Arkansas man stopped with four guns, 230 rounds of ammo held on $5,000 bail

BOSTON, March 23, 2023 –An East Boston man is being held on $7,500 bail after being arraigned Tuesday on drug trafficking and ammunition charges stemming from a Monday search warrant executed at his Faywood Ave dwelling, Suffolk County Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

RALPH GRADOZZI, 53, was charged with fentanyl trafficking, cocaine trafficking, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of a Class E substance with intent to distribute, and possession of ammunition without an FID card. Judge Joseph McDonald set bail at $7,500 and ordered home confinement with a GPS tracker. Gradozzi will return to court April 13 for a probable cause hearing.

On Monday at about 12:04 p.m. members of the Boston Police Drug Control Unit from areas A-7 and B-2 executed a search warrant and an arrest warrant for Gradozzi at 125 Faywood Avenue in East Boston.  Officers arrested Gradozzi and entered residence without incident.  They seized 21.34 grams of fentanyl, 11.95 grams of crack cocaine and 20.21 grams of cocaine.  They also seized digital scales, numerous rounds of ammunition and 20 live shotgun shells.

“Every time that police can seize fatal drugs like fentanyl and arrest the person responsible for spreading the drugs into our neighborhoods is a good outcome for our community at large.  This drug has taken too many lives and its sellers and buyers have degraded too many neighborhoods,” Hayden said. 

All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.

James Borghesani, Chief of Communications