United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CAMDEN, N.J. - - Carl J. Kotowski, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division and Paul J. Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey announced two pharmacists were arrested today and charged in a long-running conspiracy to illegally distribute and dispense large quantities of oxycodone and other controlled substances from two pharmacies located in Medford, New Jersey.

Michael Ludwikowski, 44, of Medford, and David Goldfield, 58, of Medford Lakes, New Jersey, were charged in a 16-count indictment with conspiracy to illegally distribute and dispense oxycodone and other Schedule II controlled substances, maintaining a drug-involved premises, and multiple substantive counts of illegal distribution.

“There is a real opioid epidemic in the United States, one that’s responsible for personal tragedy, widespread suffering, and enormous financial loss,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Doctors, pharmacists, and other health care professionals have a unique opportunity to address this epidemic by ensuring prescription opiates are dispensed only for legitimate medical purposes. Instead, Ludwikowski and Goldfield allegedly chose to exacerbate the problem by selling opiates to customers with fake prescriptions or to individuals whom they knew to be addicts.”

Carl J. Kotowski, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement (DEA) New Jersey Division said, “Unfortunately, this is another alleged case of two pharmacists violating the public trust. They should have been doing their part to help in the reduction of the opioid epidemic we are facing. Instead, based on the charges, they have played a part in adding to the epidemic.”

From March 2008 through August 2013, Ludwikowski, the owner of both Olde Medford Pharmacy and Medford Family Pharmacy in Medford, NJ, and his employee, Goldfield, knowingly distributed and dispensed oxycodone and other controlled substances to individuals, including addicts, who presented phony prescriptions.
 
Ludwikowski ordered tens of thousands of dosage units of oxycodone, among other products, from a large national distributor. The distributer established thresholds for the quantity of controlled substances that it supplied to certain pharmacies. These thresholds could not be exceeded unless a pharmacy provided sufficient justification for an increase. As part of the conspiracy, Ludwikowski fraudulently requested and received increases to the thresholds of oxycodone supplied to his pharmacies, even though he knew they were not going to be used for legitimate medical reasons.

Ludwikowski and Goldfield are scheduled to appear in Camden federal court this afternoon.