Judge sentences Hempstead man to 10 years over narcotics bust

A Hempstead man with multiple previous convictions for weapons and narcotics offense was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for selling fentanyl and cocaine to undercover police officers, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Obdul Anthony, 50, had pleaded guilty last month to one count each of second-and third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Suffolk County Supreme Court Judge John Collins also sentenced Anthony to five years post-release supervision.

“After being released to parole supervision for serious felony convictions involving drugs and firearms, and boldly continuing to sell cocaine and fentanyl while on parole, this defendant has finally received the appropriate sentence of imprisonment for the deadly substances he has peddled on our streets,” said Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney in a news release.

Matthew Tuohy, Anthony’s Huntington-based defense attorney, declined to comment on the sentencing.

Suffolk Police launched an investigation last year into Anthony’s narcotics distribution in Farmingdale, prosecutors said.

Between October 2021 and December 2021, undercover narcotics officers purchased cocaine or fentanyl from Anthony on seven separate dates, officials said.

Anthony admitted during his September plea hearing to selling more than a half an ounce of cocaine to an undercover officer during a Dec. 15, 2021, meeting.

He also admitted selling a quantity of fentanyl to an undercover officer on Oct. 20, 2021, prosecutors said.

Anthony has prior convictions from 2006 and 2007 for criminal possession of a controlled substance and attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance.

He was released to parole supervision for his 2016 conviction on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a controlled substance.