Oxycodone Ring Busted: Best Faces Life for Fatal Overdose

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A sprawling prescription drug ring operating across Allegheny and Beaver Counties has been cracked, with twelve western Pennsylvania residents facing federal charges, authorities announced this week. The indictments, handed down by a federal grand jury on July 16, 2013, detail a sophisticated operation ranging from obtaining prescriptions through illicit means to outright pharmacy burglaries.

U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton minced no words: “These indictments charge participants at all levels of a western Pennsylvania oxycodone and Opana distribution ring – from the leader, to the prescription thief, to the pharmacy burglars, to the runners who presented the fake prescriptions to be filled.” The case underscores the deadly consequences of the ongoing prescription drug abuse epidemic. Disturbingly, one individual died after using drugs distributed by one of the defendants.

The indictment names David Best, 27, of Coraopolis, Pa.; Matthew Moody, 24, of Baden, Pa.; Jade Gagianas, 28, of Freedom, Pa.; Katie Adams, 27, of Ambridge, Pa.; Andrew Brown, 23, of Eighty Four, Pa.; Ryan Raithel, 33, of Wexford, Pa.; and Carlos Martinez, 26, of Ambridge, Pa. as key players. The 12-count indictment alleges a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute Schedule II controlled substances – oxycodone and oxymorphone (Opana) – spanning from around December 2011 to May 2013.

David Best faces the most serious allegations. Counts 2 through 4 charge him with distributing oxycodone and Opana on multiple dates in 2012 and 2013. Critically, Count 4 states that a person known to the grand jury died as a result of using drugs Best distributed on May 8, 2012. Furthermore, he is accused of brandishing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime (Count 5). He is also charged with burglarizing the MedFast pharmacy in Baden, Pa. on three separate occasions – Dec. 1, 2011, Sept. 26-27, 2012, and Feb. 15, 2013 – stealing a massive haul of controlled substances including fentanyl, Ritalin, Oxycontin, Vyvanse, morphine sulfate, and more. Katie Adams and Carlos Martinez are also implicated in the September 2012 pharmacy burglary.

DEA Special Agent in Charge David G. Dongilli highlighted the broader scope of the problem: “Prescription drug abuse encompasses far more than the act of selling drugs; it often involves property crimes and crimes of violence.” He pointed to statistics showing 2.3 million individuals age 12 and older first abused prescription drugs for non-medical reasons in 2011. Ryan Raithel, 33, of Wexford, Pa. is separately charged with distributing heroin on or about Aug. 10, 2012.

If convicted on the conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute, and pharmacy burglary charges, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000 ($250,000 for the burglaries). However, due to the death linked to David Best’s drug distribution, he faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years and potentially life imprisonment. The investigation remains ongoing, and further arrests are possible.