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Martin Brian, 81 -- who owns Murray-Overhill Pharmacy located on State Street in Media -- became the center of an investigation when police came to check on two unconscious individuals behind the pharmacy the morning of Sunday, April 18, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said.
As the officers were in the process of identifying the individuals in the car, a woman -- identified by authorities as “S.E.” -- came out of the back of the pharmacy.
Upon spotting the officers, she went back inside the pharmacy. Brian then came out and asked if everything was alright, police said.
Brian and SE gave inconsistent answers to authorities during questioning, prompting police to seize the phone of SE and obtain a search warrant for its contents.
Numerous text messages between S.E. and Brian were identified, in which Brian directed S.E. in how to respond to the officers’ questions, the DA's office said.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration conducted an audit of the pharmacy on April 20, 2021, analyzing the pharmacy inventory for a five-year period, from 2016 to 2021.
The audit revealed substantial discrepancies in the pharmacy’s inventory of oxycodone, Xanax, and fentanyl, according to authorities. The pharmacy’s practices were also reviewed against the DEA’s database, which allows the DEA to compare the quantity and types of purchases that a pharmacy is making and compare those purchases to other pharmacies.
The comparison revealed that the Murray-Overhill Pharmacy was the largest purchaser of oxycodone, fentanyl, and related drug products, in the 19063 zip code, Stollsteimer said.
On April 26, 2021, S.E. was interviewed by DEA agents, and she admitted that she had been meeting Brian weekly to exchange sex acts for money and drugs, authorities said.
Investigators subsequently obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s residence and the pharmacy, as well as for the defendant’s electronic devices.
Among other things, investigators discovered approximately $50,000 in cash in a drawer in the pharmacy. Further investigation led to a second woman who admitted to investigators that she had been exchanging sexual favors for drugs with the defendant multiple times a week, and that she could not even count the number of bottles of oxycodone that she had received.
She told investigators that she later sold the oxycodone received from Brian for heroin.
Brian ceased operations of the pharmacy last June.
Brian was charged with multiple counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, distribution of a controlled substance to a drug-dependent person, the dispensing of a controlled substance in a manner inconsistent with the rules of the medical profession, the criminal use of a communication facility, and sexual extortion, all felonies.
“An octogenarian pharmacist – whose profession is dedicated to serving the health needs of the community with honesty and integrity – traded drugs for sexual favors," District Attorney Stollsteimer said.
"In doing so, he allowed his need for sexual gratification to override any sense of personal or professional responsibility to the community. His actions risked the life of every individual receiving these illicitly obtained drugs."
"The allegations against Brian that he repeatedly distributed powerful painkillers and other controlled substances in exchange for sexual acts are repulsive and demonstrate Brian's total disregard for his legal and ethical responsibilities as a pharmacist," said Thomas Hodnett, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division.
"The DEA, working with its partners such as the Delaware County District Attorney's Office, the Media Borough Police Department, and the Pennsylvania Department of State, will aggressively pursue rogue pharmacists like Brian that are responsible for contributing to the opioid epidemic."
Brian surrendered to authorities on Nov. 1. He was arraigned by Senior Magisterial District Judge Cullen, and bail was set at $250,000, unsecured. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17, before Magisterial District Judge Walter A. Strohl.
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