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87°
Thursday, jun 4
Tag:
Oxycodone
News
NJ Doctor Flooded Patients With 20K Oxycodone Pills In Health Care Fraud Scheme: DOJ
A physician forced patients into taking unwanted “Goody Bags” of drugs to get prescriptions, flooding them with oxycodone and defrauding health care plans out of millions, federal prosecutors said. Neil K. Anand, M.D., 48, most recently of Bensalem, PA, but originally from Albany, NY, was convicted in April 2025 of conspiring to commit health care fraud, wire fraud, and the unlawful distribution of controlled substances. On Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Evidence at trial showed Anand and his conspirators require…
Police & Fire
Stolen Handgun, Oxycodone Recovered Following Linden Traffic Stops, 2 Arrested: Police
Two men were arrested and charged with illegally possessing handguns in Linden following two traffic stops, authorities announced Wednesday, Aug. 13. Jeffrey Reyes, a 29-year-old Elizabeth man was stopped at 12:40 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9 at 12:40 a.m. on the 400 block of N. Wood Avenue after an officer observed him talking on his cell phone without a hands-free device, Linden police said. A subsequent investigation led to the recovery of an illegal handgun, police said. At 4:15 p.m. that same day, officers stopped Michael Cidieudfort, a 42-year-old Newark resident, as he was driving north…
News
NJ Doctor Demanded Sex For Oxy Scripts, Feds Say: Allegations Detailed In Horrifying Complaint
A North Jersey doctor is accused of running a pill mill out of his Fair Lawn office, demanding sexual favors in exchange for powerful opioids, and billing New Jersey Medicaid for visits that never happened, federal authorities announced. Dr. Ritesh Kalra, 51, of Secaucus, was charged in a five-count federal complaint with three counts of unlawful opioid distribution and two counts of healthcare fraud, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said in a Friday, July 18 announcement. Kalra appeared in Newark federal court and was released on home incarceration and an unsecured $100,000 bond. He must shut down…
News
Rooftop Chase, NJ Fugitive, Switch Guns: PA AG Sunday’s Philly Task Force Nabs 7 Armed Felons
A violent felon chased across a North Philly rooftop. A wanted man tied to New Jersey. Teens flaunting illegal machine gun-modified pistols on social media. All arrested in a wave of takedowns led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday’s Philadelphia Gun Violence Task Force, officials announced Tuesday, July 15. Philly Gun Task Force Targets Repeat Offenders Seven people — including convicted shooters and suspected drug traffickers — were recently arrested in coordinated raids across Philadelphia, state prosecutors said. The cases involve illegal switches that convert pistols into fu…
News
‘Route Boys’ Leader Behind Tri-State Pharmacy Raids, Jail Stabbing Gets 22 Years
A man who led a violent, drug-dealing burglary crew known as the “Route Boys” will spend over two decades in federal prison. Jason Liriano, 25, of Brooklyn–also known as “jay bigfella”–was sentenced to 22 years behind bars in Central Islip federal court on Tuesday, April 29. It followed his September 2023 guilty plea to drug trafficking and firearms charges. Tuesday’s sentencing marked the final chapter in a wide-reaching crime spree that spanned New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Liriano founded the Route Boys gang, which committed more than 100 break-ins at pharmacies, bodegas, chec…
Police & Fire
Cocaine, Ecstasy, LSD Found On Irvington Woman In Bergen County Drug Bust: Cops
A routine patrol in Bergen County ended with the arrest of two women and the discovery of a wide range of illegal drugs, including LSD, cocaine, and ecstasy, police said. Catherine Reyes, 35, of Irvington, and Samantha Souffront, 36, of the Bronx, were taken into custody on Monday, April 14, after Closter police officers stopped two vehicles involved in what authorities described as suspicious activity, according to Chief James Buccola and Captain Vincent Aiello. During the investigation, officers discovered multiple types of illegal narcotics, including LSD, Adderall, Oxycodone,&…
Police & Fire
Cocaine, Guns, Xanax, $22K: Secaucus Man Arrested, Police Say
A 30-year-old Secaucus man was arrested after his abandoned backpack was discovered to contain a loaded handgun and cocaine on Wednesday, April 9, authorities said. At 1:11 p.m., an employee of the Xchange apartment complex alerted officers to the backpack, which contained a Ruger .45 caliber handgun with hollow point ammunition, 10 oz. of suspected cocaine and over one pound of marijuana, Secaucus police said. Josaih Agbo was arrested near his place of residence later that evening, police said. During a search of Agbo's apartment, detectives seized two ounces of cocaine, four pounds of mar…
Police & Fire
23 People Arrested In Another Massive NJ Drug Bust: Fentanyl, Guns, Seized, Prosecutor Says
Twenty-three people including four women and 19 men from Bergen and Passaic counties have been arrested following a 10-month-long investigation into the distribution of cocaine and narcotics in Passaic County, authorities said. The 23 people were charged with various controlled dangerous substance offenses after an investigation that began last May, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes and numerous police chiefs said. Law enforcement in Wayne and Pompton Lakes began investigating after responding to complaints about the sale of cocaine in the area, Valdes said. The investigati…
Police & Fire
NJ Police Sergeant Tests Positive For Meth, Took Drugs From Evidence Room: Prosecutor
A police sergeant in Hammonton is facing multiple charges after testing positive for methamphetamine and taking drugs from the department's evidence room, authorities said. Detective Sergeant Robert Zbikowski, 45, of Hammonton, was charged on Monday, Nov. 25, with second-degree official misconduct, second-degree pattern of official misconduct, third-degree theft by unlawful taking, and two fourth-degree charges: tampering with physical evidence and obstruction of law, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office. In 2024, the Hammonton Police Department contacted the Atlantic County…
Police & Fire
Five Arrested After $7K In Ecstasy, Coke, Heroin, Meth Seized: Essex County Prosecutor
Five people were arrested after multiple raids in Hudson, Essex and Union counties last month uncovered $7,000 in illegal drugs, authorities said. The raids, which took place Wednesday, Oct. 30 and Thursday, Oct. 31, were the result of a four-month investigation and targeted individuals believed to be involved in the distribution of controlled substances, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II said. Recovered in the raids were approximately 27 grams of heroin, 20 vials of cocaine and crack cocaine, 84 Ecstasy pills, Oxycodone and Xanax pills as well as drug packaging paraphernali…
Police & Fire
$1.1M In Drugs, 5 Firearms, $65K Seized From NJ Man, Prosecutor Says
A 35-year-old Mercer County man is facing a slew of charges after investigators uncovered $1.1 million in drugs, five handguns, and $65,000 in cash from him, authorities said. James Nalbone Jr., 35, of Hamilton Township, was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 7, following a month-long investigation, Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Theresa L. Hilton said. Detectives detained Nalbone at his home on Byron Avenue and executed a search warrant, Hilton said. Sgt. Tom Paglione's K-9 partner, Indy, gave positive indications of a drug odor at multiple locations within the premises, poli…
Police & Fire
Out-Of-Town Driver Busted With 'Shrooms, Acid, Pot, More, Elmwood Park PD Says
Elmwood Park police busted a repeat offender with mushrooms, LSD, pot and prescription pills, authorities said. Brandon J. Soto, 25, of East Orange blew a stop sign off the ramp from eastbound Route 46 onto Stefanic Avenue and was pulled over by members of the Street Crimes Unit, Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno said. The officers had followed Soto’s 2008 Acura TL from the nearby Red Carpet Inn, the chief said. Their suspicions aroused, they called for a Bergen County Sheriff’s K-9 unit, which lead them to a search that turned up a trove of drugs. These included psilocybin mushro…
Police & Fire
Westwood Man Charged With Killing High Schooler From Park Ridge With Fentanyl-Laced Pill
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A 17-year-old Park Ridge boy was killed by a single imitation painkiller laced with fentanyl that was given to him by a Westwood man who's been charged with causing his death. The boy thought he was taking an Oxycontin pill before he overdosed last Sept. 14, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Officers who responded to the emergency call administered Narcan, among other life-saving measures, the prosecutor said. The high school senior was pronounced dead a short time later. Detectives from the prosecutor’s Narcotic Task Force determined during a six-month investigatio…
Police & Fire
Drug Raid Turns Up Heroin, Oxy, $22K At Hudson County Home: Police
Two Guttenberg residents were arrested following an investigation into narcotics trafficking in the Town of Guttenberg, authorities said. On Friday, Jan. 26 at 5:05 a.m., the Guttenberg Police Department's Criminal Investigations Bureau and the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant at a home on 69th Street, officers said. Detectives recovered over an ounce of suspected heroin, prescription pills believed like oxycodone, cutting agents used to manufacture controlled dangerous substances, packaging materials used to distribute narcotics and $22,000 in cash, police sai…
Police & Fire
Feds Bust Bergen Doc For Prescribing Tens Of Thousands Of Oxy Pills For Fake Patients
A doctor from Hillsdale was arrested by federal agents for prescribing oxycodone for illegal use from her Paterson office, authorities said. Phony patients for whom Lisa Ferraro, 65, wrote scripts included two people who were locked up, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. They were among several “patients” who Sellinger said were “never physically examined or questioned about symptoms to determine whether there was a legitimate medical need for oxycodone.” Ferraro typically wrote prescriptions for 90 pills of 30mg of oxycodone per "patient," the U.S. attorney said. They were “typicall…
Police & Fire
Habitual Offender Charged With Death Of Garfield Man From Fake Oxy Pills Full Of Fentanyl
A habitual offender killed a fellow Garfield resident by giving him bogus oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl, authorities charged. Juhaan Justice Hammond, 30, is charged with strict liability for the drug-induced death this past Sunday of Ivan Santiago in Garfield, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced on Friday, Sept. 22. Santiago and an unidentified second person were hospitalized after overdosing on Lincoln Place shortly after 6:30 p.m. Sept. 17, Musella said. Narcan was administered, the prosecutor said, adding that Santiago was pronounced dead at the hospital. Detectiv…
Police & Fire
Paterson Detectives Seize 5,600 Oxy Pills, Ounce Of Coke, More, Arrest Ex-Con
A Paterson ex-con was busted with 5,600 Oxycodone pills, an ounce of cocaine and a pound and a half of concentrated pot, authorities announced Tuesday. City detectives nabbed Niair Lane, 27, with the drugs -- worth more than $115,000 -- on June 7, Officer in Charge Isa Abbassi announced on June 20. He was carrying 100 pills, and the rest was found at a residence on Chadwick Street, Abbassi said. Why authorities waited nearly two weeks to share the information publicly wasn't immediately clear. Lane, who was charged with various drug offenses, was quickly in and out of the Bergen County Ja…
Police & Fire
Busy Dealer Nabbed With Coke, Smack, Cash: Passaic County Sheriff
A dealer from Woodland Park was nabbed with nearly a quarter pound of cocaine, a dozen bundles of heroin and more after detectives watched him in action, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said. The sheriff's narcotics detectives stopped Edwin Olmedo, 34, as he drove on Route 23 in Wayne mid-afternoon Friday, April 21. Warranted searches turned up nearly four ounces of coke, the bundles of heroin, Xanax and Oxycodone pills and $1,391 in suspected drug cash, the sheriff said on Saturday. The detectives also arrested two Little Falls men whom Berdnik said Olmedo was seen selling to in se…
News
Undercover Sting Nails North Bergen Man Selling Half-Ounce Of Coke: Bergen Prosecutor
A North Bergen man was busted for allegedly selling a half ounce of cocaine to an undercover detective in Paramus, authorities said. Jose A. Hernandez, a 48-year-old construction worker, also had Adderall and Oxycodone for sale with him when he was arrested on Monday, March 27, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Hernandez “distributed approximately 15 grams of cocaine to an undercover detective,” the prosecutor said, adding that a search of his vehicle “revealed additional suspected Adderall pills, Oxycodone tablets, and packaging material.” Hernandez remained held Tuesday in the …
News
Oxy Dealer From North Bergen Nabbed By SWAT Team In Cliffside Park, Prosecutor Says
A builder from North Bergen was busted slinging oxycodone in Cliffside Park, authorities said. Members of a Bergen County Regional SWAT team seized Christopher Novembre, 44, as he sat in his vehicle on Thursday, Sept. 8, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He'd previously sold the drug to an undercover detective in East Rutherford and was carrying more for sale when they nabbed him, the prosecutor said. Novembere, who lives at the end of dead-ended Newkirk Avenue off 91st Street, was released on a summons to appear in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on drug charges.…
News
Cardiologist Sentenced To Federal Prison Time For Prescribing 8,600 Painkillers For NJ Couple
A New Jersey cardiologist is headed to federal prison for 2½ years for illegally prescribing thousands of unnecessary Oxycodone pills for a patient and his wife. Raymond Catania, 60, of Warren, must serve at least two years before being eligible for supervised release because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Catania churned out scripts for 8,600 30mg Oxycodone pills in a little over 14 months from his Watchung office not only for his patient but for the man's wife, as well, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He did so "without a legitimate medical purpose and outside of…
Police & Fire
Busted
: Ecstasy, Cocaine, Adderall, Cash Seized, 2 Charged In Morris County: Police
Two Morris County residents were slapped with several charges following a drug bust involving the seizure of ecstasy, cocaine, Adderall, and other substances, authorities announced. Officers responding to a dispute at a home in Budd Lake met with John P. Rowe, 30, and Stephanie L. Olver, 29, before the owner of the property gave consent to a search around 4:20 p.m. on Friday, June 10, Mount Olive Police said in a release on Tuesday, June 14. The search turned up suspected Alprazolam tablets, leading to the application of a search warrant for a silver four-door vehicle, police said. A searc…
Sports
Former Mets Pitcher Matt Harvey Suspended For Giving Oxy To Tyler Skaggs, Report Says
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Matt Harvey has been suspended for 60 games after admitting he gave oxycodone to Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who died of a drug overdose, ESPN says citing the MLB. Harvey confessed during the Tuesday, May 17 federal trial of Eric Kay, who was convicted of providing the fentanyl that led to Skagg's death, the outlet said. The Baltimore pitcher apparently admitted to using cocaine while playing for the New York Mets, as well as exchanging oxycodone with Skaggs. The 33-year-old signed a contract with the Orioles last month that would have…
Police & Fire
83 Pounds Of Meth, 200 Bags Of Fentanyl, 25 Guns Seized In PA Crackdown: DA
A year-long investigation led to five arrests and the seizure of several pounds of drugs, firearms, drug money, and more, authorities in Pennsylvania announced. The probe targeted a drug distribution ring that stretched from California to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and West Virginia, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said Tuesday, April 5. The accused leaders of the drug ring were identified as Tyrone Baker, 29, of East Lansdowne, Shakeem Johnson, 27, of Philadelphia, Joshua Quiles, 31, of King of Prussia, Jhamir Winans, 21, of Exton, and Ricky Evans, 28, of Los …
News
Bergen Nurse Practitioner Charged With Illegally Obtaining Thousands Of Oxy, Adderall Pills
A nurse practitioner from River Edge obtained thousands of Oxycodone and Adderall pills for distribution using bogus prescriptions, authorities charged. Mathew Testino surrendered to detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Narcotics Task Force on Wednesday. A judge freed him the next day, with conditions, pending trial. Testino, who turned 51 on Friday, had been wanted since being charged with dozens of drug-related counts this past March, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He’s accused of “fraudulently obtaining and signing prescriptions on approximately 30 separate occasi…
News
PD: 7,000 Heroin Folds, 'Ghost' Gun Seized, Drug-Dealing Paterson Ex-Con, GF Busted
Paterson detectives seized more than 7,000 heroin folds, a homemade "ghost" gun and more while busting a drug-dealing ex-con and his girlfriend, authorities said. Kadeem Coleman tried keeping police off his tail by using various vehicles registered to residents in a multi-family building in the city's Hillcrest section that served as a base of operations, Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. Coleman, 28, had reason to be cautious. He'd spent several years in federal prison after city police, responding to a 2015 shooting on Jefferson Street, found him carrying a .45-caliber pistol th…
News
Paterson PD: Drug User Brings Child With Him To Cop Heroin, Oxy
A dealer from out of town was busted at an open-air drug market in Paterson along with three buyers -- among them, a user who had a child with him when he bought heroin and Oxy, authorities said. Complaints from merchants and residents brought Narcotics Division detectives to the neighborhood at Park Avenue and East 19th Street, city Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. They nabbed Pedro Anaya, 45, of Newton, with 18 vials of crack and 15 bags of cocaine, he said. Arrested on drug-possession charges were a trio of buyers -- a 51-year-old man from Vernon, a 48-year-old man from Pater…
News
Ex-Con Who Once Shot Himself By Accident Nabbed In Paterson Open-Air Drug Bust
An ex-con who once accidentally shot himself was nabbed by Paterson detectives with nearly 225 Oxycodone and Xanax pills, 30 vials of crack and $5,510 in proceeds, authorities said Tuesday. Narcotics detectives responding to community complaints watched as Keith Devita, 27, and Samantha Jackson, 51, sold drugs in small amounts to buyers at the corner of Summer and Van Houten streets, city Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. They followed two buyers out of the area and arrested both, then seized Devita and Jackson, Speziale said. Along with the pills and crack, the detectives seized…
Police & Fire
Newark Man Found With Nearly 300 Ecstasy, Oxycodone Pills, Loaded Handgun In Warren County Stop
A Newark man stopped for a violation in Warren County was found with nearly 300 ecstasy and Oxycodone pills as well as a loaded handgun, authorities said. Kalif A. King-Williams, of South 12th Street, was stopped on Route 22 East near the Two Brothers Diner in Lopatcong around 4:15 p.m. on July 10, Warren County Prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer said in a release Friday. King-Williams, who had an active criminal warrant, was taken into police custody, where a search of his vehicle turned up 255 ecstasy pills, 43 Oxycodone pills, a loaded .40 caliber handgun and various drug paraphernalia, Pfeiff…
News
Elmwood Park PD: Wanted Paterson Man Nabbed With Stolen Gun, Hollow Points, Oxy
A wanted Paterson man was carrying a stolen gun loaded with hollow-point bullets when Elmwood Park police arrested him, authorities said. Brandon Diaz, 21, was driving a 2005 Honda Accord with an expired registration when he was stopped over the weekend, Police Chief Michael Foligno said. They quickly learned that Diaz was wanted out of Paterson for aggravated assault with a firearm, Foligno said. The officers arrested Diaz on the outstanding warrant, then searched the car and found the 9mm Taurus pistol, reported stolen out of Georgia, the chief said. Diaz remained held Monday in the Ber…
News
Oxy Doc Who Traded Drugs For Sex From NJ Patients Sent To Federal Prison
UPDATE: A doctor who admitted keeping patients from New Jersey hooked by trading opioids for sex was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison. Joseph Santiamo, 65, of Staten Island must serve just about all of the 57-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Santiamo, who saw several patients from New Jersey, previously admitted “knowingly prescribed dangerous quantities of oxycodone – and, even more egregiously, solicited sexual favors from certain patients” in exchange for writing them additional opioid scripts, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig sa…
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