In First Of Its Kind Prosecution, Drug Distributor CEO Hit With Criminal Charges Stemming From Role In Opioid Crisis
Federal prosecutors say the former executives at Rochester Drug Cooperative ignored red flags and shipped tens of millions of oxycodone pills and fentanyl products to pharmacies they knew were distributing drugs illegally. Their sales soared, as did the compensation of the chief executive. “Why did they do it?” asked Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney in Manhattan. “Greed.” The criminal charges for drug distributors adds a new twist to officials' efforts to combat the epidemic.
The New York Times:
For First Time, Pharmaceutical Distributor Faces Federal Criminal Charges Over Opioid Crisis
Law enforcement officials have long tried to stem the opioid crisis in America with criminal charges for street dealers and cartel kingpins who traffic in drugs like fentanyl and oxycodone. Now, for the first time, federal authorities are bringing the same kind of felony drug-trafficking charges against a major pharmaceutical distributor and two of its former executives for their role in fanning the crisis. Prosecutors said the former executives at the company, Rochester Drug Cooperative, ignored red flags and shipped tens of millions of oxycodone pills and fentanyl products to pharmacies they knew were distributing drugs illegally. Their sales soared, as did the compensation of the chief executive. (Rashbaum, 4/23)
The Associated Press:
Indictment: Ex-CEO Ignored Red Flags As Opioid Crisis Raged
Laurence Doud III, the retired CEO of the Rochester Drug Co-Operative, operated in the fringes of the drug business, obliterating red flags to turn his small New York firm into a supplier of last resort for independent pharmacies whose dubious practices got them cut off by other distributors, an indictment unsealed Tuesday alleges. Apparently in pursuit of bigger profits for the company and fatter bonuses for himself, Doud encouraged his sales force to sign up new customers with no questions asked, picking up competitors' rejects as he boasted that his company was "the knight in shining armor" for independent pharmacies, the indictment said. (Sisak, 4/23)
Reuters:
U.S. Brings First Criminal Case Against Major Drug Distributor Over Opioids
The U.S. government on Tuesday filed its first criminal charges against a major drug distributor and company executives over their alleged roles in fueling the nation's opioid epidemic by putting profits ahead of patients' safety. Rochester Drug Co-operative Inc (RDC), one of the 10 largest U.S. drug distributors, agreed to pay a $20 million fine and enter a five-year deferred prosecution agreement to resolve charges it turned a blind eye to thousands of suspicious orders for opioids. (Stempel, 4/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Upstate New York Drug Distributor Settles Charges In Opioid Case
From about 2012 to about March 2017, the company acknowledged in the 30-page filing, it violated federal law when it distributed addictive prescription opioids such as oxycodone and fentanyl to pharmacies it knew were dispensing for “illegitimate purposes.” These pharmacies included ones Rochester’s own compliance department flagged for being linked to diversion of prescription opioids. Some pharmacies accepted high amounts of cash payments from patients while others dispensed to out-of-area patients. (Hopkins, 4/23)
Bloomberg:
Rochester Ex-CEO Accused Of Pushing Opioids To Boost His Pay
According to prosecutors, company officials failed to alert the Drug Enforcement Administration to suspicious orders, as required by law. They ignored the high percentage of cash payments for prescriptions at certain pharmacies, orders for out-of-state patients, and prescriptions issued by doctors acting outside the scope of their medical practice. Authorities said the company often did business with pharmacies that had been blacklisted by other distributors. (Berthelsen and Feeley, 4/23)
The Hill:
Drug Distributor Faces Federal Charges For Role In Opioid Crisis
The DEA has been investigating the distributor for two years, since it violated the terms of a civil settlement after admitting it failed to report thousands of suspicious opioid orders. (Budryk, 4/23)
The Washington Post:
Rochester Drug Cooperative Faces Federal Criminal Charges Over Opioid Distribution
The charges against the country’s sixth-largest drug wholesaler are sure to send a shudder through the small group of firms that control narcotics distribution in the United States. To date, prosecutors and the Drug Enforcement Administration have used only civil penalties against these middlemen in their effort to force the companies to report and block suspicious orders of painkillers by pharmacies. “This prosecution is the first of its kind: Executives of a pharmaceutical distributor and the distributor itself have been charged with drug trafficking — trafficking the same drugs that are fueling the opioid epidemic that is ravaging this country,” said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman. (Bernstein, 4/23)
Meanwhile, in news from the states on the epidemic —
Boston Globe:
In Quincy, A Glimmer Of Hope Amid Opioid Crisis
For the last three years, a team of Quincy police and health workers has visited overdose survivors and their families, mostly within one or two days after an overdose. They offer options for counseling and treatment, and they bring naloxone, the overdose-reversing drug commonly known as Narcan. (MacQuarrie, 4/23)
Marketplace:
Drug Summit Looks At Ways To Prevent Overdose Deaths
The Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit kicked off this week in Atlanta. It looks at ways to fight addiction, stop illegal drugs, and prevent overdose deaths. Nationwide, the economic toll of the opioid crisis is estimated at more than $1 trillion since 2001, according to the health care research firm, Altarum. (Capelouto, 4/23)
Kaiser Health News:
Amid Opioid Prescriber Crackdown, Health Officials Reach Out To Pain Patients
A pharmacist in Celina, Tenn., was one of 60 people indicted on charges of opioid-related crimes last week, in a multistate sting. John Polston was charged with 21 counts of filling medically unnecessary narcotic prescriptions. He was also Gail Gray’s pharmacist and the person she relied on to regularly fill her opioid prescriptions.“I take pain medicine first thing in the morning. I’m usually up most of the night with pain,” she said. “I hurt all the time.” (Farmer, 4/24)
Sacramento Bee:
Senate Bill 11 Requires Health Insurers To Cover Medication-Assisted Treatment
Substance abuse disorders impact the hospitality industry more than any other. In fact, according to a 2015 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, we rank first for illicit drug use and third for heavy alcohol use. This will surprise no one who works in restaurants. In my many years in the industry, I’ve seen colleagues tragically succumb to addiction and drug abuse, leaving behind family members, loved ones and children. (Mulvaney, 4/24)
WBUR:
County Jails Struggle With A New Role As America's Prime Centers For Opioid Detox
Faced with a flood of addicted inmates and challenged by lawsuits, America's county jails are struggling to adjust to an opioid health crisis that has turned many of the jails into their area's largest drug treatment centers. In an effort to get a handle on the problem, more jails are adding some form of medication-assisted treatment to help inmates safely detox from opioids and stay clean behind bars and after release. (Westervelt, 4/24)
