Jury Convicts California Man Of Conspiring To Distribute Opiates
ALBANY, N.Y. - - A jury last week convicted Charles Rainer Sinek, 51, of Oakland, California, of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute opiate pills.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA).
The jury’s verdict, reached on September 21, came after a three-day trial. The evidence at trial demonstrated that from 2011 to September 2012, Sinek used his father-in-law’s prescription pad to write prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances, including oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, and morphine. He filled these prescriptions at different pharmacies using variations of his own name and at least one other pseudonym. He then shipped the drugs cross-country to his co-conspirator in Saranac, New York, where the drugs were sold.
Sinek faces up to 20 years in prison and a three-year term of supervised release when he is sentenced on January 17, 2017 by Senior U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case was investigated by the DEA and the Plattsburgh Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth R. Rabe.
