A Westbury man was charged in a 32-count indictment with selling dangerous narcotics, including fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine, as well as possessing more controlled substances, narcotics, and explosives in his home. During the execution of the search warrant, investigators also recovered a compound of nitazene, a dangerously potent synthetic opioid, that had not been previously identified in any substances by law enforcement in Nassau County and is currently not illegal to possess in New York State.
On June 18, Anthony Gianatiempo left his residence on Cantiague Lane in Westbury on an electric bicycle and went to Cantiague Park to allegedly sell various narcotics to an individual in the park.
In exchange for $820, Gianatiempo allegedly sold a package containing a small clear plastic bag of a green powdery substance, later confirmed to contain heroin, cocaine, and other cutting agents; one clear plastic bag containing a white and gray powdery substance determined to be fentanyl, ketamine, and heroin; one clear plastic bag containing a white powdery substance, later confirmed to be cocaine; and several white tablets containing alprazolam.
A very dangerous veterinary tranquilizer, xylazine, also known as “tranq,” was also present in the white and gray powdery substance that tested positive for fentanyl.
Based on the investigation, a search warrant was executed at Gianatiempo’s residence on August 5 by the Nassau County District Attorney’s office, the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which recovered:
- 63 grams of heroin
- 39 grams of fentanyl
- 69 grams of methamphetamine
- Cocaine
- Ketamine
- Brown cardboard tubes with fuses wrapped in blue and black tape and a bottle wrapped in black electrical tape with a fuse found in the defendant’s basement bedroom
- Smokeless powder attached to the defendant’s bedroom door
- Counterfeit U.S. currency
The narcotics were found throughout the basement, in Gianatiempo’s room, and in the workstation area outside his bedroom door in the basement.
Along with the illegal narcotics found in Gianatiempo’s home, 15 grams of N-Pyrrolidino Isotonitazene, a nitazene compound that is a dangerous and powerful synthetic opioid, was recovered in a black handbag on the floor near the defendant’s bedroom.
Under New York State’s Public Health Law, N-Pyrrolidino Isotonitazene is not listed in the Schedule I through IV, and therefore, cannot be charged unless it is found mixed with another already scheduled substance. Three other nitazenes – Clonitazene, Etonitazene, and Isotonitazene – are currently listed in the Public Health Law. Several other known substances classified as nitazenes are also excluded from the current law.
Gianatiempo, 34, was arrested in Hicksville by members of the NCPD on August 5. He was arraigned before Judge Caryn Fink on grand jury indictment charges of eleven counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree (a Class B felony); four counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree (a Class D felony); three counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree (a Class B felony); Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree (a Class D felony); nine counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the First Degree (a Class B violent felony); one count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the First Degree (a Class C felony); one count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Third Degree (a Class A misdemeanor); and violations of Labor Law 453 Storing Explosives and Labor Law 458 Possessing Explosives without a License.
The defendant pleaded not guilty and was remanded. He is due back in court on January 16, 2026. If convicted, Gianatiempo faces up to 25 years in prison.
“Anthony Gianatiempo was allegedly selling poison on the streets of Westbury, dangerous compounds of drugs including fentanyl, heroin, and xylazine that are extremely addictive and deadly,” said Nassau DA Anne Donnelly. “A search of the defendant’s home in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration and Nassau County police recovered enough fentanyl to kill tens of thousands of people, and quantities of a synthetic opioid from the class of substances called nitazene, which can be significantly more potent than morphine and fentanyl and has already contributed to overdose deaths across the country.”
“This search marked the first time law enforcement has recovered and identified this particular nitazene in Nassau County,” Donnelly continued. “But under New York State law, the compound we seized is not a scheduled drug, and unbelievably, not illegal to possess. This should serve as a wake-up call. We must act now to address the loopholes in drug laws that are consistently handcuffing prosecutors from taking action, before we are facing yet another preventable escalation in the opioid epidemic that we continue to fight on Long Island and lose more innocent lives.”