By Jeff Lipton
Sheldon Howard Topchik, who, along with his wife Linda, owned Terrace Pharmacy, at 242 Merrick Rd., was convicted of illegally distributing Vicodin, a powerful prescription painkiller, to customers who presented bogus prescriptions which were often forged, photocopied, written in another person's name - and in one case, written in crayon, according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice. Topchik rarely asked for identification and always demanded that sales be made with cash, Rice said.
Topchik, a pharmacist for 50 years, was also sentenced to five years' probation on Thursday, May 8 by Nassau County Court Judge Edward Maron after he pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal diversion, and first- and second-degree criminal diversion of prescription medication. He was facing a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Rice said that Terrace Pharmacy sold 149,300 doses of Vicodin, which is nearly twice the amount as the average pharmacy in the U.S. in 2005, and almost three times the average in New York. The Topchiks sold the pharmacy to CVS in April 2006, and continued to work in the store together, officials said.
Vicodin is a brand name of hydrocodone, a powerful and potentially addictive painkiller with a street value of $2 to $4 per pill, authorities said.
The pharmacy's unusually high volume of sales of Vicodin was uncovered by 4th Squad detectives after police investigated a series of break-ins and a robbery that occurred at the pharmacy between October and December 2005 and noticed the large quantity of the potent painkiller that was sold there.
On Oct. 19, the rear metal door of the shop was pried open, an alarm and phone wires were cut and assorted medications were stolen, police said. A similar break-in occurred at the pharmacy a little over a week later, according to police reports.
On Nov. 10, someone noticed that the rear door of the pharmacy was damaged after a burglar attempted to pry it open, police reports stated. Then, on Dec. 19, the rear metal door was pried open once again and assorted prescription drugs were stolen, officials said.
On Nov. 25, in between those burglaries, two robbers entered the pharmacy, pushed Topchik to the back of the store and took an unknown amount of cash from him and from the register. According to police, the robbers also swiped an unknown amount of medications before fleeing. There were no injuries reported. During these investigations, detectives found that Terrace Pharmacy was stockpiling a large quantity of controlled substances, officials said.
Topchik was arrested in March 2007 after a joint investigation by the district attorney's office, Long Island Drug Enforcement Agency and the Narcotics/Vice Bureau of the Nassau County Police Department. Also arrested in connection with the probe were 27 prescription drug abusers who purchased their drugs from Topchik's pharmacy. Rice said that most were ordered to attend drug-treatment programs.
"The drug-dealing pharmacist is the same as the drug dealer on the corner: feeding addictions, poisoning children and destroying lives," Rice said. "Prescription drug abuse is on the rise and we will continue to aggressively pursue and punish those who abuse the medical profession for their own benefit."
Topchik had been in trouble with state agencies twice before. In 1997 his license was suspended for various violations, and in 2004 his license was suspended for two years and he was placed on probation, officials said.
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