Tuesday, March 13, 2001
An attorney representing some of the defendants said many of those arrested in a recent raid have legitimate illnesses.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The recent indictments of 29 people on charges of illegally selling or using the prescription painkiller OxyContin is "just the tip of the iceberg," Trumbull County Sheriff Thomas Altiere said.
During a press conference Monday, Altiere said the Trumbull County Drug Task Force will soon make additional arrests.
"This is the beginning," the sheriff said. "We are continuing this investigation."
Trumbull County isn't the only locale investigating illegal sales of the prescription painkiller.
Pa. probe: The Lawrence County, Pa., district attorney's drug task force, the Pennsylvania attorney general's office and the New Castle Police Department Narcotics Bureau are conducting an ongoing investigation and have arrested a Union Township woman on charges of possession and sale of the drug.
Authorities there said Rose Tomai, 69, of Boston Avenue, possessed or sold OxyContin, Vicodin and drug paraphernalia from her home and her business, Carbone Enterprises on Montgomery Avenue, New Castle, at least five times from Oct. 3, 2000, to Feb. 1, 2001. She remains in jail after failing to post $15,000 bond.
Of the 29 people secretly indicted in Trumbull County last week, 23 were arrested Sunday and appeared in court Monday. All 23 pleaded innocent, posted bond and were given dates to return to court for pretrial. The other six are scheduled to appear in court in the next few days, Altiere said.
Members of the Trumbull County Drug Task Force say OxyContin, which is highly addictive, is becoming the "new drug of choice on the streets."
How bad it is: "It is very available on the streets," said Niles Police Chief Bruce Simeone. "It's even in the junior high. We had an arrest last week of a juvenile selling it at the junior high in Niles."
Altiere said the drug is so popular that it is difficult for law enforcement officials to keep it off the streets.
"We have had arrests on the illegal sale of this drug all over the state, but this bust of over 20 people is the largest in the state so far," said Tim Benedict, assistant executive director for the Ohio Board of Pharmacy.
Altiere said he believes there may be a need for state lawmakers to pass legislation that would put stricter controls on the release of the drug.
"The euphoria that people get when abusing OxyContin has this drug very popular on the street," Altiere said.
Drug's use: According to Aceology Medical Review, OxyContin is a pain medicine approved for patients who have to be on a painkillerfor an extended period. Altiere said the drug is often prescribed to cancer patients.
OxyContin is made by Purdue Pharma L.P. of Connecticut and is the controlled release form of oxycodone. Swallowing broken, chewed or crushed OxyContin tablets could lead to a toxic dose of oxycodone, drug task force officials said.
The Trumbull County coroner's office said at least nine people in the county died in 2000 from an overdose of the drug.
A spokeswoman with the coroner's office said officials are reviewing their records to determine if even more deaths may be attributed to the drug.
Officials said that only doctors experienced with treating painful conditions should be prescribing the medicine.
Doctor charged: Task force officials said several of the people indicted were obtaining prescriptions for the drug from Dr. Pedro Yap.
Yap, who lives in Warren but has a practice in Newton Falls, faces a 20-count indictment.
Investigators said Yap was writing prescriptions for two patients he saw on a regular basis and for some people that were not seen by him.
Yap and his attorney, J. Gerald Ingram, declined to comment.
Task force officials said they searched the doctor's office twice and seized records.
Investigators said they believed that Yap was being paid to give the prescriptions.
Altiere said that in July 1999, Yap wrote "very few prescriptions for the drug, but in April 2000 he prescribed more than 4,000 pills of OxyContin."
What lawyer said: Atty. Michael Scala, who represents two of the defendants, said many of the people indicted have legitimate illnesses.
"The manufacturer of this poison should be on trial, not these poor people," Scala said.
Several of the defendants arraigned Monday told the judge that they were in pain during their court appearance.
Investigators believe that about 36,500 OxyContin pills were illegally obtained from July 1999 through December 2000 by the people arrested over the weekend.
Task force officials said OxyContin has a street price here of $40 per pill. Task force officials believe that those who were illegally dealing the drug made a total of $1.4 million.
XCONTRIBUTOR: Laure Cioffi, Vindicator New Castle Bureau