City cops and federal drug agents last Thursday raided Chopin Chemists in Ridgewood. The owners allegedly sold hundreds of thousands of highly addictive pain pills out of the Fresh Pond Road storefront.
Three suspects and two pharmacies last Thursday were indicted in Manhattan federal court for a multimillion-dollar oxycodone distribution scheme that flooded city streets with more than 500,000 pain pills over a five-year period through pharmacies operated in Ridgewood and Greenpoint, Brooklyn, said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
Marcin Jakacki, 35, his wife, Lilian, 49, and Robert Cybulski, 30, were arraigned last week. Marcin Jakacki of Greenwich, Conn., is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute oxycodone illegally, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of money laundering.
Lilian Jakacki, also of Greenwich, Conn., is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute oxycodone illegally, one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, two counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to misbrand prescription medication.
Cybulski, who lives on Staten Island, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute oxycodone illegally.
According to the allegations in the indictment, the Jakackis own and operate Chopin Chemists, with locations in Ridgewood and Greenpoint. As measured by the sheer quantity of pills distributed, the defendants’ oxycodone ring is one of the largest illegal diversions of oxycodone pills ever uncovered in a New York pharmacy, Bharara said.
In 2013, the Jakackis’ Chopin Brooklyn was the single largest purchaser of oxycodone pills in its ZIP code for three straight years, from 2010 to 2012. In 2011 and 2012, according to Bharara said, Chopin Brooklyn exceeded the second highest purchaser’s orders in that ZIP code by more than 240,000 pills each year. In 2013, the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted an audit of Chopin Brooklyn that revealed more than 400,000 pills were dispensed without prescriptions. Lilian Jakacki and the Chopin Pharmacies also illegally diverted more than 160,000 additional pills by accepting 1,300 fraudulent prescriptions at both locations, including prescriptions made out in the names of famous luxury brands such as “Coach” or “Chanel.”
Marcin Jakacki allegedly helped to arrange the illegal sales of oxycodone pills. In September and October 2015, Jakacki coordinated the illegal sale of hundreds of oxycodone pills to a DEA undercover agent at the Chopin Fresh Pond Road location.
Bharara said that Cybulski allegedly was one of the largest purchasers of illegal oxycodone from Lilian Jakacki at Chopin Brooklyn. While she owned it, Cybulski regularly visited Chopin Brooklyn with multiple prescriptions in others’ names, typically obtaining 500 30-milligram oxycodone pills each time. In total, Cybulski illegally obtained tens of thousands of oxycodone pills from Chopin Brooklyn.
The Jakackis also conspired with others to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash proceeds derived from the illegal oxycodone scheme. Among other things, they transferred money between various bank accounts in the form of structured financial transactions. Among other things, the couple purchased a $2 million home in Greenwich, using the proceeds of their illegal oxycodone distribution scheme.
“Whether it is the corrupt doctor writing unwarranted prescriptions; the greedy pharmacist selling pills based on fake or no prescriptions; or the street-level drug dealer peddling painkillers directly to the addicted, we must confront this escalating epidemic at every level,” Bharara said. “Our actions today show that we and our law enforcement partners are committed to doing just that.”
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
