NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FEDERAL LAWYERS
220.77 Operating as a major trafficker
|Last Updated on: 5th October 2025, 03:23 pm
The Kingpin Statute Nobody Understands
NY Penal Law § 220.77, “Operating as a major trafficker,” targets anyone who directs a drug organization grossing $75,000 in a year, or personally profits $75,000 in six months from drug sales. That threshold, set in 1995, hasn’t adjusted for inflation – $75,000 then equals $150,000 today, but the statute remains unchanged. With fentanyl selling at $40,000 per kilogram wholesale, two kilos over six months triggers kingpin charges carrying 15-to-25 years minimum as an A-1 felony, the same sentencing range as second-degree murder.
The statute creates three categories of major trafficker. Directors manage organizations selling $75,000 worth in twelve months or less. Profiteers personally receive $75,000 in proceeds within six months. Possessors hold $75,000 worth intending to sell within six months. Prosecutors need only prove one category, but they’ll charge all three hoping something sticks. The possession prong is easiest – they don’t need to prove you sold anything, just that you possessed drugs worth $75,000 with intent to sell based on weight, packaging, or circumstances.
Federal Hijacking of State Kingpin Cases
When NYPD arrests someone with drugs worth over $75,000, the case immediately gets reviewed by both state prosecutors and federal authorities. The Southern District of New York (SDNY) covering Manhattan and Bronx cherry-picks cases with interstate connections, while Eastern District (EDNY) covering Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island focuses on organizations with international ties. Federal prosecution means mandatory minimums under 21 U.S.C. § 841 – ten years to life for kilogram-level cocaine or heroin, with no parole in federal system.
The decision happens within 72 hours of arrest. Federal adoption means transfer to MCC Manhattan or MDC Brooklyn, federal pretrial detention with limited visits, and facing prosecutors with 95% conviction rates. State prosecution keeps you on Rikers Island or out on bail (if you qualify post-reform), facing 15-25 years but with possibility of plea deals state prosecutors offer that federal prosecutors won’t.
Todd Spodek here – watched this play out last week in Brooklyn. Client arrested with 3 kilos of cocaine, worth approximately $90,000 wholesale. Brooklyn DA was offering 12 years plea, considering cooperation credit. EDNY adopted the case, now he’s facing 10-year mandatory minimum with no cooperation deal unless he provides “substantial assistance” leading to others’ convictions. Same drugs, same conduct, but federal adoption doubled his minimum sentence.
Wiretaps Drive Every Major Trafficking Case
These cases don’t start with traffic stops finding kilos in trunks. They begin with wiretaps authorized under NY CPL Article 700 or federal Title III, recording months of conversations about drug deals. By arrest time, prosecutors have hundreds of hours of recorded calls, decoded drug terminology, and voice identification from cooperating witnesses who’ve been secretly recording for months.
The Eavesdropping Warrant applications in NY require probable cause plus showing that normal investigative procedures failed or would fail. But judges rubber-stamp these applications – NY courts authorized 672 eavesdropping warrants in 2023, denying only 3. Once authorized, they record everything for 30 days, renewable indefinitely with supplemental applications. Your discussions about legitimate business become evidence of money laundering. Mentions of family problems become consciousness of guilt.