Post by WaTcHeR on Sept 6, 2006 9:11:48 GMT -5
09.06.2006 - Two decorated veteran Newark police officers yesterday admitted buying prescriptions for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Oxycontin from an Essex County doctor and reselling the pills on the streets.
Officers John Hernandez and Officer Ronald Pomponio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute the drug before U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler in Newark. Each faces more than six years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
The pleas by the officers follow convictions of nearly 10 others in "Operation Pill Collector," an ongoing investigation by FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents into black market sales of prescription drugs. Most of the sales involved Oxycontin, a powerful, morphine-like painkiller that has become a popular narcotic on college campuses and in clubs, where it is sold by the pill.
Investigators say Joan Jaszczult, a licensed physician who practiced in Belleville and Bloomfield, wrote and sold hundreds of fraudulent prescriptions in 2004 and 2005, often for cash. Arrested nearly a year ago, Jaszczult has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial.
Hernandez, a Newark native, had been a city police officer for 13 years before his arrest in May. Pomponio, who lived in Howell, joined the force 16 years ago. Both men have been suspended without pay pending termination proceedings, a department spokesman said.
In separate plea hearings, Hernandez and Pomponio acknowledged conspiring to possess and distribute Oxycontin in 2004 and 2005. The prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Judith Germano and Jonathan Romankow, declined to say if or how the two pleas were related, other than that each officer admitted to nearly identical conduct.
Under questioning from the judge, Pomponio said he obtained multiple prescriptions from the doctor, who was not named in court, then filled them at pharmacies in Essex and Ocean counties. Between March 2004 and September 2005, according to his admissions in court, Pomponio secured nearly 196,000 milligrams of the drug, or more than three years' supply for a typical patient.
Hernandez admitted filling multiple prescriptions of the drug at an unnamed Newark pharmacy, part of a conspiracy that moved nearly 250,000 milligrams of the drug.
Both men had won accolades as police officers. Five years ago, department brass awarded Pomponio a citation for excellence. In 2000, Hernandez was honored for subduing a suspect who had injured his partner.
Neither officer would comment after the hearing.
Hernandez's attorney said the officer's troubles started when he began using Oxycontin after being injured in the line of duty. "What happened after that was a serious error in judgment," said the defense attorney, Paul Bergrin.
But Bergrin acknowledged that Hernandez admitted selling the drug to others, not just acquiring it for himself.
The officer's explanation also mirrored one Hernandez had coached an unnamed co-conspirator to use. In a conversation recorded by federal agents during the probe, Hernandez told the co-conspirator that if law enforcement ever caught on to the scheme, "he would claim that the pills were for personal use," according to an FBI agent's affidavit filed in the case.
Pomponio's attorney, Sal Alfano, declined to discuss the charges, except to say, "Drugs are a plague on our society."
Both Hernandez and Pomponio remain free on bail. Chesler scheduled their sentencings for Dec. 18 and 19.
www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1157522015136470.xml&coll=1
Officers John Hernandez and Officer Ronald Pomponio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute the drug before U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler in Newark. Each faces more than six years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
The pleas by the officers follow convictions of nearly 10 others in "Operation Pill Collector," an ongoing investigation by FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents into black market sales of prescription drugs. Most of the sales involved Oxycontin, a powerful, morphine-like painkiller that has become a popular narcotic on college campuses and in clubs, where it is sold by the pill.
Investigators say Joan Jaszczult, a licensed physician who practiced in Belleville and Bloomfield, wrote and sold hundreds of fraudulent prescriptions in 2004 and 2005, often for cash. Arrested nearly a year ago, Jaszczult has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial.
Hernandez, a Newark native, had been a city police officer for 13 years before his arrest in May. Pomponio, who lived in Howell, joined the force 16 years ago. Both men have been suspended without pay pending termination proceedings, a department spokesman said.
In separate plea hearings, Hernandez and Pomponio acknowledged conspiring to possess and distribute Oxycontin in 2004 and 2005. The prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Judith Germano and Jonathan Romankow, declined to say if or how the two pleas were related, other than that each officer admitted to nearly identical conduct.
Under questioning from the judge, Pomponio said he obtained multiple prescriptions from the doctor, who was not named in court, then filled them at pharmacies in Essex and Ocean counties. Between March 2004 and September 2005, according to his admissions in court, Pomponio secured nearly 196,000 milligrams of the drug, or more than three years' supply for a typical patient.
Hernandez admitted filling multiple prescriptions of the drug at an unnamed Newark pharmacy, part of a conspiracy that moved nearly 250,000 milligrams of the drug.
Both men had won accolades as police officers. Five years ago, department brass awarded Pomponio a citation for excellence. In 2000, Hernandez was honored for subduing a suspect who had injured his partner.
Neither officer would comment after the hearing.
Hernandez's attorney said the officer's troubles started when he began using Oxycontin after being injured in the line of duty. "What happened after that was a serious error in judgment," said the defense attorney, Paul Bergrin.
But Bergrin acknowledged that Hernandez admitted selling the drug to others, not just acquiring it for himself.
The officer's explanation also mirrored one Hernandez had coached an unnamed co-conspirator to use. In a conversation recorded by federal agents during the probe, Hernandez told the co-conspirator that if law enforcement ever caught on to the scheme, "he would claim that the pills were for personal use," according to an FBI agent's affidavit filed in the case.
Pomponio's attorney, Sal Alfano, declined to discuss the charges, except to say, "Drugs are a plague on our society."
Both Hernandez and Pomponio remain free on bail. Chesler scheduled their sentencings for Dec. 18 and 19.
www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1157522015136470.xml&coll=1