WEST OCEAN CITY — One of two local brothers indicted again in October for his role in a vast cigarette trafficking and tax fraud scheme appeared in a New York court on Wednesday and remains held on a $2.5 million bond.
Basel Ramadan, 47, of West Ocean City, appeared in Kings County, N.Y. Supreme Court on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing. Ramadan’s West Ocean City home was raided for the second time in five years in October by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security (HSI) officials with support from local law enforcement agencies as part of Operation Sidestep, a months-long investigation into criminal cigarette smuggling and various money-laundering and tax-related crimes.
Basel Ramadan, who was taken into custody along with his brother Samir Ramadan, was indicted in New York as a result of the investigation. The local brothers had been arrested and ultimately convicted of the same crimes in 2013. Basel Ramadan had an initial appearance in Kings County Supreme Court on Wednesday was ordered to be held on a $2.5 million bond, or a $1 million cash bond, neither of which had been posted as of late Thursday. Basel Ramadan’s trial has now been tentatively set in for Feb. 13. The disposition of Samir Ramadan’s case is not known as of Friday.
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Pull these crooks visas and send them home. they don't belong with law-abiding citizens.
ReplyDeleteThese guys staged a fake armed robbery at a convenience store here in Salisbury years ago with the business owners son next door. Dig deep on ALL these guys they've been doing this for years
ReplyDeleteThe old eagle express on route 13@ the foot of overhead bridge
Delete4:35-I had forgotten that.Wasn't there also another store involved in Snow Hill?
ReplyDelete4:51- The Chicken Man store.
DeleteDig deap KM connection
ReplyDeleteKim Messick or her rainbow warrior buddy Mike?
DeleteConfused on the Kim Messick connection. Explain please
Delete@4:35 I know exactly who you mean!! The new "handle" To* Doctor!! Thieves, drug dealers, etc etc
ReplyDeleteRumor was they paid the guy to tie them up make it look like an armed robbery took their car and ditched it in Allen pond. 50,000 cash plus insurance claim
DeleteThese same "citizens" at one point had all the coca cola vending machine keys to lock/unlock public sodadispenser's all up and down the eastern shore. They would literally go and empty these machines weekly and get several thousand dollars at a time for months. They would take the quarters and run them through the business bank employee one was dating at the time. They stole literally tens of thousands of dollars, back when these machines were positioned all over town and at businesses
DeleteThis is the same bunch of crooks that did this same crime back in 2005 or 6 with cigarettes for their stores in New York.
ReplyDeleteGood riddance, scum bags.
ReplyDeleteDeport their asses AFTER they serve a nice hefty sentence here!
ReplyDeleteThey took their passports, too, right?
ReplyDeleteThe Ramadan's laundered their money thru land acquisitions in Somerset County that were sold a few months later to the Princess Anne Islamic Society for 25% of what they paid. The acquisition of PNC Bank in Princess Anne by the Islamic Society must be investigated because there is no mortgage on the property.
ReplyDeleteHow did they get out of jail so early on their last convictions?
ReplyDeleteJust follow the $
ReplyDeleteThe commenters cheer for who? The US Government?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you love the government so much?
What is wrong with Americans?
You guys are so stupid it is ridiculous
You've been getting boned by (((them))) for a century, why are you so upset by a pair of Arabs?
ReplyDelete