Thursday, February 6, 2014

Dinowitz Legislation Will Increase Access to Life-Saving Overdose Antidote Naloxone


  Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) has announced that he is sponsoring legislation in the Assembly, A.8637, which would help prevent accidental opioid overdoses and save thousands of lives in New York by increasing access to the opioid overdose antidote Naloxone. The legislation expands on a 2005 law Assemblyman Dinowitz authored to establish opioid antagonists as effective treatments. If administered during an overdose, Nalaxone can effectively and safely reverses the overdose by blocking the effects of opiates on the body.

“In the last few months and particularly in the last few days there has been a new light shed on accidental overdoses related to opioid abuse” said Assemblyman Dinowitz. “This legislation will create further access to a life-saving drug that when administered properly is known to stop the effects of accidental overdoses. If we create more access in conjunction with ramping up outreach efforts, we can help save thousands of lives each year.”

Accidental drug overdose is the number one cause of accidental death in New York, exceeding even motor vehicle accidents. Studies have shown that most overdoses are witnessed, and there is a 1-3 hour window in which an opioid overdose can be reversed, making many deaths preventable. Naloxone has proven to be a highly effective tool in reversing overdoses when properly administered.

This new legislation will allow for health care professionals to issue standing orders, also known as non-patient specific prescriptions, to certified training programs that would in turn train individuals on the signs of overdose and provide them with the Naloxone kits. By increasing availability of Nalaxone and access for those most likely to need the antidote, this legislation will decrease the number of accidental deaths caused by accidental opioid overdose dramatically.

The problem of opioid abuse has reached epidemic proportions in some parts of the country and although Assemblyman Dinowitz has been working on expanding Nalaxone access for several weeks, two recent headlines, including the tragic death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman to a presumed heroin overdose, have highlighted the need to expand opioid treatment options. An instance of a man’s life being saved in Rensselaer County by a sheriff’s deputy trained as an EMT who administered Nalaxone has also been in the news, and serves as a reminder that overdoses can be effectively treated with lives saved. Both tragedies show just how widespread the problem is, both geographically and societally.

“Now is the time to take the next step in expanding access to this critical antidote.  Law enforcement organizations are taking steps to train their members in administration, community based organizations are asking for help in obtaining more Naloxone, and the families of victims and potential victims of accidental overdose are asking for our help” said Dinowitz. “I call on my colleagues to join me in supporting this vital legislation.”

The legislation in the State Senate, S.6744, is sponsored by Senate Health Committee Chairman Kemp Hannon. The bill was reported out of the Senate Health Committee this week, there has been no action yet in the Assembly.
 
To become a law this bill must pass both the state senate and state assembly, and then be signed into law by Governor Cuomo.
 
 

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Bronx Clinic Owner And 23 Other Individuals Involved In Illegal Distribution Of More Than Five Million Oxycodone Pills


  Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Bridget G. Brennan, the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York (“SNP”), James J. Hunt, the Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and William Bratton, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment against 24 defendants in connection with a massive drug distribution ring that operated out of a purported medical clinic with multiple locations in the Bronx, New York, known as “Astramed,” and unlawfully distributed more than five million tablets of the prescription painkiller oxycodone over a three-year period. The participants in the distribution ring included doctors, clinic employees, and drug traffickers who oversaw crews of “patients” who they sent into the clinics in order to obtain medically unnecessary prescriptions. The prescriptions were then filled at pharmacies, and the resulting pills resold on the streets of New York and elsewhere.
  Twenty-one defendants were arrested yesterday in connection with today’s charges. The defendants will be presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein later this afternoon. Related charges against one of the clinic doctors were also unsealed today by SNP. The defendant is expected to be arraigned later today in Manhattan Supreme Court before Judge Bruce Allen.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The world of prescription drug trafficking is looking more and more like the world of old-school trafficking in narcotics like heroin, cocaine and crack. In this case, the drug spot was a clinic controlled by traffickers, often through intimidation and violence. The traffickers were supplied with prescriptions by corrupt doctors and clinic employees, dispensed to lower-level ‘pretend’ patients so that massive quantities of oxycodone could be distributed wherever the most money could be made, often in communities hundreds of miles away. This is poison by prescription, and the volume and money allegedly involved would make hardened illegal drug traffickers envious – over 31,000 medically unnecessary oxycodone prescriptions for 5.5 million tablets sold with a street value between $170 million and over half a billion dollars. Even legal drugs illegally obtained can be deadly, and more people have been dying from prescription drug abuse than heroin and cocaine combined. Unnecessary painkillers can simply end up being killers. This has to stop and we will do everything we can to stop it.”
  Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said: “These clinics have long been a source of community concern and complaints. Dr. Robert Terdiman is charged with selling prescriptions for highly addictive painkillers on a scale we have not seen before – flooding the black market with oxycodone carrying a street value of over $90 million. Not only is he charged with perpetuating a practice that did little to heal and much to harm, both he and The Clinic reaped huge profits. We would like to recognize the extraordinary commitment and dedication of all of the agencies that participated in this investigation.”
  DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt said, “Twenty two arrests, the dismantlement of the largest pill mill in the northeast and the ability for residents living near Southern Boulevard and Westchester Avenue in the Bronx to reclaim their neighborhood from drug dealers are the end results of unified police work by local, state and federal law enforcement in New York. I commend the diligent work of the numerous law enforcement agencies who participated in this investigation.”
   NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said: “Instead of abiding by the Hippocratic Oath, these doctors scheduled pseudo physical exams for greed and self-profit. They fueled a criminal operation which distributed highly addictive prescription drugs in the Bronx community and surrounding areas. Thanks to the investigators and prosecutors in this case, Lowe and his crew will no longer traffic illegal drugs.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment and other documents unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
   Senator Jeff Klein applauded the work of New York City and State law enforcement in arresting and indicting Dr. Robert Terdiman, Dr. Kevin Lowe and 21 individuals who took part in an illegal scheme to sell prescriptions for oxycodone at their clinic, Astramed Physicians, PC, in the Bronx. The two year investigation leading to yesterday’s arrest and indictment came from a tip provided by Senator Klein’s office, alerting them of potentially illegal activity at that site in 2010.  
 Senator Klein said: “For years, the physicians at Astramed have illegally sold narcotics prescriptions to individuals who could score up to $30 per pill on the black market. But the impact of Astramed’s illegal activity went beyond just the illegal sale of prescriptions. Astramed – which moved three separate times in the Bronx before being caught – fundamentally disrupted the quality of life for residents and small business owners in the surrounding area. When I first learned of possible suspicious activity at Astramed, I reached out to partners at stage agencies immediately, and eventually teamed up with law enforcement to monitor activity.
 “I commend Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan, the DEA, the NYPD and the U.S. Attorney’s office for putting an end to the despicable practices of Astramed’s physicians. We cannot – and will not – allow pill mills like Astramed open doors in our communities. I am proud of the immediate action my office took to bring attention to Astramed’s illegal activities and am thrilled that our community will finally be rid of this scourge to our way of life.”
 Four years ago, a constituent of Senator Klein’s notified Klein’s office of a possible methadone clinic instituted without notification to the community. Klein’s office tried to call the clinic, but both the physicians and their office administrators did not return calls. After contacting numerous state agencies, including the NYS Dept. Of Health, NYS OASAS, NYS Office of Mental Health and NYS Office of People with Developmental Disabilities to learn more about the services Astramed provided, Klein’s office contacted the Drug Enforcement Administration.
 Working with investigators from the NYS Department of Health in the summer of 2010, Klein’s office established through video surveillance that between 75 – 100 people were coming out of the office in any given day, along with a preponderance of cars with out-of-state plates surrounding the location.
 In October 2010, Astramed moved to 2029 Westchester Avenue in Castle Hill. Klein’s office continued to field complaints from the surrounding community while the investigation by law enforcement was ongoing. They subsequently moved to a location on Southern Boulevard.
  
   Oxycodone is a highly addictive, prescription narcotic-strength opioid used to treat severe and chronic pain conditions. More than 13 million Americans abuse oxycodone, with the misuse of prescription painkillers such as oxycodone leading to as many as 500,000 annual emergency room visits. Oxycodone prescriptions have enormous cash value to street level drug dealers, who can fill the prescriptions at most pharmacies and resell the resulting pills at vastly inflated rates. Indeed, a single prescription for 180 30-milligram oxycodone pills has an average resale value in New York City of more than $6,000, and up to $18,000 in nearby states.
  From approximately January 2011 until January 2014, a drug distribution ring centered at “Astramed,” a purported medical clinic with multiple locations in the Bronx, including a primary location on Southern Boulevard (the “Clinic”), unlawfully diverted and trafficked millions of oxycodone tablets, which netted participants in the distribution scheme hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds.
Astramed was owned and operated by KEVIN LOWE, a medical doctor, who reaped millions of dollars by charging cash for the thousands of medically unnecessary prescriptions written by the clinic doctors (the “Doctors”). The Doctors were corrupt, Board-certified, state- licensed doctors who, in exchange for cash, were willing to write medically unnecessary prescriptions for large quantities of oxycodone. The Clinic typically charged $300 in the form of a money order for “doctor visits” that usually lasted just a minute or two, involved no actual physical examination, and consistently resulted in the issuance of a prescription for large doses of oxycodone, typically 180 30-milligram tablets, or a daily dosage of six 30-milligram tablets. Indeed, the Doctors, who worked directly for LOWE, were paid only for each prescription they wrote – rather than for each patient they saw – and they were paid nothing if they did not write a prescription.
Various employees of the Astramed clinics controlled access to the Doctors and created false documents in exchange for cash payments. To avoid detection by law enforcement, the Doctors sometimes asked the “patients” for medical documentation, such as MRIs, purporting to document injuries, or urine samples purporting to show that the “patient” was taking oxycodone. Fake MRIs and urine samples were sold by members of the conspiracy to Astramed’s “patients,” typically inside the Clinic or immediately outside its premises.
  The Clinic itself bears little resemblance to a standard medical office. For example, on a daily basis during the time set forth in the Indictment, crowds of up to one hundred people gathered outside the Clinic, clamoring to see one of the doctors at the clinic and thereby get a prescription for oxycodone. The majority of these individuals had no medical need for oxycodone, or any legitimate medical record documenting an ailment for which oxycodone would be prescribed. Instead, most of these individuals were members of “crews” – that is, they were recruited and paid by high-level drug traffickers, oxycodone distributors (the “Crew Chiefs”), to pose as “patients” in order to receive medically unnecessary prescriptions from the Doctors. The Crew Chiefs then arranged for and oversaw the filling of the resulting prescription at various pharmacies and took possession of the oxycodone pills to be resold on the street. Crew Chiefs also paid the Clinic’s employees hundreds of dollars in cash at a time to get their Crew Members into the Clinic to see one of the Doctors. The Crew Chiefs maintained their joint control over the operations of the Clinic, in part, as a result of intimidation and the threat of violence.
  In total, between approximately January 2011 and January 2014, Astramed Doctors issued approximately 31,500 medically unnecessary prescriptions for oxycodone, comprising nearly 5.5 million oxycodone tablets with a street value of up to $550 million. LOWE alone collected nearly $12 million in fees for “doctor visits” during this time period. Based on the street market value of the pills distributed, the participants in the distribution ring together made hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of the clinic fees charged and the proceeds obtained from the resale of the illegally obtained oxycodone.
*                      *                      *
All of the defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
A chart containing each defendant’s age and residence information is attached. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield.
  Mr. Bharara thanked the DEA and the NYPD for their work in the 15-month investigation, which he noted is ongoing. Mr. Bharara also thanked, the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York, the Town of Orangetown Police Department, the Westchester County Police Department, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the United States Marshals Service, the New York State Health Department’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, New York City's Human Resource Administration, the New York State Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Beacon New York Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the El Dorado Task Force for their assistance.
  The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward B. Diskant and Tatiana R. Martins are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Micah Smith of the Office’s Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for the forfeiture of assets.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.





 

A Bronx Councilman Goes his Own Way




  The story in Capitol New York begins with a photo of Councilman Ritchie Torres of the 15th council district here in the Bronx. At age 25 freshman council member has played his cards as a pro. It continues he went alone against the Bronx Democratic County organization with his energetic endorsement of Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito for the position of Speaker, and now reaps the reward as the new chair of the committee that he wanted that being Public Housing. 

  Capitol New York then goes into a personal history of Ritchie Torres before he was elected to the City Council, and why Torres was for Councilwoman Mark-Viverito over the rest of the Bronx council delegation who pledged support for her opponent to become speaker.
The last line quotes a comment from Bronx Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Carl Heastie on the events of Councilman Torres. Heastie said he's currently focused on this year's election cycle.
“Councilman Torres should be focused on serving his constituents, strongly representing their interests and fighting for their needs". 

  You can find the entire Capitol New York Story on Councilman Ritchie Torres here.



 
  










Tuesday, February 4, 2014

50th Birthday Party Fundraisr for Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda.


This fundraiser comes from Sepulveda for Assembly.


































Contribution Form

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____________

Address: _________________________________ Apt: _________

City: ______________________ State: _____ Zip Code: __________

Phone Number: __________________________________________

Email: __________________________________________________

Amount: $ ________________ Cash Check Credit Money Order

 (Please Circle)

Mail contributions to: Oshrie Zak, Treasurer

Sepulveda for Assembly

 881 Gerard Ave, Bronx, NY 10452

Thank you for our generous support.

Paid for by Sepulveda for Assembly.


A Few Questions for Mayor Bill de Blasio Regarding the New York City Housing Authority


WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz
District 32 Bronx County, New York

A Few Questions for Mayor Bill de Blasio Regarding the New York City Housing Authority

You should know that the problems within the New York City Housing Authority are among the biggest headaches that our new Mayor Bill de Blasio will have to confront during his tenure as New York City Mayor.

The rampant problems in the New York City Housing Authority are well known and have been well documented in a series of articles written in the New York Daily News by journalists such as Greg B. Smith, Denis Slattery, Lisa L. Colangelo, Jan Ransom, Kerry Burke and Bill Hutchinson among others. They all have written vast stories about the unhealthy conditions, mismanagement, neglect, abuses, poor maintenance and lack of respect and consideration to New York City Housing Authority residents.

“Be careful what you wish for, you may get it,” is an old proverb attributed to a classic horror story that appeared in Harpers Monthly in 1902.  I fully realize that Mayor Bill de Blasio was not the Mayor when all these problems occurred. Nonetheless, they were one of the central topics and issues during his campaign.  Therefore, I have a few questions for our Mayor Bill de Blasio.

1) As a candidate for Mayor, Bill de Blasio, along with the Rev. Al Sharpton and the other Democratic candidates for Mayor: Christine Quinn, John Liu, Bill Thompson and Anthony Weiner, spent one hot, humid July night sleeping in an apartment in the Lincoln Houses.  After that sleepless night, Mr. Mayor, what did you learn from that experience and how will you use that experience to help the millions of residents who live in New York City Housing Authority apartments?

2) As recently as August, 2013, the New York City Housing Authority failed to spend fifty (50) million dollars that was allocated for repairs. While this money was allocated by the New York City Council, it was taxpayer money that should have been used for much needed repairs.
 
Mr. Mayor, what has happened to the fifty (50) million dollars and have the repairs been made?
 
3) In July, the New York Daily News reported that while forty-two (42) million dollars had been set aside for security cameras, only 11 had been installed out of a total of 86.  Mr. Mayor, what   is the status of the installation of the remaining 75 security cameras?
 
4) In August, in the heat of the summer, raw sewage was flowing from toilets and bathtubs in Senior Citizens’ ground floor apartments in the Throggs Neck Houses.
 
Mr. Mayor, what has been done to fix this disgusting problem and serious health issue that our Senior Citizens have been living with in the New York City Housing Authority apartments?
 
5) In December, the New York City Housing Authority agreed to clean up mold and related problems within 15 days and it signed off on a settlement agreeing to the supervision of a federal court.
 
Mr. Mayor, the 15 days have come and gone.  Has anyone been assigned from your administration to find out what is the status of the mold remediation?
 
6) Senior citizens were freezing in their apartments in the Throggs Neck Houses and Mott Haven Houses two days before Thanksgiving, and just last week the same problem occurred in the PS 139 Conversion Houses in Harlem because the heating systems failed.
 
Mr. Mayor, what will be done to fix the heating systems in every NYCHA building, especially those that have been so neglected in minority areas such as the Bronx and Harlem, so we don’t have to worry about Senior Citizens freezing to death?
 
Ladies and Gentlemen, we all know that these problems are not Mayor de Blasio’s fault, but they are now his problem and he has the duty and responsibility to find answers and solutions, because after all, he slept in one of these apartments on the condition and promise that if elected Mayor he would find remedies to these problems. And as I said before “Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.” 
 
And now Mr. Mayor, you got it.  

I am State Senator Ruben Diaz and this is what you should know. 

 
 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

BRONX CHAMBER AFRICAN AMERICAN CELEBRATION LUNCHEON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12th


  Bronx Chamber Logo  


Join the 
Bronx Chamber of Commerce
for the
African American Heritage
Celebration Luncheon

Wednesday, February 12th 
11:30AM- 2PM
F&J Pine

Please RSVP by Monday, February 10th to Alexandra@BronxChamber.org.

We hope you will attend!

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. & Healthfirst Host 7th Annual Sweetheart Luncheon


  Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and Healthfirst are hosting their 7th Annual Sweetheart Luncheon  on February 13, 2014. If you’re a couple that resides in the Bronx, have been married for 50+ years and would like to participate in the event, please contact Larcenia Walton, Director of Senior Services, at 718-590-6248 for further information.   


Indicted NY Senator Wants Trial Delayed to Seek Re-election


  Yes - that was the headline of a New York Post story about current State Senator Malcolm Smith, and his impending trial  
The first sentence of Post story reads - "You can’t campaign from behind bars."

  The answer from Smith's point of view is to have his upcoming federal fraud and bribery trial trial postponed until after the Democratic primary so he can seek re-election.  Smith’s lawyer Gerry Shargel is quoted as saying that since his client Senator Smith is presumed innocent of the charges the Democratic primary should come before the trial, not the trial before the election.

  The trial involves the alleged scheme to get Smith the Republican line for mayor in 2013. Former Bronx Republican Leader Jay Savino was charged with taking a $15,000.00 bribe to allow Smith to run. A former Queens Republican Councilman fighting the charges that he was the mastermind of the scheme, and the charges against Senator Smith.

  The entire New York Post article can be found Here.