STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — According to local law enforcement officials, Chad Gordon was a “dangerous drug dealer.”
According to Gordon’s attorney, he only dealt to his friends as a way to help support his three children.
Gordon, 42, of Clinton Place in Port Richmond, pleaded guilty Feb. 9 in state Supreme Court, St. George, to second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. The charges stemmed from a three-month drug investigation in late 2024 and early 2025.
In exchange for his plea, the defendant is scheduled to be sentenced March 11 by Justice Alexander B. Jeong to five years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.
Several deals occurred outside S.I. Mall
The defendant was accused of selling cocaine to undercover detectives on eight separate occasions, primarily in Clifton and New Springville.
Authorities said many of the transactions — which included weights of a half ounce and two ounces — occurred in the parking lot of the Staten Island Mall.
Following Gordon’s guilty plea last week, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon issued the following statement:
“This defendant shamelessly peddled dangerous and illegal narcotics for profit across our borough. While Staten Island was fortunate to record significant decreases in fatal overdoses in recent years, my office will never relent in our prosecution of dangerous drug dealers who flood our borough with harmful and illicit substances.
“I commend the men and women of the NYPD for their assistance throughout the course of this investigation, and thank Assistant District Attorney Andrew Edvin and the members of the Richmond County District Attorney’s Narcotics-Investigations Bureau for ensuring justice and a half-decade-long prison sentence in this case.”
Defense says charges overblown
In this Aug. 25, 2023 photo, defense attorney Mark J. Fonte speaks at a press conference following a judge’s ruling in state Supreme Court, St. George.(Advance/SILive.com | Jason Paderon)
Defense attorney Mark Fonte said the prosecution’s characterization of his client is “ludicrous.”
At the time of his arrest, Gordon was “working with individuals with disabilities” at a New York hospital, Fonte said.
“He made a bad decision engaging in this activity, but these were simply cocaine sales to friends,” added Fonte, who also emphasized that his client “only sold cocaine.”
Officials issued warning about cocaine, fentanyl mix
In this Nov. 12, 2025 photo, the Staten Island Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force reveals its legislative agenda during a press conference hosted by District Attorney Michael E. McMahon at his office in St. George.(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)
Fonte’s comments come on the heels of a public service announcement by the borough’s Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force regarding overdose deaths linked to cocaine mixed with fentanyl and other substances.
In January, a 32-year-old New Brighton man was sentenced to eight years in prison after a raid at his apartment yielded 1,000 glassines of a cocaine and fentanyl mixture.