By JEFF LIPTON
The suspect, identified as Dr. Richard Morgan of Jordan Street, an internist with offices at 583A Broadway Ave. in Massapequa, and in Manhattan, was charged on May 14 in an indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, according to the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Morgan was arrested, along with two others, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone, the generic form of the drug, and conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by fraud. If convicted of the charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, officials said.
Morgan allegedly sold prescriptions for OxyContin and other drugs, primarily to a group of distributors and users who operated in Smithtown and Kings Park on Long Island, according to the indictment. During a recent eight-month period, from October through May, Morgan allegedly wrote more than 1,500 prescriptions for OxyContin and other drugs for individuals who were not actual patients, or for those he had never met or examined, including one recipient who paid him roughly $6,000 per month for more than a year for fraudulent prescriptions, according to the indictment.
The drug buyers met with Morgan at his Massapequa office, and he wrote the prescriptions after conducting ³a cursory examination² of them when they claimed to be suffering from chronic pain, authorities said. The doctor also allegedly wrote prescriptions for their family members and friends, charging several hundred dollars for each prescription, even though he never met or examined them, officials said.
Federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and from the Department of Health and Human Services executed a search warrant on May 14 at Island Drug and Surgical in Levittown ‹ where Morgan instructed buyers to fill their prescriptions ‹ and the agents seized a computer, financial records and prescriptions for OxyContin and Vicodin, another prescription pain medication, authorities said. DEA records reveal that hundreds of prescriptions issued by Morgan for controlled substances were filled at that pharmacy, officials said, but no one at Island Drug and Surgical was charged.
Morgan was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Thomas Boyle at the U.S. Courthouse in Central Islip, where he reportedly pleaded not guilty to the charges. Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney, said that Morgan¹s bail was set at $1 million, which was fully secured by the houses of his father and mother, who are divorced, and he was released the following day. In addition, Morgan signed a DEA Form 104, giving up the right to prescribe controlled substances.
His attorney, Stacey Richman of the Bronx, was not available for comment.
³The fact that a doctor was willing to sell prescriptions for this highly dangerous drug demonstrates the seriousness of the OxyContin problem,² said U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf, adding that with the indictment, ³We have taken a significant step in stopping criminal activity that put the health and welfare of our communities at risk.²
DEA Special Agent-in-Charge John Gilbride added, ³Trafficking OxyContin is no different than trafficking cocaine, but in this case, the source of supply wore a white doctor¹s coat. Seriously damaging his medical oath, Dr. Morgan accepted fees for writing fraudulent prescriptions. DEA and its law enforcement partners are dedicated to monitoring prescriptions and ensuring that legitimate pharmaceuticals are not diverted for illegitimate abuse.²
OxyContin is a time-released narcotic that was developed to provide 12-hour relief for those in severe pain. Abusers crush the protective coating of the pill and snort, ingest or inject it, which creates a heroin-like euphoria, officials said.
The indictment comes almost two months after county law enforcement officials announced that they smashed a major prescription drug-distribution ring that operated out of a pharmacy in Oceanside, rounding up 28 suspects, including a 74-year-old Bellmore pharmacist who, police say, has raked in about $7.5 million since 2000.
The alleged ringleader, identified as Sheldon Howard Topchik of Bellmore, a pharmacist for 50 years, was charged with first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, mostly Vicodin. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted, officials said. Topchik operated the ring out of his business, Terrace Pharmacy, at 242 Merrick Road, before he and his wife, Linda, sold it to CVS in April 2006, officials said, adding that the Topchiks continued to work in the store together.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, who announced Topchik¹s arrest, said at the time that her office would aggressively pursue and prosecute anyone involved in the prescription drug underground, whether they be doctors, pharmacists or addicts, because they are ³killing our children and destroying our streets.²
Asked at the time if there were any indications that doctors were writing phony prescriptions, Rice said the investigation could reach into other areas that could reveal something much more extensive. ³What we are seeing here is the beginning of the prescription drug epidemic,² she said.
Officials said they could not comment on whether there is a connection between the Morgan and Topchik cases.
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
