 in bank accounts, U.S. currency, and other personal property linked to his crimes, the DA said.

On May 29, Khodorkovskiy was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision, the DA said. He was represented by Matthew Myers.

Of the sentence, Myers said: "I thought it was a little on the harsh side. But it was an agreed-upon promise that you can't get out of. He was in a difficult situation. The way the law is written, if you sell over $75,000 worth of drugs, you qualify for a major trafficking charge and expose yourself to 15 years. So we had that hanging over our head. We had to do the reasonable thing and not try the case and roll the dice. We had to take the 10 years."

He added: "It's an unfortunate situation. This guy had a very solid work background but because of extenuating circumstances — a divorce, and then Superstorm Sandy wiped out his whole business; he lost all his vehicles. And then when he recovered, the Uber business took over. So he started making terrible decisions, selling coke out of his limousine."

And, Myers said: "These were party people, going to and from the Hamptons. He wasn't selling significant amounts. But then this undercover officer tied into him — and the officer was just doing his job — and asking him for more and more."

Of his client, Myers said: "He's just the kind of fellow, and I wouldn't say this about most people — he's never going to be a recidivist. He learned his lesson — if they gave him five or six years, he would have learned his lesson just as much as with the extra time. But when you get involved in this business, you're going to have to pay a severe price."

"Khodorkovskiy’s operation was not only expansive, it was sophisticated and targeted," said Tierney. "His arrest followed a long-term investigation that uncovered over a kilogram of cocaine, hidden compartments in his vehicle, and nearly $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."