Feds: Scarsdale Couple Ran Multi-Million Dollar Oxycodone 'Pill Mill'

Editor’s Note: This article ran June 10 in some local editions of Patch. We’re bringing it back in case you missed it.

By ALFRED BRANCH (Patch Staff)

A Scarsdale physician and his office manager wife were arrested by federal drug enforcement agents Tuesday and accused of operating a $77 million Oxycodone “Pill Mill” out of their Manhattan medical practice.

Dr. Rogelio Lucas and his wife, Lydia Lucas, were each charged with 37 counts of Criminal Sale of a Prescription for a Controlled Substance and one count of 4th degree Conspiracy, following a long-term investigation.

The two were arrested in their West 95th Street home, and at the same time authorities raided the couple’s second home on Black Birch Lane in Scarsdale where they seized approximately $600,000 in cash. The Lucas’ medical practice is on West 101st Street in Manhattan, and the pair are accused of illegally selling the narcotics over a six-and-a-half year period.

“When Dr. Lucas first opened his medical practice on the Upper West Side, residents embraced the thought of having a family doctor in the neighborhood,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt in a statement. “But when Dr. Lucas’ illegal medical practices pushed residents out of his office, he replaced them with drug traffickers; exchanging medically unnecessary prescriptions for cash. Law enforcement, at all levels, continues to investigate and arrest those responsible for enabling the opioid addict population by distributing heroin or diverted prescription pills throughout our communities.”

According to the feds, Dr. Lucas and his wife churned out “tens of thousands of prescriptions for oxycodone in exchange for illegal cash payments.”

Prosecutors also stated that:

Dr. Lucas allegedly routinely wrote oxycodone prescriptions for individuals with no legitimate medical need for the pain medication. Meanwhile, his wife assisted in collecting approximately $120 cash for each office visit. The indictment contains charges related to 37 of these illegal prescriptions. However, a court authorized review of Dr. Lucas’s prescribing history revealed he wrote oxycodone prescriptions for approximately 45 to 50 individuals per day.

Prior to the start of the conspiracy, Dr. Lucas operated a family medical practice at another location and catered to elderly patients and those covered by Medicaid. However, in 2009 the practice underwent a radical change. From that point on, approximately 76 percent of the prescriptions Dr. Lucas wrote were for oxycodone. Crowds gathered in the waiting room, prompting complaints by members of the community. Dr. Lucas relocated his office three times before landing at 215 West 101st St., Suite 1A.

Cash became the preferred method of payment, rather than Medicaid reimbursements. For example, over the course of one year, between June 2013 and July 2014, Dr. Lucas and his wife made approximately $500,000 in cash deposits into multiple bank accounts.

Since Jan. 2, 2009, Dr. Lucas wrote over 23,600 oxycodone prescriptions for approximately 3.1 million pills. The pills would have carried an estimated street value of $77 million on the black market.

Investigators believe multiple drug rings received oxycodone prescriptions from Dr. Lucas. High-level members of the drug ring served as “recruiters” and enlisted “runners” to visit the doctor’s office to obtain prescriptions. In order to make a first-time appointment with the doctor, it was necessary for a recruiter known to Lucas and his wife to vouch for a runner.

Most runners waited one or more hours before being seen by the doctor, although some received preferential treatment and moved to the head of the line. Dr. Lucas and his wife required photo identification, but the doctor performed only the most cursory examinations and did not inquire about these individuals’ injuries, medical history or level of pain. Investigators believe the prescriptions obtained from Dr. Lucas were filled at pharmacies and the pills turned over to the drug rings for distribution.

“Dr. Lucas is charged with being one of the city’s most prolific illegal prescribers of the black market’s favorite pill - 30 mg oxycodone,” said Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, in a statement. “Instead of healing, doctors who routinely sign orders for unneeded narcotic drugs endanger the health and welfare of the public. Corrupt doctors who exchange prescriptions for cash have stoked the epidemic of addiction gripping our region.”

Added New York Police Commissioner William J. Bratton, “This doctor allegedly abused his position as a medical professional, profiting from the sale of prescriptions while fueling the supply of a highly addictive painkiller that has led to numerous overdose deaths. Thanks to the efforts of the investigators involved in this case and our law enforcement partners, this organization will no longer distribute these pills into our communities.”

Brennan thanked her office’s Prescription Drug Investigation Unit, the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad, the NYPD and HRA, as well as BNE, HHS, the Nassau County Police Department, the Town of Orangetown Police Department and the Westchester County Police Department.

Photo: Approximately $600,000 seized in the raid at the Scarsdale home of Dr. Rogelio Lucas and his wife Lydia Lucas. Photo credit: DEA New York