Painkiller Ring Included Cherry Hill Pharmacist, Authorities Say

A Cherry Hill pharmacist has had his license suspended for allegedly taking part in an illegal prescription drug distribution ring involving a Plainfield pharmacy, Acting Attorney John J. Hoffman announced Monday.

Lawrence Zaslow, 59, was one of three men arrested Oct. 23 in connection with the ring, which authorities said was being run out of the Plainfield Pharmacy on West Street in the Union County city.

Zaslow and fellow pharmacists Daniel Podell, 87, and Howard Hirsh, 61, who both also had their licenses suspended, filled prescriptions for hundreds of thousands of addictive painkillers, authorities said, which came from patients of pain management clinics in Florida.

Those patients had no medical need for the painkillers, which included oxycodone, hydromorphone and morphine sulfate, authorities said, and the pharmacists all knew the drugs weren't meant for legitimate medical needs.

The Plainfield Pharmacy's owner, Lana Wiseberg, a Florida resident, surrendered the Controlled Dangerous Substances registration for the Plainfield Pharmacy and for the Santa Marina Pharmacy in Union City, which she also owns, authorities said.

Investigators in the state Division of Consumer Affairs’ Enforcement Bureau initiated the investigation following a routine inspection of the Plainfield Pharmacy, Hoffman said, which eventually expanded to include help from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

“Illegal distribution and abuse of prescription drugs is a national health crisis,” Hoffman said in a statement. “This investigation clearly shows how the enablers try to work across state lines to conceal their schemes.”

The license suspension for Zaslow, Podell and Hirsh are all indefinite, pending further action by the Board of Pharmacy following resolution of the pending criminal charges, Hoffman said.