Far Rockaway pharmacist indicted on oxycodone pill mill charges

An arrangement of prescription oxycodone pills. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File

By Jonathan Sperling

A Far Rockaway pharmacist has been indicted on 12 counts charging him with illegally distributing oxycodone and filing false tax returns between March 2011 and June 2014.

Daniel Russo, the owner of Russo’s Pharmacy on Cornaga Avenue, allegedly conspired to fill fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone and dispense thousands of oxycodone pills in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. Between 2013 and 2016, Russo also allegedly filed fraudulent corporate income tax returns by omitting the income earned from illegally selling the oxycodone.

Russo faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the drug charges. If convicted of the tax charges, he faces up to three years’ in prison for each count. Over a dozen physicians for whom Russo filled prescriptions have been convicted of crimes related to oxycodone distribution.

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Richard Donoghue said Russo’s alleged actions contributed to the nation’s opioid epidemic.

“We can count the hundreds of thousands of dollars Russo allegedly pocketed from the charged scheme, but the resulting human misery in our communities is incalculable,” Donoghue said in a statement. “This Office will continue working with federal and local law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute medical professionals who seek to profit from the opioid epidemic.”

All in all, Russo failed to report over $1 million in cash earnings, according to prosecutors.