STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- One of the pharmaceutical companies most closely linked to the nation’s opioid epidemic filed for bankruptcy Sunday night as part of a proposed resolution to more than 2,600 opioid-related lawsuits.
Now Rep. Max Rose and Staten Islanders hit hardest by the epidemic are calling for Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, and the Sackler family, which controlled the company, to be criminally charged.
“Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family want to sign a deal that declares them innocent of their crimes, and to use bankruptcy court to safeguard their blood money,” Rose said Monday in front of the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse.
“The Sackler family does not belong in bankruptcy court, they belong in the federal court right behind me. They belong in handcuffs and should be charged as the criminal drug dealers that they are. And just like criminal drug dealers, we should take every cent that they have.” the congressman said,
Attorneys for the Sackler family did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication. A spokeswoman for Purdue Pharma referenced the Advance to a Sunday media release announcing the proposed settlements reached with various authorities.
THE AGREEMENT IN QUESTION
As part of the agreement, the company’s owners will relinquish all of its assets, a new company will be formed in its place, and the Sacklers will give up at least $3 billion, with the possibility for more following the sale of their former pharmaceutical companies in the U.S.
The new company will be restricted in its ability to market and sell opioids, according to the media release.
In total, the company estimates the deal will funnel at least $10 billion to the fight against opioid abuse, according to the release.
“This unique framework for a comprehensive resolution will dedicate all of the assets and resources of Purdue for the benefit of the American public,” said Steve Miller, chairman of Purdue’s board of directors.
“This settlement framework avoids wasting hundreds of millions of dollars and years on protracted litigation, and instead will provide billions of dollars and critical resources to communities across the country trying to cope with the opioid crisis," he added. "We will continue to work with state attorneys general and other plaintiff representatives to finalize and implement this agreement as quickly as possible.”
STATE AG OPPOSES DEAL
New York state Attorney General Letitia James said in a Monday media release that the state remains opposed to the deal, in part because of her office’s findings that the Sacklers made about $1 billion in wire transfers as part of an effort to obfuscate the family’s net worth.
“It shouldn’t come as a shock that Purdue’s bankruptcy filing comes just 48 hours after my office exposed about $1 billion in wire transfers involving Swiss bank accounts,” James said. “In no uncertain terms, any deal that cheats Americans out of billions of dollars, allows the Sacklers to evade responsibility, and lets this family continue peddling their drugs to the world is a bad one, which is why New York remains opposed to it.”
Rose (D-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) was joined Monday by Michele Kunz, her daughter Kristine Comito, and Michael Balioni -- three Staten Islanders impacted by the opioid epidemic.
Kunz’s son and Comito’s brother, Robert Kunz, died in 2015 after a hit-and-run that resulted from a prescription drug deal gone wrong. Balioni, an NYPD officer, said his wife is two years sober, but that their family is still dealing with the repercussions of substance abuse.
“The downward spiral that led to my son’s death began with the very drugs that these pharmaceutical companies deemed safe,” Kunz said.
“Do I believe that they are responsible for the number one epidemic that is plaguing our nation? Yes. Should they be held responsible for my sons death and the of thousands and thousands of grieving parents? Absolutely.”