Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, New York, NY
The Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor (SNP) is responsible for felony investigations and prosecutions in the five boroughs of New York City. SNP was granted broad authority to root out sophisticated narcotics trafficking organizations and track offenders across traditional jurisdictional boundaries. This allows SNP to pursue far-reaching trafficking cases in New York City, across the United States, and around the world. Appointed Special Narcotics Prosecutor in 1998, Bridget Brennan has developed innovative strategies, like wiretaps, to stem the flow of drugs into the city. She has also committed to reducing the demand for narcotics by raising public awareness and facilitating treatment for addicted offenders. The office is divided into three divisions: the Investigation Division, the Trial Division, and the Alternative Sentencing Division. In these divisions are specific units focused on high-stakes felony narcotics offenses: the Heroin Trafficking Interdiction Unit, the Prescription Drug Investigation Unit, the Digital Forensic Unit, the Narcotics Gang Unit, and the Money Laundering and Financial Investigation Unit. As a college intern, I have had the opportunity to provide pre-hearing and -trial aid to all ADAs. This summer has been a fascinating investigation into the world of criminal law and a major international hub for narcotics-related activity.
One of the main cases we worked on was a prescription pill-mill scheme based in Brooklyn. In association with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OIG HHS), and the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), SNP filed two indictments with 477 charges against three medical clinics, 13 individuals, and two corporate entities. These Brooklyn medical clinics pumped over 6.3 million narcotics painkillers onto the black market and billed millions of dollars in fraudulent Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements. Head physicians Lazar Feygin and Paul McClung would bill patients for unnecessary medical tests to receive Medicaid kickbacks. The patients would comply in order to receive illegally prescribed oxycodone, an addictive opioid painkiller.
The investigative techniques used in “Operation Avalanche” include physical surveillance, interviews, Russian-language wiretaps, and an analysis of medical records—which was my job. The college interns and I poured over thousands of recovered patient files. Beginning in late 2016, Dr. Feygin forwarded the drug urinalysis ordered by his clinic to Alec Brook-Krasny, a former New York State Assemblyman affiliated with Quality Laboratory Services. Brook-Krasny is a part of the Medicaid scheme, providing unnecessary test results that were entirely ignored by Feygin’s practices. While examining the patient files, the other interns and I saw clear signs that the patients were using other drugs. These results should have immediately disqualified them from an oxycodone prescription. This evidence is going to be used to plea out the defendants or to be presented in trial.
Prescription drug related deaths in New York City have skyrocketed, with a 54 percent increase in overdoses from July 2016 to September 2017 in major metro areas. The problem lies in America’s most profitable drug-industry empires, like Purdue Pharma. Fifteen years ago, a report found that pain was vastly undertreated in the U.S. With the push of companies like Purdue, who had millions of unused drugs that needed to be sold, pain management was added as a key component of medical care. Suddenly, these pills had a purpose, and a major payoff for pharmaceutical companies. Purdue then won FDA approval of OxyContin in 1995, although they knew from early on that the powerful narcotics was being crushed and snorted, stolen from pharmacies, and dealt by doctors. Pocketing up to $35 billion in revenue, Purdue consciously suppressed the addictive effect of OxyContin even as more and more overdose cases surfaced in the 2000s. In 2007, they pled guilty to a felony charge of misbranding OxyContin, but the damage was already done. To this day, because of lobbying efforts, even our legal structure deemphasizes doctors’ roles as dealers. A doctor is given a significantly smaller sentencing for selling prescription as opposed to a large sentence given to the dealer handling the physical pill.
Oxycodone acts as a gateway drug to individuals of every race, class, and socioeconomic status. Cocaine and heroin are heavily tied to abusers of opioids, but these substances have increasingly been tainted by the synthetic opioid, fentanyl. Drug users frequently have no idea that fentanyl is present in the drugs they consumer. Because as little as two milligrams can be lethal, fentanyl accounts for the majority of overdoses in the NYC. China is the primary producers of this drug, and, in a way to bypass controlled substance laws, has synthesized new fentanyl analogues. The composition of fentanyl is slightly tweaked but 50 times more potent than heroin. To visualize, four grains of salt-sized fentanyl analogues can be lethal. Officers have even overdosed upon touching the packages of drugs that encase the fentanyl analogues. However, it is incredibly difficult to prosecute as fentanyl analogues are not technically illegal. SNP proposed adding 11 analogues to Governor Cuomo’s controlled substance log, but only two were confirmed. This still does not account for the nine still-legal analogues that have caused 48 overdoses across New York City.
Another case we worked on was a major drug bust in Queens and Brooklyn. The investigation began after two overdose deaths involving related fentanyl-laced heroin. SNP backtracked three levels beyond the street dealers to take down the operation. The ringleader was arrested at his luxury high-rise apartment in Long Island City with a loaded firearm, $500,000 in cash, and a Lamborghini in the parking garage. As an intern, I watched and marked videos of undercover cops completing purchases of the drugs in question. I also listened to the dealers’ phone calls from jail, as they would sometime slip information about their business. This successful takedown aided the fight against fentanyl and brought justice to the victims who unknowingly consumed it.
As part of the internship, we also had the opportunity to visit many important facilities for the criminal justice community. We went to the NYPD Tactical House in the Bronx, where Seal Team 6 trained to take down Osama bin Laden. While there, another intern and I also had the chance to go through a police simulation. Given a fake belt with pepper spray, a baton, a Taser, and a gun, we had to deescalate the projected simulation using the least lethal force. We also visited One Police Plaza and the NYPD Police Academy. Both gave an insightful look into the training and work of New York’s finest.
I want to thank the George J. Mead Internship Fund for this opportunity to pursue this work. This summer has highly influenced my plans for after college—cementing my future in law and my interest in security studies work. As an American Studies major and Justice and Law concentrator, I have been able to apply the practical knowledge of my work to studied academic opinion. Next summer, I will begin to study for the LSAT and look for an internship in a criminal-related field, such as defense work. I am very fortunate not only to have had the opportunity to work in SNP, but also to receive the funds to do so. Thank you.
Megamenu Social