May 17, 2013 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch Page 7 . . Possible Link To Terrorism? FROM PAGE 6 Crime Task Force and the New York City Police Department, and with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, uncovered the trafficking ring and its connections to Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx, Albany, Schenectady and multiple other states, including Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and New Jersey. Through the use of electronic surveillance, physical surveillance and the review and analysis of financial records in conjunction with other investigative tools, the attorney general’s investigation revealed that the head of the enterprise, Basel Ramadan, and his brother, Samir Ramadan, obtained cigarettes from a wholesaler, Cooper Booth Wholesale, Inc., in Virginia and stored them in a public storage facility in Delaware,” the attorney general press release said. “Several times a week, co-conspirator Adel Abuzahrieh, of Brooklyn, drove with tens of thousands of dollars in cash from New York to Delaware where he gave the Ramadans the cash in exchange for cigarettes. Beyond the $55 million in purchases to cigarettes, the Ramadans have generated more than $10 million in profits from their illegal activities.” Once the distributors were given the cigarettes, totaling approximately 20,000 cartons per week, they were provided to resellers, who then sold the untaxed smokes to Arab markets and grocery stores in the New York area. In total, the estimated sales tax revenue lost to New York State was estimated at more than $80 million. “The Ramadan brothers furthered the criminal enterprise by depositing more than $55 million from their untaxed cigarette sales into small local financial institutions in and around Ocean City, Md., and used that money to purchase additional cigarettes for illegal sale,” the press release states. Basel Ramadan and Samir Ramadan, along with 14 other New York and New Jersey residents, face anywhere from eight to 25 years in prison. Although the brothers’ exact business ownership in the Ocean City is murky at best, due to another Ramadan family also being local proprietors, tax records confirm Basel Ramadan, through BSM Ocean City Properties LLC and Phoenix Property Investment LLC, is an owner of the Village Market shopping center on 18th Street and Philadelphia Avenue. The brothers own the Subway on Sunset Drive and the condominiums above it that served as their main office, but sources confirm they do not own the Subways on 12th Street, 3rd Street, inside the Walmart, Ocean Pines as well as Berlin. Open 7 Days 410-524-1111 • OCJIVE.COM ❖✪❙✩¤❂¤✞✚✲✭¤✝¤❋¤✪❇5❇ ✎✮✩✜✚✲✾¤✠✚✪✪✲¤✠✮✬¤✖✬✤✛❙✭¤❖✩¤✝ ✑✤✩❙❈ v❙❙✬¤✝✩✜¤✗✚✤✧¤❋¤✪❇5❇❏✧✭❙ ✌✩✜✚✲✾¤✵q¤✌✤✧✧❙✬¤✤❙¤v✧❙✭ €✮❙✭✜✚✲✾¤✵✿❇❂❀¤✕✚✮✬✚✧¤✤❚✣¤✚✩✭ ✑✤✩¤✑❙✜✩❙✭✜✚✲✾¤✠✚✪✪✲¤✠✮✬ ❖✩¤✠✮✭❙¤✑✤✩❙¤✝✧✧¤✕✤❚✣ €✣✮✬✭✜✚✲✾¤✣✬✤✭¤✌✚✩✬✤✫✮❙ ✟✬✤✜✚✲✾¤v✬✲✚✩¤✧✚✬✦ ✎✚✮✬✜✚✲✾¤€❙✚✬¤€✣❙¤✗✢¤❖✢✢ OPEN EVERY DAY AT 4 P.M. RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED: CALL 410-524-8202 OR BOOK ONLINE: WWW.OCFRESCOS.COM • 82ND ST. & COASTAL HWY., OCEAN CITY Monday - Friday 11am-4pm Enjoy Our $5.95 Lunch Specials FRIDAYS 5-11PM $14.95 12 oz. NY Strip Steak Dinner SATURDAYS 5-11PM $19.95 16 oz. Porterhouse Dinner Apparel Shops - 116th St. And On 6th St. & The Boards Game Room Is Open When We Are; That’s 11 am-2am ✟✲✱✪✤✶✵¤✘✲¤✘✫5¤✟✲✯✯5✪5¤✤✧✵¤x ✛5✯✦✲✰5¤✟✷✬✵5✵❈¤✟✲✰5¤✵55¤✙✵q¤ FRIDAY 10pm-2am JJ THE DJ $6 Jager Bomb & $5 Deer & Beer: A Jager Shot & Miller Lt. Draft ✬✯✵¤✠✤✱✦5¤✔✤✶✺¤✟✲✱✶5✵✶ 10pm-2am DJ WOOD $4 Smirnoff Flavors $2 Miller Lt. Drafts SATURDAY SUNDAY ALL Day Specials $9 Crabcake Sandwiches $5 Finlandia Crushes & Bloody Marys $2 Miller Lt. Drafts 10pm-2am DJ SIREN MONDAY All Day $6 Cheesesteaks HAPPY HOUR MONDAY-FRIDAY 4-7PM 10pm-2am DJ JEREMY $8 Malibu Buckets & $4 Drinks $1.85 Domestic Drafts $2.15 Domestic Bottles $2.25 Rail Drinks Enjoy Our Food Specials 75¢ Oysters Or Wings OR 50+ TVs •16 Draft Beers Carry-Out • Hideaway Bar Upstairs Kids Menu • MD Lottery: Keno & More 116th St. & Coastal Hwy., Ocean City, MD 21842 TUESDAY 10pm-2am DJ BLAZIN’ HOTT Grand Margaritas w/ GM WEDNESDAY All Day 1/2-OFF Big Salads 10pm-2am DJ WAX $4 Bacardi Flavors $6 1/2 lb. Steamed Shrimp OR 410-723-2120 thegreeneturtle.com THURSDAY All Day $6 Burgers & Chicken 10pm-2am DJ WOOD $5 Crown Maple & $4 SoCo Cherry 50¢ Clams E-Mail us: gtoc@thegreeneturtle.com www.facebook.com/originalgreeneturtle