The former leader of a Rochester-based wholesale pharmaceutical distributor has been convicted on conspiracy charges.
According to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, Damian Williams, a federal jury on Wednesday found Laurence Doud, the former CEO of Rochester Drug Cooperative of conspiring to distribute unlawfully, oxycodone and fentanyl and conspiring to defraud the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The 78-year-old Doud, who now lives in Florida, had headed up the drug wholesaler which filed for bankruptcy in 2020.
In 2019, Rochester Drug Cooperative paid a $20 million fine to settle criminal and civil charges related to opioid sales.
Williams called this a first of its kind prosecution, and said that Doud was held responsible for contributing to the opioid epidemic by “conspiring with others in his company to ship massive amounts of dangerous and highly addictive oxycodone and fentanyl to pharmacies that he knew were illegally dispensing those controlled substances to drug dealers and addicts.”
According to Reuters, Doud’s defense attorney Robert Gottlieb, argued that Doud was being made a scapegoat for the opioid addiction epidemic, and he called Wednesday’s verdict, “a monumental travesty of justice,” and told Reuters that he believed Doud “will prevail on appeal.”
Doud is scheduled to be sentenced in June. He faces a minimum of 10 years in prison.
