DA pulls the plug on pill pushers
by Matthew Bultman
Jul 13, 2010 | 933 views | 0 0 comments | 11 11 recommendations | email to a friend | print
A coast-to-coast drug ring that flooded Brooklyn with over $1 million in illegal painkillers and pharmaceutical drugs has come to an end.

Prosecutors announced the 49-count indictment of six individuals in Kings County Criminal Court last week for their role in a smuggling ring that shipped large quantities of prescription drugs from California to Brooklyn on a monthly basis.

“This criminal enterprise does not produce dirty needles or crack pipes or addicts lying wasted in alleys and doorways, but it is nonetheless a very serious threat,” District Attorney Charles Hynes said. “Young people are abusing pharmaceuticals not simply to get high, but often to improve their performance at work and at school, and while it may be viewed by them as clean and safe, make no mistake, they are as addicted and often as at risk as anyone pumping heroin into a vein.”

California natives Haim Avila-Romero, 22, and Mischa Pinchuk, 22, are charged with obtaining prescription drugs such as Adderall and Vicodin and shipping them to Brooklyn where they were distributed.

Pinchas Goldshtein, 26, of Brooklyn, received pills by the thousands and distributed them to a network of dealers, including Bronx native Miguel Medina, 45, Evan Vaughn, 28, and Henry Fertik, 23, prosecutors say.

Goldshtein and his team of thugs would attract clients though the popular internet site, Craigslist, often targeting students and young adults.

Along with selling over $1 million in pills, the defendants laundered about $500,000 in drug money.

The defendants have been charged with various crimes including conspiracy, criminal sale of a controlled substance, and money laundering. They face up to 25 years in prison.

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