81-year-old pharmacist traded ‘powerful painkillers’ for sexual acts, PA officials say
An 81-year-old Pennsylvania pharmacist is accused of trading “powerful painkillers” for sexual acts, officials said.
Martin Brian, of Media, has since been charged with multiple felonies in connection to those trades, according to a Nov. 1 news release from the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office. He is the owner and operator of Murray-Overhill Pharmacy, which closed in June.
“An octogenarian pharmacist — (whose) profession is dedicated to serving the health needs of the community with honesty and integrity — traded drugs for sexual favors,” said District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. “In doing so, he allowed his need for sexual gratification to override any sense of personal or professional responsibility to the community. His actions risked the life of every individual receiving these illicitly obtained drugs.”
The Media Borough Police Department first began investigating on April 18 when they received an anonymous tip about two unconscious people parked at Murray-Overhill Pharmacy, according to the news release. As officers were checking on those two individuals, a woman (referred to as S.E.) exited the back of the pharmacy.
“Upon spotting the officers, she retreated to the pharmacy. The defendant – who was known to the officers as Martin Brian – emerged from the pharmacy and asked ‘if everything was alright,’” the news release said. “Upon separate questioning, inconsistencies emerged in the accounts given by S.E. and by the defendant.”
Officers seized the woman’s cellphone and obtained a search warrant to go through it. That’s where they discovered many texts between S.E. and Brian, officials said, including one that told S.E. how to answer questions from police.
Two days after the anonymous tip, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration audited the pharmacy, analyzing inventory records from 2016 to 2021. Through the audit, officials said they found discrepancies in the inventory of oxycodone, Xanax, and fentanyl.
A few days later, on April 26, DEA agents interviewed S.E., who admitted to meeting with Brian weekly to trade sex acts for money and controlled substances, according to officials.
As the investigation continued, agents said they found $50,000 in cash kept in a pharmacy drawer. Investigators also learned of a second woman who said she exchanged sexual favors for drugs with Brian several times a week and “ could not even count the number of bottles of oxycodone that she had received,” the news release said.
The second woman said she would sell the oxycodone she received to buy heroin, officials said.
Murray-Overhill Pharmacy was the largest purchaser of oxycodone, fentanyl, and related drug products in zip code 19063, officials said.
“While hardworking pharmacists all over Delaware County are making the overdose-reversing medication Narcan available, this defendant chose instead to actively contribute to the scourge of addiction that families in our County grapple with every day,” Stollsteimer said.
Martin turned himself in on Nov. 1, according to the news release. He was then arraigned, and given a $250,000 bail. His first hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17.
Brian is charged with “multiple counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, distribution of a controlled substance to a drug-dependent person, the dispensing of a controlled substance in a manner inconsistent with the rules of the medical profession, the criminal use of a communication facility and sexual extortion.”
“The allegations against Brian that he repeatedly distributed powerful painkillers and other controlled substances in exchange for sexual acts are repulsive and demonstrate Brian’s total disregard for his legal and ethical responsibilities as a pharmacist,” said Thomas Hodnett, acting special agent in charge of Philadelphia’s DEA Field Division. “The DEA, working with its partners such as the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, the Media Borough Police Department, and the Pennsylvania Department of State, will aggressively pursue rogue pharmacists like Brian that are responsible for contributing to the opioid epidemic.”
This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 11:50 AM with the headline "81-year-old pharmacist traded ‘powerful painkillers’ for sexual acts, PA officials say."