Veterans Post

Last year five men were arrested for selling, conspiring to sell and/or distributing drugs at the VA Medical Center in Bedford, Mass. There were numerous agencies involved at the local and federal levels, plus the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General. The investigation took seven months.

Let’s look at the players. I’ll call them by initials only.

— J sold buprenorphine to an undercover federal agent, and conspired with R to sell oxycodone to an undercover federal agent.

— R conspired with J to sell oxycodone to an undercover federal agent

— D distributed controlled substances, including heroin, oxycodone, buprenorphine and clonazepam and conspired to distribute those substances.

— It was the same for H and P.

Just for clarification, buprenorphine is used to treat opioid addiction and clonazepam is for seizure and panic disorders. Oxycodone is for serious long-term pain. We’re not talking aspirin here. All of these drugs can be abused and cause addiction.

Just how bad is this? J, R and D could have gotten up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. H could have gotten 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. P could have gotten five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

So, what punishments did they get?

J was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

R was sentenced to five years of probation.

D and H were sentenced to three years of probation.

P was sentenced to two years of probation. No, it doesn’t matter that these men were veterans. What matters is that they were selling at a VA hospital with a drug rehab program, where other veterans go to get well. In some cases, they were selling the very drugs they’d been provided by the VA.

Where in the sentences they received is there any incentive not to do it again?

Email Freddy Groves at [email protected]

© 2013 King Features Synd. Inc.