Red Bank Doctor Part of Oxy Ring, He Admits

Red Bank, NJ - As the heroin and opiate epidemic rages nationwide, a suspended Red Bank physician admitted Monday he was involved in a prescription painkiller ring, and he and his office manager combed through old patient files to find eager customers, prosecutors say.

Dr. Kenneth Lewandowski, 53, a resident of Tatum Drive in Middletown, said he wrote fake prescriptions for oxycodone, which his office manager then allegedly sold for $300-$400 a piece, according to acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni.

Lewandowski previously operated a now-closed pain management practice in Red Bank, but has since been suspended from practicing medicine in New Jersey after he was allegedly involved in a DUI/assault by auto incident in Lakewood.

However, after losing his license, Lewandowski admitted he obtained blank prescription pads in the name of another doctor with whom he was discussing going into business with sometime in November 2014. Lewandowsk gave a portion of those scripts to his office manager, Thomas Menendez, who also lives in Middletown. Menendez is charged with selling the blank prescription pads to Lewandowski’s former patients so they could illegally obtain the dangerously addictive prescription painkillers.

Lewandowski lost his license after he was arrested for DUI three times in 2014, according to Monmouth Musings. The DUI arrests occurred in Middletown, Lakewood and Wall, and the Lakewood incident included an accident that resulted in injuries. Lewandowski was charged with assault by auto, and his medical license was suspended.

Combed through old patient files for clients

In a sick twist, Lewandowski and Menendez combed through old patient files from the Red Bank clinic to find subjects eager to purchase the forged prescriptions for a price of $300 to $400 per prescription, prosecutors say.

Lewandowski admitted he personally forged prescriptions in the other doctor’s name to four of his former patients, who ultimately obtained 120 oxycodone pills each. Lewandowski also admitted to signing the other doctor’s name without his permission. Menendez also conspired with Ronald Scott, Lewandowski’s physician’s assistant, prosecutors say.

Monmouth County’s top lawmaker released an especially scathing statement about the drug-pushing doc and his alleged assistants.

“Many in our families are fighting for their lives against this deadly prescription painkiller and heroin epidemic,” Gramiccioni said. “This is an affront to us all – a parasitic doctor choosing profit in exchange for opiate enslavement that could lead to death.”

Local pharmacy becomes suspicious

Savvy employees at a local pharmacy became suspicious when someone came in with one of Lewandowski’s bogus Oxy prescriptions on November 24, 2014, and tipped off Middletown police.

Prior to that, investigators at the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affair had received a complaint from the licensed doctor that prescriptions were issued in his name without his knowledge.

Lewandowski was arrested on Dec. 18, 2014.

During the search of Lewandowski’s home on Tatum Drive, numerous forged prescription pads, medical records and cash were recovered.

Menendez, of Geary Drive in Middletown, is awaiting trial. Lewandowski is scheduled to be sentenced on April 15, 2016. He will likely face six years in state prison.