12 Western Pennsylvanians and Indiana physician charged with trafficking oxycodone
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Twelve Western Pennsylvania residents and a physician from Indiana have been indicted for trafficking oxycodone, federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
The defendants were charged in two separate but related indictments that allege from about 2019 to July 2024, they conspired to traffic oxycodone. Dr. Martin J. Maassen from Lafayette, Indiana, is also charged with unlawful distribution of Adderall.
"The illegal distribution of addictive and deadly drugs continues to tear apart communities throughout western Pennsylvania and the rest of the country," said United States Attorney Eric Olshan in a news release.
"What makes the conduct alleged here even more troubling is the involvement of a physician—a resident of another state, no less. Dismantling drug trafficking organizations is at the center of what our office does, and these charges should send a clear and loud message: whether you sell drugs out on the street or while wearing a white coat in a doctor's office, law enforcement at all levels of government will work as long and as hard as it takes to hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law."
The prosecutions are part of investigations by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force which identifies, disrupts and dismantles high level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations.
Thomas Hodnett, the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Philadelphia Field Division, called the allegations "serious and deeply concerning."
"Dr. Maassen stands accused of unlawfully distributing powerful painkillers such as oxycodone and amphetamines such as Adderall," Hodnett said. "Doctors such as Maassen have a legal and moral obligation to prescribe these drugs for legitimate medical purposes and within the usual course of professional practice; Maassen allegedly did neither. The unlawful distribution of oxycodone has contributed to the opioid crisis that has so adversely affected our communities."
