Eric Lawrence Silverstein, Oxymorphone Distribution, West Virginia 2014

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - A Huntington man has pleaded guilty to distributing oxymorphone, a highly addictive opioid.

Eric Lawrence Silverstein, 39, of Huntington, West Virginia, admitted to making multiple sales of oxymorphone to a confidential informant. The informant arranged two controlled buys of the substance through Silverstein, resulting in a total of 18 40-mg oxymorphone pills being purchased for $1,080.

The first controlled buy took place on July 25, 2014, in the 1400 block of 4th Avenue in Huntington. Silverstein drove the informant to the location, where a third individual entered the vehicle and sold the informant 10 40-mg oxymorphone pills for $600.

The second controlled buy occurred on July 28, 2014, when the informant purchased eight 40-mg oxymorphone pills for $480 through Silverstein.

Silverstein faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27, 2015.

Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. The case is being investigated by the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force, with Assistant United States Attorney Greg McVey in charge of the prosecution.

Silverstein's guilty plea is a serious blow to those involved in the opioid epidemic in West Virginia.

The Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force will continue to investigate and prosecute those responsible for distributing opioids in the area.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/huntington-man-pleads-guilty-oxymorphone-charge