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Opioid Crisis

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Westchester Man Sells Opioid Three Times Stronger Than Fentanyl, Feds Say Westchester Man Sells Opioid Three Times Stronger Than Fentanyl, Feds Say
Westchester Man Sells Opioid Three Times Stronger Than Fentanyl, Feds Say Two men, including one from Westchester County, face federal charges for allegedly selling a narcotic up to three times stronger than fentanyl, officials announced.  Yonkers resident Miguel de Jesus Reyes Medina, age 49, and Camden, NJ resident Erik Alberto Lopez Valdez, age 38, were arrested on Thursday, July 18 on drug distribution charges, the US Attorney's Office for Southern District of New York announced.  According to federal officials, in April 2024, Reyes Medina agreed to sell fentanyl to an undercover agent working with law enforcement, reportedly asking f…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Detectives In Bergen Seize Enough Fentanyl To Kill 1.5 Million Users Detectives In Bergen Seize Enough Fentanyl To Kill 1.5 Million Users
Detectives In Bergen Seize Enough Fentanyl To Kill 1.5 Million Users Bergen County prosecutor’s detectives seized three kilos of deadly fentanyl – enough to produce nearly 1.5 million potentially fatal doses -- while arresting three men during a traffic stop in Teaneck. Charged with conspiracy and possessing 6½ pounds of the drug with the intent to distribute it are Bronx residents Edomar Troncoso, 28, Hanser Hernandez-Soto, 25, and Jefri Dominguez, 35, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Members of his Narcotic Task Force, along with Teaneck police, took the trio into custody late last week, Musella said. All three were booked into the Bergen Count…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Dealer Who Produced Deadly Opioids In Basement Across From Paterson Mayor's Home Gets 10 Years Dealer Who Produced Deadly Opioids In Basement Across From Paterson Mayor's Home Gets 10 Years
Dealer Who Produced Deadly Opioids In Basement Across From Paterson Mayor's Home Gets 10 Years A dealer who produced lethal opioids in a fortified basement drug mill across the street from the mayor of Paterson's house was sentenced to 10 years in state prison, authorities said. Silk City police had seized 17,000 folds of heroin and fentanyl -- as well as packaging and distribution materials -- while arresting Rafael “Chiquito” Brito and his girlfriend, Rosanny Prado, during a March 2020 raid on their East 36th Street residence across from Mayor Andre Sayegh's home. The drugs were linked to at least 10 overdose deaths of both local and suburban buyers, authorities said at the time. …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ex-Physician Indicted For Illegally Prescribing Opioid Pills In South Jersey: Prosecutor Ex-Physician Indicted For Illegally Prescribing Opioid Pills In South Jersey: Prosecutor
Ex-Physician Indicted For Illegally Prescribing Opioid Pills In South Jersey: Prosecutor A former physician from South Jersey has been indicted for illegally prescribing highly-addictive opioid pills, authorities said. Morris “Moishe” Starkman, 62, of Yellowstone Road in Cinnaminson, has been indicted on 21 counts of narcotics distribution and fraud charges for the alleged activity out of his Bordentown Township practice, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina. Starkman simultaneously engaged in an unlawful medical billing scheme over a three-year period, Coffina alleged. Starkman was indicted by a grand jury on 15 counts of distribution of a controlled d…

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by Jon Craig
News
NJ Doc Took Bribes From Pharma Company For Toxic Fentanyl Prescriptions: Feds NJ Doc Took Bribes From Pharma Company For Toxic Fentanyl Prescriptions: Feds
NJ Doc Took Bribes From Pharma Company For Toxic Fentanyl Prescriptions: Feds A doctor from Central Jersey is accused of taking bribes and kickbacks in exchange for prescribing potentially fatal doses of fentanyl, authorities said. Mukaram Gazi, 51, of Marlboro in Monmouth County was charged with conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, receiving kickbacks, health care fraud and conspiring to unlawfully distribute dangerous narcotics, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig. According to Thursday's indictment: Gazi owned a urology practice with offices in Freehold, Hamilton, Howell and Toms River.  Gazi received more than $130,000 in bribes and…

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by Jon Craig
Lifestyle
'He Died In His Tracks,' NJ Mom Says After Twin Son, 25, Dies Of Fentanyl Poisoning 'He Died In His Tracks,' NJ Mom Says After Twin Son, 25, Dies Of Fentanyl Poisoning
'He Died In His Tracks,' NJ Mom Says After Twin Son, 25, Dies Of Fentanyl Poisoning A New Jersey mother is opening up on social media to spread awareness of counterfeit drugs after the sudden death of her 25-year-old son due to fentanyl poisoning. Denville native and Morris Knolls High School graduate Ross Michael Kaplowitz died Dec. 13, his obituary says. The University of Vermont student had gone out to smoke in the family’s garage and was found dead hours later, his mother, Marisa, details in a public Facebook post -- which had nearly gone viral as of March 3. “There was nothing we could do to revive him, although we tried," she wrote. "He died in his tracks.” Though…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Justice Department Accuses Walmart Of Fueling Opioid Crisis, Seeks Billions In Penalties Justice Department Accuses Walmart Of Fueling Opioid Crisis, Seeks Billions In Penalties
Justice Department Accuses Walmart Of Fueling Opioid Crisis, Seeks Billions In Penalties The Trump Administration sued Walmart on Tuesday for producing what it alleges is an illegal flow of pain killers that has fueled America’s opioid crisis. Ignoring “red flag” warnings against suspicious prescriptions from its own pharmacists, Walmart turned a network of 5,000 national in-store pharmacies into a pipeline of highly addictive painkillers, the Justice Department’s alleges in its lawsuit. Walmart understaffed those pharmacies while pressuring workers to fill prescriptions quickly – enabling widespread drug abuse -- in order to increase profits, the suit filed in US District Cour…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Historic Guilty Plea By Oxycontin Maker Purdue Pharma: What It Means Historic Guilty Plea By Oxycontin Maker Purdue Pharma: What It Means
Historic Guilty Plea By Oxycontin Maker Purdue Pharma: What It Means Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty in federal court in Newark on Tuesday in exchange for not only the largest penalties ever levied against a pharmaceutical manufacturer for its role in creating the nation’s opioid crisis. The company, which declared bankruptcy last year, also will be dissolved and its assets used to establish a new "public benefit company,” federal authorities said. US District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo approved the deal after Purdue Pharma Board Chairman Steve Miller pleaded guilty during a teleconference to three criminal charges on behalf of the company. “Purd…

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by Jerry DeMarco