A pharmacist in Pennsylvania turned himself over to authorities Monday after they alleged he traded drugs for sexual favors in a breach of his ethical responsibilities, Fox News reported Thursday.
Eighty-one-year-old Martin Brian owned and operated the Murray-Overhill Pharmacy located in Media, a town approximately 20 miles from Philadelphia, until it was shut down in June, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office explained in a press release.
“An octogenarian pharmacist – [whose] profession is dedicated to serving the health needs of the community with honesty and integrity – traded drugs for sexual favors,” District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said. “In doing so, he allowed his need for sexual gratification to override any sense of personal or professional responsibility to the community.”
The investigation into Brian commenced when police acted on an anonymous tip on April 18 and discovered two individuals passed out inside a vehicle parked behind the pharmacy building.
While officers worked to identify them, a woman emerged from the back of the building then went back inside after seeing the officers. Brian then came out and spoke with the officers.
However, when officers questioned him and the woman separately, they discovered inconsistencies regarding their stories.
A search warrant was obtained for the woman’s phone, and investigators found several texts from Brian about how to answer the officers’ questions, the Fox report read:
On April 20, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted an audit on the pharmacy, analyzing its inventory over the previous five years. The agency found substantial discrepancies in the pharmacy’s inventory of oxycodone, Xanax and fentanyl.
The investigation found that Brain’s [sic] pharmacy was the largest purchaser of oxycodone, fentanyl, and related drug products in the local ZIP code. Authorities also found about $50,000 cash inside a drawer in the pharmacy.
When DEA agents spoke with the woman again, officials said she admitted meeting Brian every week to get money and controlled substances in exchange for sexual acts.
“Further investigation led to a second woman who admitted to investigators that she had been exchanging sexual favors for drugs with the defendant multiple times a week, and that she could not even count the number of bottles of oxycodone that she had received,” the news release said.
She told investigators she eventually sold the oxycodone she received for heroin.
Brian was eventually charged with several counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, distribution of a controlled substance to a drug-dependent individual, dispensing of a controlled substance in a manner inconsistent with the rules of his profession, criminal use of a communication facility, and sexual extortion.
Bail is at $250,000, unsecured, and a preliminary hearing is set for November 17.
“The allegations against Brian that he repeatedly distributed powerful painkillers and other controlled substances in exchange for sexual acts are repulsive and demonstrate Brian’s total disregard for his legal and ethical responsibilities as a pharmacist,” Thomas Hodnett, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division, stated.
“The DEA, working with its partners such as the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, the Media Borough Police Department, and the Pennsylvania Department of State, will aggressively pursue rogue pharmacists like Brian that are responsible for contributing to the opioid epidemic,” Hodnett added.
Meanwhile, Stollsteimer called the allegations “really lurid” during an interview with Fox 29:
“This pharmacist, whose job it is to take care of people, is using his access to these powerful medications to hurt people,” he asserted.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.