April 6, 10

NEWS / Jersey City Man Sentenced to State Prison for Dealing Oxycontin in School Zone

TRENTON - Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that a Jersey City man was sentenced to state prison today for distributing OxyContin pills in a school zone on three occasions last year.

According to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli, Raymond Bremner, 43, of Jersey City, was sentenced to six years in state prison, including 33 months of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge Kevin G. Callahan in Hudson County. Bremner pleaded guilty on Feb. 8 to distribution of narcotics, two counts of distribution of narcotics within 500 feet of a public park, and three counts of distribution of narcotics within 1,000 feet of a school. Four counts were filed by accusation and the remaining counts were part of an Aug. 29, 2009 indictment.

In pleading guilty, Bremner admitted that on three occasions in 2009 - on May 14, Oct. 3 and Oct. 12 - he distributed OxyContin pills in Jersey City. On all three occasions, he was within 1,000 feet of a school, and on both occasions in October he was within 500 feet of a public park, Sergeant Anthony Park. The transaction in May involved over one-half ounce of OxyContin.

Bremner’s plea resulted from Operation MedScam, an ongoing investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Jersey City Police Department’s Special Investigation Unit. Since October, more than 32 people, including doctors and pharmacists, have been arrested in the joint investigation, which uncovered a major criminal narcotics network based in Hudson County that distributed thousands of black market prescription pain pills such as OxyContin and Percocet. The network was obtaining fraudulent narcotics prescriptions and filling them at various pharmacies. At the same time, Medicaid was being billed for phony doctor visits and prescription medicines that were never dispensed.

Detective Kevin Gannon and Deputy Attorneys General Cynthia Vazquez and Debra A. Conrad were assigned to the investigation into this case for OIFP’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Deputy Attorneys General Conrad and Vazquez prosecuted the case and represented the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the sentencing.

The network allegedly distributed the prescription pain pills throughout Hudson County and other parts of the state, including Bergen, Ocean, Morris and Monmouth counties. A single 30 milligram OxyContin pill, known as a “blue,” typically sells for $10 to $20 on the street, while a 10 milligram Percocet pill sells for $5 to $8.

The Medicaid program, which is funded by the state and federal governments, provides health care services and prescription drugs to persons who may not otherwise be able to afford such services and medicines. The State of New Jersey administers the Medicaid program through the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services and through the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which investigates both criminal and civil Medicaid fraud and abuse in that program.

http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases10/pr20100401c.html