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When we talk about
drugs like oxycodone,

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you're talking
about drugs that are

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00:00:03,208 --> 00:00:04,917
essentially heroin pills.

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I was pretty convinced
that we had a major problem

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on our hands.

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This is the first time
I've ever seen this.

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Purdue didn't have any
evidence that the drug was safe,

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so the company obtained the
help of a medical officer

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in FDA to claim that OxyContin
was not prone to abuse.

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If you're Richard
Sackler, if you're Purdue,

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that means your army of
sales reps can go out and say

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that the FDA approved this.

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They knew that OxyContin
was being abused.

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When you're in that much
pain and you're addicted

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at such a high dose,
you're a trapped rat.

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Purdue ends up getting
pursued by the authorities.

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The Justice Department
effectively agreed to bury

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critical information.

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Purdue made
about nine billion dollars

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marketing OxyContin.

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They paid 600 million
to the government.

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You are basically telling
pharmaceutical companies

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you have a green
light to do this.

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They paid the speeding ticket.

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Drug overdose deaths
across the U.S.

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have more than
tripled since 1990.

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40 people die every day

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from prescription
painkiller overdoses.

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The trajectory has
simply been upward.

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It's America's silent epidemic.

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A plague in our country.

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- Good afternoon.
- How are you?

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We have with us
today Joe Rannazzisi.

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He is retired from the DEA.

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The opioid crisis started
with prescriptions.

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Prescriptions and
patient care...

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This idea that we weren't
adequately treating pain.

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Drugs like OxyContin
come on to the market

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and thought provokers
and medical experts

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began to preach the
gospel of the opioid.

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We started using the pain scale.

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"Pain is the fifth vital sign."

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They developed new medical
terms like "pseudoaddiction."

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Craziness.

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Your body builds a tolerance,
you need more drug.

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As you need more drug,
you need stronger drug.

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As you get stronger drug,
it's more expensive.

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And instead of buying
$150 worth of pills a day,

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you're buying $20 or $30
of heroin bags a day.

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00:03:00,083 --> 00:03:02,333
The problem encroaching
on Colorado.

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Taking a toll on
the Magnolia State.

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More and more lives
in Farmburg County...

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00:03:05,583 --> 00:03:07,142
- Woodland Hills...
- West Palm Beach...

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00:03:07,166 --> 00:03:08,542
- Springfield area...
- Denver...

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Right now we have
this wide-ranging

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amount of fentanyl and
fentanyl by-products,

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and it's killing
a lot of people.

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The synthetic opioid

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is the deadliest drug
in the United States.

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Five people OD'd on the
same day in January.

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We lost three
people last weekend.

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We didn't just wake
up one day and say,

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"Everybody just switch
over to fentanyl."

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It was a progression, and it
was a natural progression.

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Here in Cook County, it's
three deaths per day.

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Mississippi's seen close
to 200 overdose deaths.

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Opioid deaths are up 20%

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since the start of the pandemic.

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And overdose death
is underreported.

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We know that for sure.

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So we really don't know
how many people died.

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Hundreds of cities, counties,

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and states across the country

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have launched a
wide-ranging lawsuit

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targeting the
pharmaceutical industry.

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To stop the behaviors.

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To hold these folks accountable.

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Enough is enough.

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We've got people
dying on our streets.

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We started seeing
massive amounts of death.

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00:04:02,709 --> 00:04:06,917
Our prescriptions by 2012
were over 250 million.

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The question is, why?

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Are we the only
people in the world

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that know how to treat pain?

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No.

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We consume that much

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because our policies

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are basically created
by the manufacturers.

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So we've reached out
to all the companies.

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We have all the responses,

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which we have woven
into the story.

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Yeah.

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00:04:45,375 --> 00:04:47,166
Half the company's
declined to comment

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00:04:47,250 --> 00:04:48,959
because of the
ongoing litigation,

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00:04:49,041 --> 00:04:50,667
and then the other
half, you know,

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00:04:50,750 --> 00:04:52,125
issued fairly
lengthy statements.

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00:04:52,208 --> 00:04:55,000
Purdue, Johnson and
Johnson, all commented.

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00:04:55,083 --> 00:04:59,125
What's their, you know,
main defense right now?

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00:04:59,208 --> 00:05:01,000
Yeah, FDA-approved drugs,

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00:05:01,083 --> 00:05:04,500
that they weren't
doing anything illegal.

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00:05:04,583 --> 00:05:06,291
Each point they pushed back on.

102
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Okay.

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00:05:07,542 --> 00:05:09,709
You know, one of the
remaining questions is,

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00:05:09,792 --> 00:05:12,500
are there gonna be any criminal
charges against anybody?

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00:05:12,583 --> 00:05:16,166
And whether they're coordinated
by the Department of Justice

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00:05:16,250 --> 00:05:19,041
or if they're individual
investigations

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by U.S. Attorneys Offices.

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We're not quite sure,

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but there's something happening.

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Narrator: The investigative
team at the "Post"

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00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,333
began to follow leads
to a very big story.

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Some of America's largest
pharmaceutical companies

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were not only profiting
from the opioid crisis,

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they may have been
manufacturing it.

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The origin of the opioid story

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00:05:43,417 --> 00:05:45,375
began with the role
of Purdue Pharma

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00:05:45,458 --> 00:05:48,333
and the family who controlled
it... the Sacklers.

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We have had many run-ins
with the Sacklers recently.

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Their main point of contention

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is that they did not ignite

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00:05:59,792 --> 00:06:02,250
the opioid crisis
singlehandedly.

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00:06:02,333 --> 00:06:05,166
Whether you believe that
or don't believe that,

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00:06:05,250 --> 00:06:08,917
there is voluminous evidence
that the crisis began

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00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,208
when OxyContin hit the streets.

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Purdue led the charge,
Sackler came up with the idea,

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and everybody else followed.

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Other drug companies
moved into that market

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that Purdue had created.

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They moved into that huge opioid

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00:06:25,834 --> 00:06:27,834
multibillion-dollar market.

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So other manufacturers began

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making generic versions

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00:06:32,208 --> 00:06:33,125
of OxyContin...

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00:06:33,208 --> 00:06:36,417
Oxycodone, hydrocodone,

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00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:38,417
drug distributors
started sending

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00:06:38,500 --> 00:06:40,792
massive amounts of
these drugs downstream

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00:06:40,875 --> 00:06:44,125
because there were corrupt
doctors all over the country.

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It became like the Wild West.

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This was a new drug cartel
that was being established

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00:06:49,834 --> 00:06:50,875
in the United States.

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But instead of coming in
from a foreign country,

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there were drug dealers
who were wearing suits

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and lab coats.

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00:06:58,834 --> 00:07:01,083
I think that's it.

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00:07:01,166 --> 00:07:03,917
- Go and do.
- All right.

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00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:05,583
Narrator: To
penetrate the network

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00:07:05,667 --> 00:07:07,125
of corporate drug dealers,

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00:07:07,208 --> 00:07:09,583
the investigative unit
at the "Post" needed help

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00:07:09,667 --> 00:07:11,625
from an inside source,

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00:07:11,709 --> 00:07:13,041
someone with firsthand knowledge

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00:07:13,125 --> 00:07:15,041
of the way the deals worked

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00:07:15,125 --> 00:07:18,166
and how they turned into crimes.

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On a tip,

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00:07:19,417 --> 00:07:24,417
they contacted a retired
DEA agent, Joe Rannazzisi.

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Eventually got him on the phone.

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00:07:26,500 --> 00:07:31,291
He was very animated,
and he was very upset.

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He had a lot of
great information

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and, essentially, we
just kept on talking,

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and I figured, "Okay."

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"If he's not crazy and
he's not making this up,

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00:07:39,125 --> 00:07:40,959
this is a really good story."

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00:07:41,041 --> 00:07:43,417
I'd like to thank you for the
opportunity to appear today

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00:07:43,500 --> 00:07:45,166
to discuss prescription
drug diversion

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00:07:45,250 --> 00:07:46,792
and the critical
role the DEA plays...

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00:07:46,875 --> 00:07:48,142
Narrator: Before
he left the DEA,

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00:07:48,166 --> 00:07:51,000
Rannazzisi repeatedly
tried to warn Congress

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00:07:51,083 --> 00:07:52,792
about prescription drug abuse.

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00:07:52,875 --> 00:07:54,917
The abuse of pharmaceuticals
continues to be

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00:07:55,041 --> 00:07:56,959
a significant problem
in the United States,

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00:07:57,041 --> 00:07:59,709
and it's based on
pharmaceutical diversion

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from the supply chain.

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00:08:01,083 --> 00:08:04,667
He was in charge of the
Diversion Control Division

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00:08:04,750 --> 00:08:06,291
at the DEA.

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00:08:06,375 --> 00:08:09,333
They make sure that
pharmaceuticals

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00:08:09,417 --> 00:08:12,208
that are controlled
substances like opioids

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00:08:12,291 --> 00:08:14,500
are not diverted to
the black market,

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00:08:14,583 --> 00:08:17,166
that they stay within
the supply chain,

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from the manufacturer

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00:08:19,417 --> 00:08:22,166
to the drug distributors,
which are the middlemen,

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00:08:22,250 --> 00:08:26,041
to the pharmacies
on the retail level.

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Individuals and organizations
have created schemes

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00:08:28,250 --> 00:08:31,208
within the health care delivery
system that appear legitimate

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but are nothing more
than illegal operations

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to facilitate the
illegal distribution

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00:08:34,917 --> 00:08:36,208
of pharmaceuticals.

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00:08:36,291 --> 00:08:37,375
Pharmaceutical diversion...

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00:08:37,458 --> 00:08:39,208
I've dealt with a
lot of whistleblowers

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00:08:39,291 --> 00:08:41,709
throughout my career,
and, you know,

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some of them are a little crazy,

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00:08:43,291 --> 00:08:46,583
some of them are a little
paranoid and conspiratorial,

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00:08:46,667 --> 00:08:50,542
but I really wanted to
meet Joe to vet him more.

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So I went out

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00:08:52,291 --> 00:08:55,041
to a little Greek restaurant
in Northern Virginia.

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I interviewed him
for about two hours.

195
00:09:01,125 --> 00:09:03,583
Look, I made a lot of my
decisions over the years

196
00:09:03,667 --> 00:09:06,041
at the Athena Pallas.

197
00:09:06,125 --> 00:09:08,000
I could sit there and just think

198
00:09:08,083 --> 00:09:11,875
and not have to worry
about DEA and headquarters

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00:09:11,959 --> 00:09:12,875
and the phone ringing.

200
00:09:12,959 --> 00:09:15,583
So, when I had important
decisions to make,

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00:09:15,667 --> 00:09:17,417
I would go and find a table,

202
00:09:17,500 --> 00:09:19,583
sometimes with somebody
else, sometimes by myself,

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00:09:19,667 --> 00:09:24,458
and sit there and just
try and work things out.

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00:09:24,542 --> 00:09:27,166
Scott Higham starts
asking me questions,

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00:09:27,250 --> 00:09:28,834
and I'm telling him a story

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00:09:28,917 --> 00:09:32,083
about congressional
and industry influence

207
00:09:32,166 --> 00:09:34,083
and, you know, money going in

208
00:09:34,166 --> 00:09:36,583
and the Justice Department
folding and all this stuff.

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00:09:36,667 --> 00:09:39,083
And I don't know if
Scott believed me or not,

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00:09:39,166 --> 00:09:40,208
but, you know,

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00:09:40,291 --> 00:09:43,250
Scott's from Long Island,
and I'm from Long Island.

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00:09:43,333 --> 00:09:45,417
We kind of talked the
same talk, you know?

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00:09:45,500 --> 00:09:47,792
We come from the same place.

214
00:09:47,875 --> 00:09:49,917
We're on the South
Shore of Long Island.

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00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,417
I always wanted to
be a police officer

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00:09:52,500 --> 00:09:55,041
in narcotics, specifically.

217
00:09:55,125 --> 00:09:58,750
I've been around law
enforcement my whole life,

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00:09:58,834 --> 00:10:01,250
as a kid growing up in a
law enforcement family,

219
00:10:01,333 --> 00:10:03,125
and so I got cops.

220
00:10:03,208 --> 00:10:04,792
I covered them as a reporter

221
00:10:04,875 --> 00:10:08,625
at "The Baltimore
Sun" and in Miami.

222
00:10:08,709 --> 00:10:10,583
I studied pharmacy

223
00:10:10,667 --> 00:10:13,250
at Butler University
in Indianapolis.

224
00:10:13,333 --> 00:10:15,458
I figured that
being a pharmacist

225
00:10:15,542 --> 00:10:18,959
is the quickest way to
learn about the drugs.

226
00:10:19,041 --> 00:10:20,625
Once I got my pharmacy degree,

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00:10:20,709 --> 00:10:24,041
I started applying to be
a law enforcement officer.

228
00:10:24,125 --> 00:10:27,667
And then I was
subsequently hired by DEA.

229
00:10:29,208 --> 00:10:30,625
Log on to the Internet,

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00:10:30,709 --> 00:10:33,000
type in the keyword
"medications,"

231
00:10:33,083 --> 00:10:34,792
and you'll get
hundreds of results,

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00:10:34,875 --> 00:10:36,500
many of them promising
drug delivery...

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00:10:36,583 --> 00:10:39,417
Right after 2000, 2001,

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00:10:39,500 --> 00:10:43,125
what we started seeing
was Internet pharmacies.

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00:10:43,208 --> 00:10:46,125
A patient would get on the
Internet, and he would say,

236
00:10:46,208 --> 00:10:47,834
"Hydrocodone without
a prescription."

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00:10:47,917 --> 00:10:50,834
And you'd get a million
hits that would pop up.

238
00:10:50,917 --> 00:10:53,333
And so you'd find one
and go to that website,

239
00:10:53,417 --> 00:10:56,208
and it would take you to
a patient survey form,

240
00:10:56,291 --> 00:10:59,625
and you would say,
"I've got back pain."

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00:10:59,709 --> 00:11:01,549
The problem is, is no
one ever saw the patient.

242
00:11:01,583 --> 00:11:03,792
As long as they had any
kind of credit card,

243
00:11:03,875 --> 00:11:04,959
they were fine.

244
00:11:05,041 --> 00:11:07,834
You had a doctor
on the East Coast,

245
00:11:07,917 --> 00:11:10,500
the patient or the drug
seeker was on the West Coast,

246
00:11:10,583 --> 00:11:13,000
the pharmacy was in the Midwest.

247
00:11:13,083 --> 00:11:16,166
It was just a
trafficking organization

248
00:11:16,250 --> 00:11:18,792
that was hiding behind
the veil of the Internet.

249
00:11:20,959 --> 00:11:21,959
Without objection,

250
00:11:22,041 --> 00:11:24,208
the bill was read a
third time and passed.

251
00:11:27,500 --> 00:11:31,333
As soon as Congress shut
down the Internet sites

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00:11:31,417 --> 00:11:33,875
by passing the Ryan Haight Act,

253
00:11:33,959 --> 00:11:37,834
almost overnight, we started
seeing these clinics pop up,

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00:11:37,917 --> 00:11:41,166
and our people in Florida
saying, "Yeah, all of a sudden,

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00:11:41,250 --> 00:11:43,125
we have all these clinics
all over the place."

256
00:11:43,208 --> 00:11:47,500
I'm going down to Florida.

257
00:11:50,667 --> 00:11:52,709
Florida is a very corrupt state.

258
00:11:55,792 --> 00:11:57,083
It's a place

259
00:11:57,166 --> 00:12:00,667
where a lot of people who want
to get involved in rackets go

260
00:12:00,750 --> 00:12:01,750
to make fast money.

261
00:12:04,667 --> 00:12:08,250
So the Mob is down there.
Drug dealers are down there.

262
00:12:08,333 --> 00:12:09,917
There's a lot of
money laundering,

263
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:11,542
poor regulations.

264
00:12:11,625 --> 00:12:12,851
There's a patchwork
of law enforcement.

265
00:12:15,291 --> 00:12:17,834
The regulations over
the practice of medicine

266
00:12:17,917 --> 00:12:19,875
and pharmacy in Florida
were a lot more lax

267
00:12:19,959 --> 00:12:21,208
than other states.

268
00:12:21,291 --> 00:12:25,792
It provided fertile ground
for these clinics to open up.

269
00:12:27,166 --> 00:12:30,959
Right around 2010
in Broward County,

270
00:12:31,041 --> 00:12:34,417
they went from a very small
amount of pain clinics

271
00:12:34,500 --> 00:12:37,375
to 142, I think, in a
period of a couple years,

272
00:12:37,458 --> 00:12:38,625
two or three years.

273
00:12:38,709 --> 00:12:42,375
Palm Beach County has more
pill mills than McDonald's.

274
00:12:42,458 --> 00:12:43,375
The sense was that

275
00:12:43,458 --> 00:12:45,583
we were always just
trying to tread water.

276
00:12:45,667 --> 00:12:47,250
We needed more resources.

277
00:12:47,333 --> 00:12:49,291
We needed more field
investigations,

278
00:12:49,375 --> 00:12:52,166
and we needed more lawyers.

279
00:12:52,250 --> 00:12:53,333
When I started,

280
00:12:53,417 --> 00:12:56,500
all of our focus had
been on these pill mills.

281
00:12:56,583 --> 00:12:58,583
There's one hallway
is the doctor's.

282
00:12:58,667 --> 00:12:59,792
And you go in,

283
00:12:59,875 --> 00:13:02,750
and they often literally
had a laminated menu,

284
00:13:02,834 --> 00:13:05,667
and they would say, "It's
a cash-only business.

285
00:13:05,750 --> 00:13:08,500
You give me the cash for what
it is you're looking for."

286
00:13:08,583 --> 00:13:10,625
And then you take
that prescription,

287
00:13:10,709 --> 00:13:12,017
you go down to the other
end of the hallway,

288
00:13:12,041 --> 00:13:13,041
and it's a dispensary.

289
00:13:13,083 --> 00:13:14,750
And it's all owned
by the same person,

290
00:13:14,834 --> 00:13:16,333
so they're running the doctor's,

291
00:13:16,417 --> 00:13:17,750
and they're running
the pharmacy.

292
00:13:17,834 --> 00:13:20,500
They were basically
fronts for drug dealers,

293
00:13:20,583 --> 00:13:22,625
for really corrupt doctors

294
00:13:22,709 --> 00:13:25,291
who were selling
prescriptions for cash,

295
00:13:25,375 --> 00:13:27,500
trading prescriptions for sex.

296
00:13:27,583 --> 00:13:29,542
They actually basically
just give 'em out.

297
00:13:38,875 --> 00:13:40,166
People would hop in their car,

298
00:13:40,250 --> 00:13:42,500
they'd get onto Interstate 75.

299
00:13:42,583 --> 00:13:45,834
It's a highway that runs
up the spine of America

300
00:13:45,917 --> 00:13:48,875
from Florida up
through Appalachia

301
00:13:48,959 --> 00:13:50,542
all the way through Ohio.

302
00:13:51,750 --> 00:13:55,125
It was a very busy,
very lucrative pathway

303
00:13:55,208 --> 00:13:57,125
for narcotics in America.

304
00:13:57,208 --> 00:14:00,041
It became known as
the Oxy Highway.

305
00:14:01,250 --> 00:14:02,500
I'm Doug Smith with Fox 13.

306
00:14:02,583 --> 00:14:03,768
Can I talk with you
about the clinic,

307
00:14:03,792 --> 00:14:05,500
what's going on
inside the clinic?

308
00:14:08,792 --> 00:14:09,875
When I pass by here,

309
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:11,917
the frickin' line is
around the corner.

310
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:13,643
Patients would be lined
up in the morning,

311
00:14:13,667 --> 00:14:16,041
waiting to get into
these pill mills

312
00:14:16,125 --> 00:14:18,917
so they could get a
cursory examination,

313
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,750
if any examination.

314
00:14:20,834 --> 00:14:23,500
We were in there less than
ten minutes with a doctor,

315
00:14:23,583 --> 00:14:25,417
walked out with a
prescription for Vicodin.

316
00:14:25,500 --> 00:14:26,417
Mm-hmm.

317
00:14:26,500 --> 00:14:28,041
Is that the way it works inside?

318
00:14:28,125 --> 00:14:30,375
If you have proper, uh,

319
00:14:30,458 --> 00:14:32,101
documentation and everything,
we take care of you.

320
00:14:32,125 --> 00:14:36,375
- We had no medical records.
- We had no X-rays.

321
00:14:36,458 --> 00:14:38,542
Yeah. Who would that doctor be?

322
00:14:38,625 --> 00:14:40,083
I'm not quite sure.

323
00:14:40,166 --> 00:14:41,976
But if you give me a call,
I'll be checking into it.

324
00:14:45,667 --> 00:14:48,375
So a bad doctor who's
running a clinic

325
00:14:48,458 --> 00:14:52,208
writes a script not for a
legitimate medical purpose.

326
00:14:52,291 --> 00:14:55,583
Okay, you can't stop that guy
from writing that prescription,

327
00:14:55,667 --> 00:14:56,959
but a pharmacist could,

328
00:14:57,041 --> 00:14:59,083
because if a pharmacist
gets that prescription

329
00:14:59,166 --> 00:15:01,083
and it shows red flags,

330
00:15:01,166 --> 00:15:02,875
that pharmacist
has a requirement

331
00:15:02,959 --> 00:15:04,417
to resolve those red flags

332
00:15:04,500 --> 00:15:07,250
before he dispenses
the medication.

333
00:15:07,333 --> 00:15:09,583
Now, what are these red flags?

334
00:15:09,667 --> 00:15:12,417
Patient traveling 200
miles to a pharmacy.

335
00:15:12,500 --> 00:15:15,583
You could be the greatest
pharmacist in the galaxy.

336
00:15:15,667 --> 00:15:18,792
No one's driving 200 miles for
you to fill their prescription.

337
00:15:18,875 --> 00:15:21,250
There's a reason for that.

338
00:15:21,333 --> 00:15:25,458
We had to take action, and
we had to do it very quickly.

339
00:15:25,542 --> 00:15:28,375
We just started moving
massive amounts of resources

340
00:15:28,458 --> 00:15:30,625
down into Florida.

341
00:15:30,709 --> 00:15:32,583
They got task force officers.

342
00:15:32,667 --> 00:15:35,500
They got every diversion
investigator in the state,

343
00:15:35,583 --> 00:15:40,291
and they ran undercover
operations all over the place.

344
00:15:40,375 --> 00:15:44,000
- There was one case.
- It was a female undercover.

345
00:15:44,083 --> 00:15:45,959
Doctor said, "So how
you feeling today?"

346
00:15:46,041 --> 00:15:48,125
"Oh, I'm fine."

347
00:15:48,208 --> 00:15:50,017
"So what are you here for?
You here for your Oxycodone?"

348
00:15:50,041 --> 00:15:50,959
"Yes.

349
00:15:51,041 --> 00:15:53,834
Could I have some
alprazolam, too?"

350
00:15:53,917 --> 00:15:56,417
And he says yes, and he
wrote the prescription.

351
00:15:56,500 --> 00:15:59,291
He goes, "Would you like
some methadone also?"

352
00:15:59,375 --> 00:16:00,792
And she goes, "Sure."

353
00:16:00,875 --> 00:16:02,834
That was the extent
of the visit.

354
00:16:02,917 --> 00:16:04,959
And you look at
that, and you go,

355
00:16:05,041 --> 00:16:08,625
"My God, this is not medi...
This is a crack house."

356
00:16:12,041 --> 00:16:12,959
Hi.

357
00:16:13,041 --> 00:16:14,226
First of all, turn
that off, man.

358
00:16:14,250 --> 00:16:15,559
I don't want to
be recorded, okay?

359
00:16:15,583 --> 00:16:17,226
- Let's talk about that.
- Are you a doctor?

360
00:16:17,250 --> 00:16:18,393
- Excuse me?
- Are you a doctor?

361
00:16:18,417 --> 00:16:20,166
- Don't...
- It don't matter who I am.

362
00:16:20,250 --> 00:16:22,476
In a minute, I'm gonna snatch
this camera from this, dude.

363
00:16:22,500 --> 00:16:24,667
- You don't even know, man.
- Okay, sir.

364
00:16:24,750 --> 00:16:26,500
Follow 'em wherever
they're going.

365
00:16:31,417 --> 00:16:33,667
There was one
store in particular

366
00:16:33,750 --> 00:16:38,208
that was known by drug
users as the go-to CVS.

367
00:16:38,291 --> 00:16:40,500
A DEA investigator
said to the pharmacist,

368
00:16:40,583 --> 00:16:41,834
"What's going on here?

369
00:16:41,917 --> 00:16:43,625
"Don't you see that
all these people

370
00:16:43,709 --> 00:16:46,834
"are coming with out-of-state
licenses and out-of-state tags

371
00:16:46,917 --> 00:16:50,000
"and they're lining up at your
door at 8:00 in the morning?

372
00:16:50,083 --> 00:16:51,959
Don't you think
that's suspicious?"

373
00:16:52,041 --> 00:16:55,458
And this pharmacist told the
DEA, "Well, you know, look.

374
00:16:55,542 --> 00:16:58,500
At 2:00, we cut off our sales."

375
00:16:58,583 --> 00:17:00,000
And the investigator said,

376
00:17:00,083 --> 00:17:01,875
"Why do you cut off
your sales at 2:00?"

377
00:17:01,959 --> 00:17:04,667
And she said, "Well, we
want to save medication

378
00:17:04,750 --> 00:17:07,333
for our real pain patients."

379
00:17:07,417 --> 00:17:10,375
- Open the door!
- On the ground, on the ground!

380
00:17:10,458 --> 00:17:11,643
- Go, go, go!
- Get on the ground!

381
00:17:11,667 --> 00:17:14,917
Narrator: In 2011, there
was a crackdown by the DEA.

382
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:16,542
Operation Pill Nation

383
00:17:16,625 --> 00:17:19,375
involved more than 500
law enforcement officers,

384
00:17:19,458 --> 00:17:21,875
resulting in seizures
of 70 vehicles,

385
00:17:21,959 --> 00:17:26,166
$19 million in cash,
and 105 arrests.

386
00:17:26,250 --> 00:17:27,976
Doctor, do you feel like
you were contributing

387
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,542
to addicts' addictions?

388
00:17:30,625 --> 00:17:32,291
Was it worth it?

389
00:17:32,375 --> 00:17:34,917
Narrator: But the real
problem wasn't on the street.

390
00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,208
It was in the executive suites
of pharmaceutical companies,

391
00:17:38,291 --> 00:17:40,583
which had become
addicted to the profits

392
00:17:40,667 --> 00:17:42,917
opioids could deliver.

393
00:17:47,041 --> 00:17:49,083
Please help me
welcome John Kapoor.

394
00:17:55,709 --> 00:17:57,125
Narrator: John Kapoor

395
00:17:57,208 --> 00:17:58,351
was a veteran
pharmaceutical investor

396
00:17:58,375 --> 00:18:01,166
who saw a business
opportunity in pain relief.

397
00:18:01,250 --> 00:18:04,083
He started a
company called Insys

398
00:18:04,166 --> 00:18:06,583
to market a drug called Subsys.

399
00:18:06,667 --> 00:18:09,625
It was a fast-acting
spray device for fentanyl,

400
00:18:09,709 --> 00:18:13,709
a synthetic opioid 100 times
stronger than morphine.

401
00:18:13,792 --> 00:18:16,125
I know there are all
kinds of definitions

402
00:18:16,208 --> 00:18:18,291
for entrepreneurs.

403
00:18:18,375 --> 00:18:22,125
The one that I think
we all recognize most

404
00:18:22,208 --> 00:18:24,959
is that entrepreneurs
are risk takers.

405
00:18:28,709 --> 00:18:31,166
narrator: The FDA
limited the use of Subsys

406
00:18:31,250 --> 00:18:32,458
to a very narrow market...

407
00:18:32,542 --> 00:18:35,959
Cancer patients suffering
so-called breakthrough pain.

408
00:18:36,041 --> 00:18:38,333
To expand the market,

409
00:18:38,417 --> 00:18:41,625
Kapoor was determined to find
a way around the FDA's rules.

410
00:18:41,709 --> 00:18:46,291
You, as an entrepreneur,
have to have a dream.

411
00:18:46,375 --> 00:18:50,125
And then you work with passion

412
00:18:50,208 --> 00:18:53,417
to make that dream
come true.

413
00:18:53,500 --> 00:18:55,792
Narrator: That passion
to make a dream come true

414
00:18:55,875 --> 00:18:59,667
is what would lead Kapoor and
Insys into the world of crime.

415
00:19:09,750 --> 00:19:11,208
Every U.S. Attorney's Office

416
00:19:11,291 --> 00:19:12,768
in every district
in the United States

417
00:19:12,792 --> 00:19:15,750
has someone who's supposed
to specialize in health care.

418
00:19:15,834 --> 00:19:18,500
Boston has always taken
a lead role in that.

419
00:19:18,583 --> 00:19:20,500
They've taken on some
very high-profile

420
00:19:20,583 --> 00:19:22,917
criminal investigators
involving Pfizer

421
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,333
and GSK and several others.

422
00:19:25,417 --> 00:19:28,667
And because our office
has a reputation

423
00:19:28,750 --> 00:19:31,458
for being successful with
these types of cases,

424
00:19:31,542 --> 00:19:35,166
we get a lot of whistleblower
lawsuits filed in Boston.

425
00:19:37,417 --> 00:19:39,041
And so, in 2013,

426
00:19:39,125 --> 00:19:42,166
I got a whistleblower
complaint sent to me.

427
00:19:42,250 --> 00:19:45,250
It laid out some of the
things that were happening

428
00:19:45,333 --> 00:19:46,750
at Insys Therapeutics.

429
00:19:49,458 --> 00:19:52,875
Subsys was launched
in March of 2012,

430
00:19:52,959 --> 00:19:55,083
and it goes into this
very tight market.

431
00:19:55,166 --> 00:19:59,583
And for the next three months,
from March to early June 2012,

432
00:19:59,667 --> 00:20:01,041
Kapoor is devastated,

433
00:20:01,125 --> 00:20:03,709
and he calls it the
worst effing launch

434
00:20:03,792 --> 00:20:06,583
in the history of the
pharmaceutical industry, right?

435
00:20:06,667 --> 00:20:08,542
So he starts firing people.

436
00:20:08,625 --> 00:20:10,542
Fires the VP of sales,

437
00:20:10,625 --> 00:20:15,000
and he's trying to find
a way to be profitable.

438
00:20:15,083 --> 00:20:17,834
Narrator: Kapoor hatched a
plan to exploit a loophole.

439
00:20:17,917 --> 00:20:21,083
While the FDA limited the drug
to patients with cancer pain,

440
00:20:21,166 --> 00:20:23,709
doctors were allowed to
use their own judgment

441
00:20:23,792 --> 00:20:26,250
about whether to
expand the market,

442
00:20:26,333 --> 00:20:27,959
so Kapoor leaned
on his sales reps

443
00:20:28,041 --> 00:20:31,458
to court doctors to write
more scripts for Subsys

444
00:20:31,542 --> 00:20:33,750
and to increase the doses.

445
00:20:33,834 --> 00:20:35,417
Through emails and
phone recordings,

446
00:20:35,500 --> 00:20:37,709
prosecutors discovered
a sales campaign

447
00:20:37,792 --> 00:20:40,834
to lead doctors into raising
the demand for fentanyl

448
00:20:40,917 --> 00:20:45,041
by expanding the very
definition of pain.

449
00:21:22,917 --> 00:21:25,959
I assign two
criminal prosecutors,

450
00:21:26,041 --> 00:21:28,625
and they began working on
the case in late 2013...

451
00:21:28,709 --> 00:21:32,000
Fred Wyshak, who is sort
of a legend in Boston.

452
00:21:32,083 --> 00:21:35,959
He prosecuted Whitey Bulger.
He's prosecuted the Mob.

453
00:21:36,041 --> 00:21:40,542
In all these types of
cases, you need insiders.

454
00:21:40,625 --> 00:21:42,083
It's very difficult

455
00:21:42,166 --> 00:21:44,834
to penetrate a
criminal organization

456
00:21:44,917 --> 00:21:47,792
to the top of that organization

457
00:21:47,875 --> 00:21:50,083
without insiders.

458
00:21:50,166 --> 00:21:51,792
Alec Burlakoff.

459
00:21:51,875 --> 00:21:54,083
You must've identified
him early on

460
00:21:54,166 --> 00:21:55,917
- in your investigation.
- Absolutely.

461
00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,291
Alec Burlakoff was a primary
target of the investigation.

462
00:22:02,750 --> 00:22:06,083
And so what in your mind
makes a good salesman?

463
00:22:06,166 --> 00:22:09,166
One word... passion.

464
00:22:09,250 --> 00:22:11,542
It's not deceit. It's not lies.

465
00:22:11,625 --> 00:22:14,041
It's not not having
a conscience.

466
00:22:14,125 --> 00:22:15,500
It's passion.

467
00:22:18,917 --> 00:22:19,834
When I was hired,

468
00:22:19,917 --> 00:22:21,267
there was a meeting
that took place

469
00:22:21,291 --> 00:22:22,351
where all the
managers were there,

470
00:22:22,375 --> 00:22:24,458
and, basically, everybody
was yelled and ridiculed

471
00:22:24,542 --> 00:22:26,709
and screamed at for
the lack of sales.

472
00:22:26,792 --> 00:22:29,208
They were abysmal, basically.
They're nonexistent.

473
00:22:29,291 --> 00:22:31,750
It's all on the rep

474
00:22:31,834 --> 00:22:36,166
to ensure that this drug
starts getting prescribed.

475
00:22:36,250 --> 00:22:38,417
And none of it's
doable...

476
00:22:38,500 --> 00:22:40,667
Unless you break the rules.

477
00:22:40,750 --> 00:22:44,583
But to tell the truth...
This job was made for me.

478
00:22:44,667 --> 00:22:47,333
I mean, I was raised in a family

479
00:22:47,417 --> 00:22:49,750
where you don't cry

480
00:22:49,834 --> 00:22:53,208
you don't lose, you
don't take off work,

481
00:22:53,291 --> 00:22:55,917
you don't miss school, you
are not sick, you know,

482
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,250
and you get the job done.

483
00:23:07,250 --> 00:23:10,917
I grew up in a lower-class,
middle-class neighborhood

484
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:12,875
way out on Long Island...

485
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:14,291
A small town called King's Park.

486
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:20,583
There was a lot
going on in my house.

487
00:23:20,667 --> 00:23:22,125
Wasn't a place to
have friends over.

488
00:23:25,875 --> 00:23:27,559
Never knew what kind of
yelling and screaming

489
00:23:27,583 --> 00:23:28,959
and fighting was
gonna take place.

490
00:23:33,875 --> 00:23:35,291
I got a bachelor's
in psychology,

491
00:23:35,375 --> 00:23:36,583
a master's in social work.

492
00:23:40,458 --> 00:23:41,643
I said, "You know,
I'm gonna go work

493
00:23:41,667 --> 00:23:44,250
for the best school
that I can find."

494
00:23:44,333 --> 00:23:46,917
And I did a search, and
a private school came up

495
00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,417
in Boca Raton.

496
00:23:50,542 --> 00:23:51,959
I did phys ed for two years.

497
00:23:52,041 --> 00:23:54,917
After that, I was a
guidance counselor.

498
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:56,166
It was a very small salary,

499
00:23:56,250 --> 00:23:57,810
but I was hanging out
with kids all day,

500
00:23:57,834 --> 00:23:58,834
doing what I love.

501
00:24:03,083 --> 00:24:05,792
The problem with
working at this school

502
00:24:05,875 --> 00:24:09,709
was that I put myself around
very wealthy people...

503
00:24:09,792 --> 00:24:12,959
All affluent, I mean,
beyond affluent.

504
00:24:13,041 --> 00:24:15,458
And I went out to the
parking lot one day,

505
00:24:15,542 --> 00:24:16,542
and I went to the parent

506
00:24:16,583 --> 00:24:18,125
who was driving a
Bentley convertible,

507
00:24:18,208 --> 00:24:19,959
and he was smoking
a cigar, and I said,

508
00:24:20,041 --> 00:24:22,001
"Sir, you know, we have a
no-smoking policy here."

509
00:24:22,041 --> 00:24:23,583
"Can you kindly put that out?"

510
00:24:23,667 --> 00:24:24,667
And he took a puff.

511
00:24:24,750 --> 00:24:26,670
He blew it right in my
face, in my eyes and said,

512
00:24:26,709 --> 00:24:28,709
"Petty rules from petty people."

513
00:24:30,083 --> 00:24:31,500
It was literally
from that moment

514
00:24:31,583 --> 00:24:33,959
that I knew I had to
go make some money.

515
00:24:35,875 --> 00:24:37,667
I leveraged some of
the relationships

516
00:24:37,750 --> 00:24:39,834
that I had at the school...
A lot of doctors there.

517
00:24:39,917 --> 00:24:41,434
One of the doctors
basically said to me,

518
00:24:41,458 --> 00:24:44,125
"Well, I'm a big
prescriber of a product

519
00:24:44,208 --> 00:24:47,000
that Eli Lilly
promotes," at the time,

520
00:24:47,083 --> 00:24:48,542
"And I can get
you an interview."

521
00:24:48,625 --> 00:24:51,667
And I jumped all over it,
finished the school year,

522
00:24:51,750 --> 00:24:54,166
and was on my way
into pharmaceuticals.

523
00:24:54,250 --> 00:24:56,125
Narrator: Working for Eli Lilly,

524
00:24:56,208 --> 00:24:59,458
Burlakoff's first
pharmaceutical was Prozac.

525
00:24:59,542 --> 00:25:01,083
He was named rookie of the year

526
00:25:01,166 --> 00:25:03,458
for his big batting
average with doctors,

527
00:25:03,542 --> 00:25:06,125
but he was soon fired for
handing out free samples

528
00:25:06,208 --> 00:25:10,834
to hundreds of people,
including one 16-year-old.

529
00:25:10,917 --> 00:25:13,333
He hooked up next
with Johnson and Johnson

530
00:25:13,417 --> 00:25:15,208
and then applied for a sales job

531
00:25:15,291 --> 00:25:18,542
for a company named Cephalon.

532
00:25:18,625 --> 00:25:19,768
And I never heard of Cephalon.

533
00:25:19,792 --> 00:25:21,875
It's not like Johnson
and Johnson or Eli Lilly.

534
00:25:21,959 --> 00:25:25,125
So that was my first
taste of small biotech.

535
00:25:25,208 --> 00:25:26,709
And what does "small
biotech" mean?

536
00:25:26,792 --> 00:25:27,709
It means a lot.

537
00:25:27,792 --> 00:25:31,417
The payouts, the bonus
plan is "uncapped."

538
00:25:31,500 --> 00:25:34,667
It's a very attractive word to
a salesperson... "uncapped."

539
00:25:34,750 --> 00:25:37,750
- There's no ceiling...
- The more you sell...

540
00:25:37,834 --> 00:25:41,667
The more you sell, the more
you get compensated, period.

541
00:25:41,750 --> 00:25:43,542
By the time I walked
out of the interview,

542
00:25:43,625 --> 00:25:46,500
I called my wife and said,
"I'm going to a new company."

543
00:25:49,125 --> 00:25:51,041
narrator: The product was Actiq.

544
00:25:51,125 --> 00:25:53,542
It was a lollipop
made of fentanyl,

545
00:25:53,625 --> 00:25:57,917
whose potency carried an
enormous risk of overdose.

546
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,417
For end-of-life cancer
pain, Actiq made sense,

547
00:26:01,500 --> 00:26:03,875
but that was a
very small market.

548
00:26:03,959 --> 00:26:05,041
To pump up sales,

549
00:26:05,125 --> 00:26:07,750
Burlakoff had to convince
doctors to prescribe it

550
00:26:07,834 --> 00:26:11,375
for much more, from back
aches to ankle sprains.

551
00:26:11,458 --> 00:26:12,709
How to do that?

552
00:26:12,792 --> 00:26:16,709
Through bribes packaged
as speaker's programs.

553
00:26:16,792 --> 00:26:18,750
If you have pain
that lasts all day

554
00:26:18,834 --> 00:26:21,917
narrator: Burlakoff would pay
doctors to promote the drug.

555
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,667
In exchange, doctors would
prescribe more and more.

556
00:26:24,750 --> 00:26:27,792
It was a program that appealed
to the founder of Insys,

557
00:26:27,875 --> 00:26:29,458
John Kapoor.

558
00:26:29,542 --> 00:26:30,917
At the interview,

559
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,750
once I got into the
nuances of the program

560
00:26:33,834 --> 00:26:35,208
and what it took
to be successful,

561
00:26:35,291 --> 00:26:37,417
he just banged his fist
on the table and said,

562
00:26:37,500 --> 00:26:40,542
"That's our next VP of sales,"
and walked out the door.

563
00:26:47,083 --> 00:26:49,625
I don't think there's
any way to understand

564
00:26:49,709 --> 00:26:51,625
what happened at a
company like Insys

565
00:26:51,709 --> 00:26:54,959
without referring
to Purdue Pharma.

566
00:26:55,041 --> 00:26:57,041
They were the pioneers.

567
00:26:57,125 --> 00:26:59,458
They went out and had a mission

568
00:26:59,542 --> 00:27:02,667
to change the mind of
the medical establishment

569
00:27:02,750 --> 00:27:05,458
about how dangerous
these drugs were

570
00:27:05,542 --> 00:27:09,500
and to persuade physicians
not to worry too much

571
00:27:09,583 --> 00:27:13,000
about the addictiveness
of strong opioids.

572
00:27:13,083 --> 00:27:16,500
Insys used Purdue's playbook.

573
00:27:16,583 --> 00:27:20,417
You have a very strong,
powerful product,

574
00:27:20,500 --> 00:27:23,667
and you incentivize
your sales reps

575
00:27:23,750 --> 00:27:24,834
with the understanding

576
00:27:24,917 --> 00:27:27,500
that they're going to be
compensated based on volume,

577
00:27:27,583 --> 00:27:31,375
and they go out with
an incentive to sell.

578
00:27:31,458 --> 00:27:33,834
For many of you out there,

579
00:27:33,917 --> 00:27:35,291
you have not had the opportunity

580
00:27:35,375 --> 00:27:37,500
to experience the excitement

581
00:27:37,583 --> 00:27:39,834
or, more importantly,
the achievement

582
00:27:39,917 --> 00:27:41,375
of being on this stage.

583
00:27:46,041 --> 00:27:48,834
So John Kapoor hires Burlakoff,

584
00:27:48,917 --> 00:27:51,037
and he makes him the head
of the Southeast district...

585
00:27:51,083 --> 00:27:53,667
Florida, Alabama.

586
00:27:53,750 --> 00:27:54,667
With Kapoor's permission,

587
00:27:54,750 --> 00:27:56,208
he hires his buddy from college,

588
00:27:56,291 --> 00:27:58,834
this guy called Joe
Rowan, as a sales rep.

589
00:27:58,917 --> 00:28:00,792
Rowan has a very
close relationship

590
00:28:00,875 --> 00:28:04,417
with a doctor in Mobile,
Alabama, named Xiulu Ruan,

591
00:28:04,500 --> 00:28:08,208
and Ruan's known to be
running a pill mill operation.

592
00:28:08,291 --> 00:28:12,375
So they start to bribe
Ruan in August of 2012.

593
00:28:13,625 --> 00:28:16,041
And immediately there's
a massive turnaround

594
00:28:16,125 --> 00:28:18,709
in the success of the
drug in the Southeast.

595
00:28:20,166 --> 00:28:21,709
A pharmaceutical
company has a right

596
00:28:21,792 --> 00:28:23,072
to try to educate people, right?

597
00:28:23,125 --> 00:28:24,041
So they do what's called

598
00:28:24,125 --> 00:28:25,667
non-research
payments to doctors.

599
00:28:25,750 --> 00:28:27,709
They give you money,
and in exchange,

600
00:28:27,792 --> 00:28:31,250
you go and you talk about
the drug to colleagues.

601
00:28:31,333 --> 00:28:33,583
By itself, it's not illegal.

602
00:28:33,667 --> 00:28:35,375
What happens with Insys is that

603
00:28:35,458 --> 00:28:39,458
they start paying
exorbitantly huge number

604
00:28:39,542 --> 00:28:40,709
of speaker programs,

605
00:28:40,792 --> 00:28:42,417
and they use the speaker program

606
00:28:42,500 --> 00:28:43,917
basically as a way to cover

607
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,250
for the bribes that
they're paying.

608
00:28:46,333 --> 00:28:47,542
Kapoor, ultimately,

609
00:28:47,625 --> 00:28:50,417
he invested between $3
million and $4 million a year

610
00:28:50,500 --> 00:28:52,750
on the speaker
program at its height.

611
00:28:52,834 --> 00:28:56,458
They were bribing people
at that level nationwide.

612
00:28:56,542 --> 00:28:57,917
So it was basically,

613
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,083
"Here's some money.
Write some scripts."

614
00:29:00,166 --> 00:29:01,583
Yes.

615
00:29:01,667 --> 00:29:04,041
It was actually... Well,
you say "basically."

616
00:29:04,125 --> 00:29:05,750
That word makes me nervous,

617
00:29:05,834 --> 00:29:08,792
because if I said "basically"
to Dr. John Kapoor,

618
00:29:08,875 --> 00:29:10,917
he'd say, "Basically,
you're fired."

619
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,250
There is
no "basically" here.

620
00:29:13,333 --> 00:29:17,083
It's very clear, concise.
It's very direct.

621
00:29:17,166 --> 00:29:20,000
As an entrepreneur,

622
00:29:20,083 --> 00:29:23,417
don't get arrogant, even
if you're successful.

623
00:29:23,500 --> 00:29:26,417
You should believe in yourself,

624
00:29:26,500 --> 00:29:30,166
and one important
thing is stay humble.

625
00:29:33,500 --> 00:29:36,333
- We are so professional!
- Oh, are you videotaping this?

626
00:29:36,417 --> 00:29:38,125
Turn that shit off!

627
00:29:38,208 --> 00:29:39,667
What, what...

628
00:29:39,750 --> 00:29:43,000
The best
region at Insys!

629
00:30:04,875 --> 00:30:07,458
The key to increasing
sales of Subsys

630
00:30:07,542 --> 00:30:10,834
was to build a
relationship with a doctor.

631
00:30:10,917 --> 00:30:11,997
When you go into the office

632
00:30:12,041 --> 00:30:13,267
and they meet you
for the first time,

633
00:30:13,291 --> 00:30:14,667
it's a test.

634
00:30:14,750 --> 00:30:16,226
They're gonna look you in the
eye, and they're gonna say,

635
00:30:16,250 --> 00:30:19,208
"Hey, Alec, how you
doing? So you have Subsys?

636
00:30:19,291 --> 00:30:20,875
What's that indicated for?"

637
00:30:20,959 --> 00:30:22,125
And you have some reps say,

638
00:30:22,208 --> 00:30:24,393
"Oh, it's indicated for...
breakthrough pain,"

639
00:30:24,417 --> 00:30:26,059
or they say, "It's indicated
for breakthrough pain

640
00:30:26,083 --> 00:30:27,000
in cancer patients."

641
00:30:27,083 --> 00:30:28,333
Something like that.

642
00:30:28,417 --> 00:30:30,875
My play is I look 'em
dead, directly in the eye,

643
00:30:30,959 --> 00:30:32,500
and I laugh, and I go, "Doc",

644
00:30:32,583 --> 00:30:34,792
"you know exactly what
this drug's indicated for.

645
00:30:34,875 --> 00:30:36,059
"It's indicated for
breakthrough pain

646
00:30:36,083 --> 00:30:39,333
"in cancer patients 18 or
older that are opioid tolerant

647
00:30:39,417 --> 00:30:42,625
"on 24-hour,
around-the-clock medications.

648
00:30:42,709 --> 00:30:44,000
"Why do you ask
me that question?

649
00:30:44,083 --> 00:30:45,101
"You know I can't talk to you

650
00:30:45,125 --> 00:30:46,959
"about anything outside
of that indication.

651
00:30:47,041 --> 00:30:48,709
"However, you also
know you are the doctor

652
00:30:48,792 --> 00:30:51,500
"and you can do whatever
you damn well please.

653
00:30:51,583 --> 00:30:54,166
So is this game over
yet? Are we done?"

654
00:30:54,250 --> 00:30:55,643
And they go, "Hey,
how can I help you?

655
00:30:55,667 --> 00:30:57,267
What can I sign for?
What's your sample?"

656
00:30:57,291 --> 00:30:59,375
Blah, blah, blah. Or,
"You have 30 seconds."

657
00:30:59,458 --> 00:31:01,667
I love when they say
I have 30 seconds.

658
00:31:01,750 --> 00:31:03,166
"I have 30 seconds what?

659
00:31:03,250 --> 00:31:05,041
"To sell you a
schedule II opioid?

660
00:31:05,125 --> 00:31:07,250
"'Cause I'll probably do
it, and the sad part is

661
00:31:07,333 --> 00:31:09,750
"you'll probably have no idea
how to manage the side effects,

662
00:31:09,834 --> 00:31:12,667
"the drug interactions, the
precautions, the warnings,

663
00:31:12,750 --> 00:31:13,870
"the respiratory depression,

664
00:31:13,917 --> 00:31:15,893
"and everything else that's
gonna come along with it.

665
00:31:15,917 --> 00:31:18,041
"So let's both do
each other a favor.

666
00:31:18,125 --> 00:31:20,041
"You name the restaurant.
You name the time.

667
00:31:20,125 --> 00:31:21,500
"You name the date.

668
00:31:21,583 --> 00:31:24,667
"I don't care where it is.
I don't care what it costs.

669
00:31:24,750 --> 00:31:26,875
"I will be there.

670
00:31:26,959 --> 00:31:30,041
"You stay as long as you
want or as short as you want,

671
00:31:30,125 --> 00:31:33,250
"but I can't sell this
drug to you in 30 seconds.

672
00:31:33,333 --> 00:31:34,583
It's irresponsible."

673
00:31:34,667 --> 00:31:36,810
Now, back then, did I really
care about being responsible?

674
00:31:36,834 --> 00:31:38,625
No.

675
00:31:38,709 --> 00:31:40,583
So, look, Alec
Burlakoff's a lot to take.

676
00:31:40,667 --> 00:31:43,709
I mean, he is a car
salesman on steroids.

677
00:31:43,792 --> 00:31:46,709
But there's an honesty to
what he's saying that is...

678
00:31:46,792 --> 00:31:49,250
A frankness to what he's
saying that's unique.

679
00:31:49,333 --> 00:31:52,125
Cut me off if I'm rambling,
'cause I know I am,

680
00:31:52,208 --> 00:31:54,125
but there's four categories.

681
00:31:54,208 --> 00:31:56,917
There's blue,
yellow, green, red.

682
00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:58,875
- Blue is analytical.
- Hmm!

683
00:31:58,959 --> 00:32:01,625
That means if you don't have
a scientific, double-blind,

684
00:32:01,709 --> 00:32:03,917
placebo-controlled study
with a lot of patients

685
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:08,125
that proves your data is right,
you're not getting a sale.

686
00:32:08,208 --> 00:32:09,625
What does that mean to me?

687
00:32:09,709 --> 00:32:11,792
It means I don't call
on analytical doctors

688
00:32:11,875 --> 00:32:13,709
'cause I don't have
any studies like that.

689
00:32:13,792 --> 00:32:16,792
Then you have your yellow.
That's your amiable doctor.

690
00:32:16,875 --> 00:32:18,226
They want to be
friends with everybody.

691
00:32:18,250 --> 00:32:19,166
They want everybody
to love them...

692
00:32:19,250 --> 00:32:20,250
You're the best!

693
00:32:20,291 --> 00:32:21,518
Which means if
you're selling a drug

694
00:32:21,542 --> 00:32:23,000
and there's five
other competitors,

695
00:32:23,083 --> 00:32:24,834
they just go on a rotation.

696
00:32:24,917 --> 00:32:27,000
"This one gets Subsys.
This one gets Lazanda.

697
00:32:27,083 --> 00:32:29,291
This one gets Abstral."
And then we go back around.

698
00:32:29,375 --> 00:32:30,458
Guess what.

699
00:32:30,542 --> 00:32:33,083
They're out because they're
just sharing the wealth.

700
00:32:33,166 --> 00:32:34,917
So now you got your green,

701
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,625
which is kind of like your
earthy type of doctor.

702
00:32:37,709 --> 00:32:39,125
Renewable.

703
00:32:39,208 --> 00:32:40,810
Like, God forbid you do
a lunch and not recycle.

704
00:32:40,834 --> 00:32:42,114
You'll never go
back there again.

705
00:32:42,166 --> 00:32:43,291
But then you got your reds.

706
00:32:43,375 --> 00:32:45,125
Reds are your businessmen.

707
00:32:45,208 --> 00:32:47,959
They own their practice.
They run their practice.

708
00:32:48,041 --> 00:32:49,792
- They manage their books.

709
00:32:49,875 --> 00:32:52,000
They see a crazy
number of patients.

710
00:32:52,083 --> 00:32:54,083
It's all about efficiency.

711
00:32:54,166 --> 00:32:55,959
In fact, when you as
the rep walk in there,

712
00:32:56,041 --> 00:32:58,250
they run to you
with a pen to sign,

713
00:32:58,333 --> 00:32:59,933
and they're running
away at the same time

714
00:32:59,959 --> 00:33:02,083
because they don't have
time to talk with you

715
00:33:02,166 --> 00:33:04,500
because they're treating
patients, making money.

716
00:33:04,583 --> 00:33:06,183
And if he's a red and
he's a businessman,

717
00:33:06,250 --> 00:33:08,667
I got to show him the WIFM.

718
00:33:08,750 --> 00:33:10,542
What is the WIFM?

719
00:33:13,041 --> 00:33:15,375
That's all they're thinking...

720
00:33:15,458 --> 00:33:16,542
"What's in it for me?"

721
00:33:16,625 --> 00:33:19,250
"Buddy, will you stop talking
about the freakin' drug?

722
00:33:19,333 --> 00:33:21,213
"Will you stop talking
about saving the patient?

723
00:33:21,250 --> 00:33:23,000
"Will you stop talking
about the science,

724
00:33:23,083 --> 00:33:24,893
"and will you please tell
me what's in it for me?

725
00:33:24,917 --> 00:33:27,333
Because you're wasting my time."

726
00:33:27,417 --> 00:33:28,709
Those are the reds.

727
00:33:28,792 --> 00:33:30,500
Those are the doctors
you want to find,

728
00:33:30,583 --> 00:33:32,267
and those are the doctors
you want to move in,

729
00:33:32,291 --> 00:33:34,709
live, eat, and breathe with.

730
00:33:34,792 --> 00:33:36,667
It was a seven-day,
24-hour-a-day job.

731
00:33:36,750 --> 00:33:37,976
They call me at
3:00 in the morning,

732
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:39,083
they want to go out, I go.

733
00:33:39,166 --> 00:33:41,792
They want me to go to
temple on Saturday, I go.

734
00:33:41,875 --> 00:33:44,875
They want me to go to
church on Sunday, I go.

735
00:33:44,959 --> 00:33:46,792
You go through the
step-by-step process.

736
00:33:46,875 --> 00:33:48,959
Okay, did I take him
to dinner? Check.

737
00:33:49,041 --> 00:33:51,041
Did I take him to a
hockey game? Check.

738
00:33:51,125 --> 00:33:53,375
Did I take him to
a nightclub? Check.

739
00:34:12,792 --> 00:34:14,250
I mean, this is
uncapped bonuses.

740
00:34:14,333 --> 00:34:15,458
This is your opportunity.

741
00:34:15,542 --> 00:34:17,267
You wanted to put the money
in the doctor's pocket.

742
00:34:17,291 --> 00:34:18,709
Didn't care about anything else.

743
00:34:18,792 --> 00:34:20,750
Just wanted that bonus.

744
00:34:25,500 --> 00:34:28,291
They start the bribe scheme
in the summer of 2012.

745
00:34:28,375 --> 00:34:30,333
By the beginning of 2013,

746
00:34:30,417 --> 00:34:32,959
as the company is
launching its first IPO,

747
00:34:33,041 --> 00:34:36,750
they can now go and say
that the drug is profitable.

748
00:34:36,834 --> 00:34:38,041
And so right away,

749
00:34:38,125 --> 00:34:39,810
investors look at it and said,
"Something's going on here."

750
00:34:39,834 --> 00:34:40,917
And they started investing.

751
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:42,625
By the end of the year,

752
00:34:42,709 --> 00:34:45,083
Insys was the most popular
pharmaceutical drug

753
00:34:45,166 --> 00:34:46,166
to invest in.

754
00:34:46,250 --> 00:34:48,917
It was the most popular
IPO on Wall Street.

755
00:34:50,834 --> 00:34:54,375
The CEO, Mike Babich, was
being interviewed on MSNBC.

756
00:34:54,458 --> 00:34:57,583
By the end of 2014, the market
cap was in the billions.

757
00:34:57,667 --> 00:35:00,125
2015, Subsys was one

758
00:35:00,208 --> 00:35:02,625
of the top five most
profitable opioid products

759
00:35:02,709 --> 00:35:04,834
in the United States.

760
00:35:04,917 --> 00:35:08,458
That product that we launched
three years ago today,

761
00:35:08,542 --> 00:35:11,458
this year will do
close to $300 million.

762
00:35:11,542 --> 00:35:13,333
You can make a lot of money

763
00:35:13,417 --> 00:35:16,917
getting doctors to
prescribe a medication

764
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:19,166
to people who don't need it,

765
00:35:19,250 --> 00:35:22,709
who they're not just gonna
lose a couple thousand dollars.

766
00:35:22,792 --> 00:35:25,250
They're gonna lose their life.

767
00:35:52,792 --> 00:35:54,125
So one whole piece of the case

768
00:35:54,208 --> 00:35:56,000
is we're gonna bribe doctors

769
00:35:56,083 --> 00:35:58,834
to write as many scripts
as we possibly can,

770
00:35:58,917 --> 00:36:01,333
but then they very
quickly realized

771
00:36:01,417 --> 00:36:04,208
written scripts without
payment doesn't help anybody.

772
00:36:04,291 --> 00:36:05,959
- The drug's expensive.
- Very expensive.

773
00:36:06,041 --> 00:36:08,542
So there's different
dosages of the medication.

774
00:36:08,625 --> 00:36:11,166
For the highest dosage,
1,600 micrograms,

775
00:36:11,250 --> 00:36:13,125
at times, I believe it was going

776
00:36:13,208 --> 00:36:15,166
for more than $15,000 a month.

777
00:36:15,250 --> 00:36:16,834
And insurance companies,

778
00:36:16,917 --> 00:36:18,834
Medicare in
particular, have rules.

779
00:36:18,917 --> 00:36:21,792
And in this case,
Subsys, you know,

780
00:36:21,875 --> 00:36:24,291
has to be prescribed
for the treatment

781
00:36:24,375 --> 00:36:28,917
of breakthrough cancer
pain in cancer patients.

782
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:30,768
If you're an insurer and
you're trying to figure out

783
00:36:30,792 --> 00:36:32,875
whether or not you're
willing to pay for a drug,

784
00:36:32,959 --> 00:36:34,709
one of the things
you're gonna look at is,

785
00:36:34,792 --> 00:36:36,935
are they prescribing it for
what the label says it's for?

786
00:36:36,959 --> 00:36:37,875
Right?

787
00:36:37,959 --> 00:36:38,976
"The label says it's
for cancer patients.

788
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:40,500
"This patient
doesn't have cancer.

789
00:36:40,583 --> 00:36:42,000
Why are we paying
for this?" Right?

790
00:36:42,083 --> 00:36:44,875
And so they started
misleading them.

791
00:36:44,959 --> 00:36:47,250
What they set up is this
Insys reimbursement center,

792
00:36:47,333 --> 00:36:49,500
the IRC, and what they would do

793
00:36:49,583 --> 00:36:52,000
is they would work
with doctor's offices

794
00:36:52,083 --> 00:36:54,750
to get prescriptions
for Subsys approved.

795
00:36:54,834 --> 00:36:56,101
People would go,
they would clock in,

796
00:36:56,125 --> 00:36:58,875
and they would put the headset
on and get assigned files,

797
00:36:58,959 --> 00:37:00,333
and they would
just call and lie.

798
00:37:03,834 --> 00:37:05,333
The insurance company would say,

799
00:37:05,417 --> 00:37:07,375
"Are you calling from
Dr. Smith's office?"

800
00:37:11,166 --> 00:37:13,083
"Oh, yes. I'm right
here in sunny Florida."

801
00:37:13,166 --> 00:37:15,959
But really, they blocked
their outgoing caller ID.

802
00:37:16,041 --> 00:37:18,625
They were in Arizona in
a cubicle the whole time.

803
00:37:23,625 --> 00:37:25,250
So a patient goes
to see a doctor,

804
00:37:25,333 --> 00:37:27,417
the doctor prescribes Subsys,

805
00:37:27,500 --> 00:37:31,417
somehow the office at the
IRC needs to know enough

806
00:37:31,500 --> 00:37:33,417
about the patient
to be able to call

807
00:37:33,500 --> 00:37:35,208
on the patient's behalf and lie.

808
00:37:35,291 --> 00:37:37,500
So the sales reps had
to convince the doctors

809
00:37:37,583 --> 00:37:39,750
to agree to give them access

810
00:37:39,834 --> 00:37:41,500
to patients'
personal information

811
00:37:41,583 --> 00:37:43,959
and various pieces
of information

812
00:37:44,041 --> 00:37:45,667
about their diagnoses.

813
00:37:49,083 --> 00:37:51,625
Let's say a doctor just
wrote Subsys for back pain

814
00:37:51,709 --> 00:37:53,000
or for neck pain.

815
00:37:53,083 --> 00:37:55,166
What Insys did was say...

816
00:37:58,375 --> 00:38:00,458
One of the tactics that
they figured out worked

817
00:38:00,542 --> 00:38:02,041
was talk really fast...

818
00:38:07,250 --> 00:38:08,792
Give them a lot of
information at once,

819
00:38:08,875 --> 00:38:10,709
sound like you know what
you're talking about.

820
00:38:16,667 --> 00:38:18,500
And they would
spin these stories

821
00:38:18,583 --> 00:38:20,583
that just weren't true.

822
00:39:14,333 --> 00:39:15,250
They had a list.

823
00:39:15,333 --> 00:39:16,250
If you're calling Humana,

824
00:39:16,333 --> 00:39:18,000
these are the lies
you need to say.

825
00:39:18,083 --> 00:39:20,083
If you're calling Blue
Cross Blue Shield,

826
00:39:20,166 --> 00:39:21,709
say this.

827
00:39:21,792 --> 00:39:24,792
And then insurance companies,
they used the algorithm.

828
00:39:24,875 --> 00:39:26,875
So, if the answer
triggered the right way,

829
00:39:26,959 --> 00:39:28,875
it would lead them
down a decision tree

830
00:39:28,959 --> 00:39:30,375
to approve or not approve.

831
00:39:30,458 --> 00:39:32,625
And Insys knew this and
took advantage of this.

832
00:39:35,333 --> 00:39:36,959
Yes, um...

833
00:39:45,458 --> 00:39:47,250
So you'll hear these
callers anticipate

834
00:39:47,333 --> 00:39:50,250
not only the next question,
but the next three questions.

835
00:39:50,333 --> 00:39:52,000
So if Insys knows the algorithm,

836
00:39:52,083 --> 00:39:53,309
they've, like, broken the code.

837
00:39:53,333 --> 00:39:55,267
- They've broken the code.
- They cracked the code.

838
00:39:55,291 --> 00:39:57,250
And they could call
all day, every day

839
00:39:57,333 --> 00:39:58,583
and get these approved.

840
00:39:58,667 --> 00:40:02,208
Okay, the medication's been
approved until one year...

841
00:40:02,291 --> 00:40:03,491
It's approved. It's approved.

842
00:40:03,542 --> 00:40:07,208
The request is approved
through March 13.

843
00:40:07,291 --> 00:40:10,458
So you can go ahead and
call it in to the pharmacy.

844
00:40:10,542 --> 00:40:12,417
This was something
driven from John Kapoor,

845
00:40:12,500 --> 00:40:16,250
driven at the top... what the
success rate was on the IRC,

846
00:40:16,333 --> 00:40:17,667
how they were doing.

847
00:40:19,667 --> 00:40:22,125
The lies, the deceit.

848
00:40:22,208 --> 00:40:24,875
There's nothing they wouldn't
say to get the drug approved.

849
00:40:24,959 --> 00:40:27,083
And Dr. Kapoor's
philosophy was very simple.

850
00:40:27,166 --> 00:40:30,083
"The doctor prescribes
it. He puts pen to pad.

851
00:40:30,166 --> 00:40:32,250
"That patient will get the drug.

852
00:40:32,333 --> 00:40:33,750
Do you understand me?"

853
00:40:33,834 --> 00:40:34,917
John Kapoor insisted

854
00:40:35,041 --> 00:40:37,834
that their approvals be
something like 90% to 100%,

855
00:40:37,917 --> 00:40:41,458
which according to the
testimony was way beyond

856
00:40:41,542 --> 00:40:43,667
any kind of industry
goal or standard.

857
00:40:43,750 --> 00:40:45,291
I've been through this before.

858
00:40:45,375 --> 00:40:48,125
I'm looking at this,
and I'm going, "Okay.

859
00:40:48,208 --> 00:40:49,959
Clearly, we're
breaking the law."

860
00:40:50,041 --> 00:40:52,059
That medication's intended
for the use and management

861
00:40:52,083 --> 00:40:54,125
of breakthrough pain
in cancer patients.

862
00:40:54,208 --> 00:40:56,959
Dr. Volking is treating
the breakthrough pain

863
00:40:57,041 --> 00:40:59,417
as 338.29.

864
00:41:25,458 --> 00:41:28,500
The opioid crisis
today is just that.

865
00:41:28,583 --> 00:41:31,000
It's a crisis. We all
have to work together.

866
00:41:31,083 --> 00:41:35,125
Because our prescriptions by
2012 were over 250 million.

867
00:41:35,208 --> 00:41:37,667
250 million in
the United States.

868
00:41:37,750 --> 00:41:39,375
Everybody who's registered

869
00:41:39,458 --> 00:41:41,959
to handle a controlled substance

870
00:41:42,041 --> 00:41:44,375
has a requirement under the law

871
00:41:44,458 --> 00:41:47,583
to maintain effective
controls against diversion.

872
00:41:47,667 --> 00:41:49,184
Manufacturers... "Well,
we just make the drugs.

873
00:41:49,208 --> 00:41:50,333
We don't prescribe 'em."

874
00:41:50,417 --> 00:41:52,500
Distributors... "Well, we're
just logistic companies.

875
00:41:52,583 --> 00:41:54,625
We don't prescribe or dispense."

876
00:41:54,709 --> 00:41:56,559
Pharmacies... "We just
take valid prescriptions"

877
00:41:56,583 --> 00:41:57,667
"written by doctors

878
00:41:57,750 --> 00:41:59,542
and dispense the
medications as ordered."

879
00:41:59,625 --> 00:42:02,875
Doctors... "We're just
treating our patients."

880
00:42:02,959 --> 00:42:04,291
And then it goes
to the patients.

881
00:42:04,375 --> 00:42:06,583
By the way, those are
the guys that are dying.

882
00:42:08,458 --> 00:42:11,041
And everybody's pointing
the fingers at each other,

883
00:42:11,125 --> 00:42:13,583
but all downstream
towards the doctors.

884
00:42:13,667 --> 00:42:14,709
I don't want you to think

885
00:42:14,792 --> 00:42:16,542
that I have a
problem with doctors.

886
00:42:16,625 --> 00:42:19,250
In fact, most of the doctors,
the vast majority of doctors

887
00:42:19,333 --> 00:42:21,709
are doing exactly what
they're supposed to do.

888
00:42:21,792 --> 00:42:23,208
But there are bad doctors

889
00:42:23,291 --> 00:42:25,083
that were doing
really bad things

890
00:42:25,166 --> 00:42:26,709
with controlled substances.

891
00:42:26,792 --> 00:42:29,041
I can't stop them.

892
00:42:29,125 --> 00:42:30,375
But the pharmacists can,

893
00:42:30,458 --> 00:42:32,518
because the pharmacists don't
have to fill the prescriptions.

894
00:42:32,542 --> 00:42:34,417
But if the pharmacist continues

895
00:42:34,500 --> 00:42:35,709
to fill the prescriptions,

896
00:42:35,792 --> 00:42:38,875
the Controlled Substances
Act supplies a check

897
00:42:38,959 --> 00:42:40,792
at the
distributor-to-pharmacy level.

898
00:42:43,667 --> 00:42:45,184
When the manufacturer
makes the pill,

899
00:42:45,208 --> 00:42:47,309
they're not allowed to sell
it directly to a pharmacy,

900
00:42:47,333 --> 00:42:49,917
so they sell it to one
of these three companies

901
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:51,208
almost exclusively...

902
00:42:51,291 --> 00:42:55,417
McKesson, Cardinal Health,
and AmerisourceBergen.

903
00:42:55,500 --> 00:42:57,250
And those three companies own

904
00:42:57,333 --> 00:43:01,250
something along the lines
of 90% of the opioid market.

905
00:43:01,333 --> 00:43:03,542
When I first started
doing this investigation,

906
00:43:03,625 --> 00:43:05,709
I had never heard
of these companies.

907
00:43:05,792 --> 00:43:08,208
I had never heard of McKesson.

908
00:43:08,291 --> 00:43:09,375
They are not only

909
00:43:09,458 --> 00:43:11,378
the largest drug distribution
company in America,

910
00:43:11,417 --> 00:43:15,041
they are the fifth-largest
company in the United States.

911
00:43:15,125 --> 00:43:18,083
These companies keep
very low profiles.

912
00:43:18,166 --> 00:43:21,542
They don't want to
be in the press,

913
00:43:21,625 --> 00:43:22,705
and they do a very good job

914
00:43:22,750 --> 00:43:25,125
of just staying off
the radar screen.

915
00:43:27,125 --> 00:43:29,792
- Hello? Can I help you?
- How you doing?

916
00:43:29,875 --> 00:43:32,583
- What are you shooting?
- The trucks coming in and out.

917
00:43:32,667 --> 00:43:35,291
- What are you shooting for?
- It's for a documentary.

918
00:43:35,375 --> 00:43:37,583
- Nope. Cannot do that.
- Nope, not here.

919
00:43:39,875 --> 00:43:42,125
The distributors,
the big three...

920
00:43:42,208 --> 00:43:43,959
When an order comes in,

921
00:43:44,041 --> 00:43:46,458
they have an obligation
to have a system in place

922
00:43:46,542 --> 00:43:49,959
that identifies whether
the order is suspicious.

923
00:43:50,041 --> 00:43:51,208
If the order is suspicious,

924
00:43:51,291 --> 00:43:53,625
they need to stop the shipment.

925
00:43:53,709 --> 00:43:55,625
So, if you see a pharmacy

926
00:43:55,709 --> 00:43:59,959
that's been ordering 5,000
tablets for the last two years

927
00:44:00,041 --> 00:44:04,166
and now they're ordering
40,000, then 60,000,

928
00:44:04,250 --> 00:44:08,000
then 100,000, that's suspicious.

929
00:44:08,083 --> 00:44:12,667
You... there's no way you
could say it's not suspicious.

930
00:44:12,750 --> 00:44:14,834
But what we saw was

931
00:44:14,917 --> 00:44:19,166
distributors not filing
suspicious orders

932
00:44:19,250 --> 00:44:21,667
and then continuing to ship.

933
00:44:26,583 --> 00:44:28,709
narrator: When distributors
recklessly filled hundreds

934
00:44:28,792 --> 00:44:30,792
of suspicious orders,

935
00:44:30,875 --> 00:44:33,166
the DEA had the ability
to shut them down

936
00:44:33,250 --> 00:44:35,333
with a powerful weapon...

937
00:44:35,417 --> 00:44:38,166
An ISO, or Immediate
Suspension Order.

938
00:44:38,250 --> 00:44:40,375
Nobody used that
weapon more effectively

939
00:44:40,458 --> 00:44:43,500
than a DEA lawyer
named Linden Barber.

940
00:44:43,583 --> 00:44:46,333
DEA's regulation
calls on distributors

941
00:44:46,417 --> 00:44:49,375
to detect and report
suspicious orders to DEA.

942
00:44:49,458 --> 00:44:51,500
Those are, according
to the regulations,

943
00:44:51,583 --> 00:44:54,041
orders of unusual size,
unusual frequency,

944
00:44:54,125 --> 00:44:55,000
or those that

945
00:44:55,083 --> 00:44:56,101
narrator: One of the top lawyers

946
00:44:56,125 --> 00:44:58,166
at the DEA's Drug
Diversion Division,

947
00:44:58,250 --> 00:45:01,041
Linden Barber worked
closely with Joe Rannazzisi

948
00:45:01,125 --> 00:45:03,458
in preventing companies
from profiting

949
00:45:03,542 --> 00:45:05,750
from opioid abuse.

950
00:45:05,834 --> 00:45:09,375
He was doing a lot
of work with us,

951
00:45:09,458 --> 00:45:12,250
trying to get the
industry in compliance.

952
00:45:12,333 --> 00:45:14,208
Linden would be the
first to get angry

953
00:45:14,291 --> 00:45:16,375
about how many people died.

954
00:45:16,458 --> 00:45:19,041
He had that drive, that push
to file all these cases,

955
00:45:19,125 --> 00:45:20,375
to cowboy it.

956
00:45:20,458 --> 00:45:22,667
Narrator: Late in 2007,

957
00:45:22,750 --> 00:45:24,834
Barber, Rannazzisi, and the DEA

958
00:45:24,917 --> 00:45:27,291
set their sights
on Cardinal Health.

959
00:45:27,375 --> 00:45:29,458
They shut down a key
distribution center

960
00:45:29,542 --> 00:45:30,959
with an ISO

961
00:45:31,041 --> 00:45:34,083
for failing to report hundreds
of blatantly suspicious orders

962
00:45:34,166 --> 00:45:36,417
of narcotics.

963
00:45:36,500 --> 00:45:39,291
A $130 billion company,

964
00:45:39,375 --> 00:45:43,875
Cardinal settled the case by
paying a $34 million fine.

965
00:45:43,959 --> 00:45:45,375
In the final deal,

966
00:45:45,458 --> 00:45:47,542
Cardinal did not
admit wrongdoing,

967
00:45:47,625 --> 00:45:52,250
and damaging evidence of
public harm was suppressed.

968
00:45:52,333 --> 00:45:54,709
I didn't want to
settle these cases.

969
00:45:54,792 --> 00:45:57,542
I wanted to go in
front of a court.

970
00:45:57,625 --> 00:46:00,041
I wanted to present
all the evidence.

971
00:46:00,125 --> 00:46:01,917
I wanted to be transparent.

972
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:03,917
A $34 million fine does nothing.

973
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:05,709
That's a traffic ticket.

974
00:46:05,792 --> 00:46:08,291
$34 million for
Cardinal is nothing.

975
00:46:08,375 --> 00:46:09,458
It didn't take very long

976
00:46:09,542 --> 00:46:12,458
before they basically
were turning around

977
00:46:12,542 --> 00:46:14,291
and doing the same thing.

978
00:46:14,375 --> 00:46:17,750
Cardinal was distributing
millions of pills

979
00:46:17,834 --> 00:46:22,041
to two CVS pharmacies
in Sanford, Florida,

980
00:46:22,125 --> 00:46:23,917
right on the edge of a highway.

981
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:26,291
So people would cruise
in, get their drugs,

982
00:46:26,375 --> 00:46:28,959
and be out in, like,
no time at all.

983
00:46:29,041 --> 00:46:31,333
Narrator: As part
of the CVS case,

984
00:46:31,417 --> 00:46:35,625
the DEA started investigating
Cardinal once more.

985
00:46:35,709 --> 00:46:38,959
Angered by a second
Rannazzisi-led investigation,

986
00:46:39,041 --> 00:46:41,875
Cardinal started an
influence campaign,

987
00:46:41,959 --> 00:46:44,792
using former Department
of Justice officials

988
00:46:44,875 --> 00:46:46,834
to lobby their old colleagues.

989
00:46:48,583 --> 00:46:51,166
You know, the revolving
door and the swamp

990
00:46:51,250 --> 00:46:53,792
is alive and well in Washington.

991
00:46:55,750 --> 00:46:57,834
Jamie Gorelick was the
Deputy Attorney General

992
00:46:57,917 --> 00:46:59,226
during the Clinton
administration,

993
00:46:59,250 --> 00:47:01,208
so she was the
second-highest-ranking

994
00:47:01,291 --> 00:47:03,834
law enforcement official
in the United States.

995
00:47:03,917 --> 00:47:05,166
After she left,

996
00:47:05,250 --> 00:47:08,166
she joined one of the biggest
law firms in town here.

997
00:47:08,250 --> 00:47:11,667
She is a exceedingly
powerful woman,

998
00:47:11,750 --> 00:47:15,166
and Cardinal Health
had retained her.

999
00:47:15,250 --> 00:47:18,792
She reached out to the
then-Deputy Attorney General,

1000
00:47:18,875 --> 00:47:21,792
James Cole, and asked him

1001
00:47:21,875 --> 00:47:25,166
if they could take a
look at this case...

1002
00:47:25,250 --> 00:47:28,000
You know, "Did they really have
to come after them that hard?"

1003
00:47:28,083 --> 00:47:29,625
"They're trying to
do the right thing.

1004
00:47:29,709 --> 00:47:32,375
Is there a way that we
can talk about this?"

1005
00:47:32,458 --> 00:47:34,709
And that got back to Joe,

1006
00:47:34,792 --> 00:47:37,875
that Jamie Gorelick
had been involved.

1007
00:47:37,959 --> 00:47:39,709
Look, as much as I understand

1008
00:47:39,792 --> 00:47:44,417
that Jamie Gorelick
is a fine attorney,

1009
00:47:44,500 --> 00:47:46,309
I don't think she knows the
Controlled Substances Act

1010
00:47:46,333 --> 00:47:47,583
better than me.

1011
00:47:49,458 --> 00:47:51,417
narrator: In a series
of calls and letters,

1012
00:47:51,500 --> 00:47:55,208
Gorelick pressed Cole to
prevent the DEA from acting.

1013
00:47:55,291 --> 00:47:57,333
"Immediate suspension,"
wrote Gorelick,

1014
00:47:57,417 --> 00:48:00,000
"is a drastic and
punitive enforcement tool.

1015
00:48:00,083 --> 00:48:01,583
"We would appreciate
the opportunity

1016
00:48:01,667 --> 00:48:03,625
"to discuss this
urgent matter with you

1017
00:48:03,709 --> 00:48:06,542
prior to any action by DEA."

1018
00:48:06,625 --> 00:48:07,709
Cole responded

1019
00:48:07,792 --> 00:48:11,750
by demanding an immediate
briefing by Rannazzisi.

1020
00:48:11,834 --> 00:48:13,542
I said, "Before we start",

1021
00:48:13,625 --> 00:48:15,166
"no one's ever wanted a briefing

1022
00:48:15,250 --> 00:48:17,583
"on why we're doing
certain things.

1023
00:48:17,667 --> 00:48:20,417
What makes this
case so special?"

1024
00:48:20,500 --> 00:48:23,583
And the response was, "'Cause
I'm the Deputy Attorney General

1025
00:48:23,667 --> 00:48:26,792
of the United States,
and I want to know."

1026
00:48:26,875 --> 00:48:30,083
And that really didn't
answer the question.

1027
00:48:30,166 --> 00:48:32,417
And it just got
very adversarial.

1028
00:48:32,500 --> 00:48:35,917
But once we presented the
facts, they couldn't...

1029
00:48:36,000 --> 00:48:37,875
I mean, the facts
were the facts.

1030
00:48:37,959 --> 00:48:40,333
These companies were
an imminent danger

1031
00:48:40,417 --> 00:48:41,875
to public health.

1032
00:48:43,834 --> 00:48:47,083
Around that time,
we're reaching, like,

1033
00:48:47,166 --> 00:48:51,208
170,000 people who had
died from drug overdoses.

1034
00:48:51,291 --> 00:48:54,250
That is just a
phenomenal number.

1035
00:48:54,333 --> 00:48:55,792
Doing CPR!

1036
00:48:55,875 --> 00:48:57,184
During this time period,
I'm out on the road.

1037
00:48:57,208 --> 00:48:59,250
I'm talking to parents
who've lost kids.

1038
00:48:59,333 --> 00:49:02,000
I'm talking to wives
who've lost husbands.

1039
00:49:02,083 --> 00:49:05,458
I'm talking to people
who've lost loved ones,

1040
00:49:05,542 --> 00:49:07,125
and they're all saying
the same thing...

1041
00:49:07,208 --> 00:49:08,959
Why is this happening?

1042
00:49:09,041 --> 00:49:11,959
And my response is, "We're
doing everything we can."

1043
00:49:12,041 --> 00:49:15,291
And then to sit there and
go through an inquisition

1044
00:49:15,375 --> 00:49:17,500
about why I'm doing
a certain thing,

1045
00:49:17,583 --> 00:49:19,750
to a company... To
at least one company

1046
00:49:19,834 --> 00:49:23,125
that was already charged
with the same violation

1047
00:49:23,208 --> 00:49:27,000
several years ago, it
kind of pissed me off.

1048
00:49:27,083 --> 00:49:28,963
And that's when I came
back, and I call my team.

1049
00:49:29,041 --> 00:49:32,291
I said, "You know, this
is war. We're at war now."

1050
00:49:32,375 --> 00:49:35,625
"You go out and
serve those ISOs,

1051
00:49:35,709 --> 00:49:40,125
and we'll just see
where it goes."

1052
00:49:40,208 --> 00:49:41,959
I was proud of
the work they did.

1053
00:49:42,041 --> 00:49:44,709
Those guys busted their
butts for, you know, months,

1054
00:49:44,792 --> 00:49:46,208
getting these cases together.

1055
00:49:48,333 --> 00:49:50,291
We were absolutely amped up.

1056
00:49:50,375 --> 00:49:51,709
If you want to do
some real good,

1057
00:49:51,792 --> 00:49:53,333
if that's really
what you want to do,

1058
00:49:53,417 --> 00:49:55,834
if you want to go out and
you want to fight bad guys,

1059
00:49:55,917 --> 00:49:57,625
you're doing this kind of thing,

1060
00:49:57,709 --> 00:49:59,375
and you're thinking,
"This is great."

1061
00:49:59,458 --> 00:50:02,125
So, in February of 2012,

1062
00:50:02,208 --> 00:50:05,333
we issued the Immediate
Suspension Orders.

1063
00:50:05,417 --> 00:50:08,792
Narrator: A federal judge
ruled in favor of the DEA.

1064
00:50:08,875 --> 00:50:10,166
The ISO went into effect,

1065
00:50:10,250 --> 00:50:12,709
shutting down the flow of drugs.

1066
00:50:12,792 --> 00:50:15,333
Ultimately, Cardinal agreed
to stop shipping opioids

1067
00:50:15,417 --> 00:50:17,500
from one warehouse for two years

1068
00:50:17,583 --> 00:50:20,750
and paid a $44 million fine,

1069
00:50:20,834 --> 00:50:23,750
but the tactics of the
DEA enraged Cardinal

1070
00:50:23,834 --> 00:50:26,125
and other big pharma companies.

1071
00:50:27,208 --> 00:50:29,041
When the companies didn't like

1072
00:50:29,125 --> 00:50:31,208
that they were being
held accountable,

1073
00:50:31,291 --> 00:50:33,709
they said, "Enough is enough."

1074
00:50:33,792 --> 00:50:35,166
And instead of complying,

1075
00:50:35,250 --> 00:50:37,375
they just decided to
change the statute.

1076
00:50:37,458 --> 00:50:39,375
Thank you, Madam Speaker.

1077
00:50:39,458 --> 00:50:43,417
I rise in strong
support of HR 471,

1078
00:50:43,500 --> 00:50:46,083
the Ensuring Patient Access

1079
00:50:46,166 --> 00:50:48,458
and Effective Drug
Enforcement Act,

1080
00:50:48,542 --> 00:50:52,083
bringing greater
clarity and transparency

1081
00:50:52,166 --> 00:50:55,166
to the requirements for
safe and secure distribution

1082
00:50:55,250 --> 00:50:56,750
of these medicines.

1083
00:50:56,834 --> 00:50:59,542
Pharmaceutical companies
have infinite gobs of money

1084
00:50:59,625 --> 00:51:02,750
to throw at politicians
to change the laws,

1085
00:51:02,834 --> 00:51:04,959
and that is disgusting.

1086
00:51:05,041 --> 00:51:06,291
That's horrible.

1087
00:51:06,375 --> 00:51:07,851
That's not the way
the law should work.

1088
00:51:07,875 --> 00:51:10,625
They should be changing their
behaviors, not the rules.

1089
00:51:37,875 --> 00:51:39,083
Tell me about Rachel's.

1090
00:51:39,166 --> 00:51:40,542
What kind of place was Rachel's?

1091
00:51:40,625 --> 00:51:43,291
You know, high-end dance club

1092
00:51:43,375 --> 00:51:47,125
with five-star steak restaurant.

1093
00:51:47,208 --> 00:51:50,333
One day Alec comes
in to the club.

1094
00:51:50,417 --> 00:51:54,834
It was slow, and I just saw
this guy sitting by the stage.

1095
00:51:54,917 --> 00:51:56,250
And I do what I normally do...

1096
00:51:56,333 --> 00:51:59,166
Is I sit down and
I talk to people.

1097
00:51:59,250 --> 00:52:00,166
You know?

1098
00:52:00,250 --> 00:52:01,917
That's how I kind
of feel them out,

1099
00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:03,267
see what kind of
people they are,

1100
00:52:03,291 --> 00:52:06,333
and if they appreciate more
of a conversation, you know...

1101
00:52:06,417 --> 00:52:08,792
Then I'm good, right?

1102
00:52:08,875 --> 00:52:11,917
Um, but, uh, we talked a bit,

1103
00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:15,250
and he told me that
he was VP of sales

1104
00:52:15,333 --> 00:52:18,250
in pharmaceuticals.

1105
00:52:18,333 --> 00:52:21,125
He didn't take any dances
till later on that night,

1106
00:52:21,208 --> 00:52:24,667
but he had offered to do
a private dance with me.

1107
00:52:24,750 --> 00:52:26,709
And then he left,
and I didn't...

1108
00:52:26,792 --> 00:52:28,500
I really didn't think
he would come back,

1109
00:52:28,583 --> 00:52:33,208
but he came back and
said, "Yep, let's do this.

1110
00:52:33,291 --> 00:52:35,000
We'll do the private dance."

1111
00:52:35,083 --> 00:52:37,709
And that's how it got started.

1112
00:52:38,750 --> 00:52:41,500
I get a call from him
a couple weeks later,

1113
00:52:41,583 --> 00:52:43,000
and he tells me that he thinks

1114
00:52:43,083 --> 00:52:46,959
he has a regional sales
manager's position for me.

1115
00:52:47,041 --> 00:52:49,834
And it seemed like it was
the perfect job, honestly.

1116
00:52:49,917 --> 00:52:53,667
Just do what I do now, and
it wasn't anything different.

1117
00:52:53,750 --> 00:52:55,291
The first time I
interviewed her,

1118
00:52:55,375 --> 00:52:56,875
I told her, "This
is the industry."

1119
00:52:56,959 --> 00:53:01,333
And she says, "This is
what I do every day."

1120
00:53:01,417 --> 00:53:04,542
Dancing is how you
get a clientele base

1121
00:53:04,625 --> 00:53:08,208
that would come in
and see just you.

1122
00:53:08,291 --> 00:53:11,375
I can shoot the shit
with men, you know?

1123
00:53:11,458 --> 00:53:14,875
You have to be able to read
people by their body language,

1124
00:53:14,959 --> 00:53:16,375
what they talk about.

1125
00:53:16,458 --> 00:53:17,875
You have to be able to listen

1126
00:53:17,959 --> 00:53:20,875
so that you can find
out how you relate.

1127
00:53:20,959 --> 00:53:23,041
As far as psychology,
quite frankly,

1128
00:53:23,125 --> 00:53:26,375
her prior employment is
all about psychology.

1129
00:53:26,458 --> 00:53:28,709
I mean, you got to
meet a customer, right?

1130
00:53:28,792 --> 00:53:32,000
Are you gonna spend an
hour, two hours, three hours

1131
00:53:32,083 --> 00:53:35,250
wasting your time when he's
not gonna give you a dollar?

1132
00:53:35,333 --> 00:53:37,500
Or are you going to
know in five minutes

1133
00:53:37,583 --> 00:53:38,583
that this isn't your guy,

1134
00:53:38,625 --> 00:53:40,583
get up and start
circling the place

1135
00:53:40,667 --> 00:53:43,834
and find your next opportunity?

1136
00:53:43,917 --> 00:53:45,250
What's a whale doctor?

1137
00:53:45,333 --> 00:53:47,333
We used that in
strip clubs, too.

1138
00:53:48,458 --> 00:53:49,959
So what's a whale
in a strip club?

1139
00:53:50,041 --> 00:53:51,583
A whale is the
guy with the money

1140
00:53:51,667 --> 00:53:54,750
and that likes to spend it.

1141
00:53:54,834 --> 00:53:57,625
When I worked at Insys,
the whales were the guys

1142
00:53:57,709 --> 00:53:59,583
who were prescribing
this medication,

1143
00:53:59,667 --> 00:54:01,417
this class of medication
for a long time.

1144
00:54:01,500 --> 00:54:03,375
Those were the whales.

1145
00:54:03,458 --> 00:54:05,375
They know what they're doing,

1146
00:54:05,458 --> 00:54:07,875
and if you can
get that business,

1147
00:54:07,959 --> 00:54:08,875
then you're good.

1148
00:54:10,667 --> 00:54:14,750
Base salary for the regional
sales manager was $80,000

1149
00:54:14,834 --> 00:54:17,834
before bonuses.

1150
00:54:17,917 --> 00:54:19,417
They called it Mid-Atlantic,

1151
00:54:19,500 --> 00:54:23,917
but it was Michigan,
Wisconsin, Indiana,

1152
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:28,625
Illinois, Ohio, Maryland,
and Washington, DC.

1153
00:54:30,542 --> 00:54:34,125
My sales team, we started off
as the worst in the nation,

1154
00:54:34,208 --> 00:54:37,625
and we ended up the top
region in the nation

1155
00:54:37,709 --> 00:54:40,208
shortly after I started.

1156
00:54:40,291 --> 00:54:43,250
She's probably the best
salesperson I've ever met.

1157
00:54:43,333 --> 00:54:45,417
And the best salespeople I hired

1158
00:54:45,500 --> 00:54:47,458
were the people who understood,

1159
00:54:47,542 --> 00:54:49,417
what is the most
important thing to you?

1160
00:54:49,500 --> 00:54:51,959
Being number one in the
country on that list

1161
00:54:52,041 --> 00:54:53,750
or making the most money?

1162
00:54:53,834 --> 00:54:56,750
I typically go with the person
who says being number one

1163
00:54:56,834 --> 00:54:58,792
'cause I know they're sick

1164
00:54:58,875 --> 00:54:59,959
like me.

1165
00:55:00,041 --> 00:55:01,625
Got to be number one.

1166
00:55:03,375 --> 00:55:07,208
When I met Alec, I don't
know, he seemed crazy,

1167
00:55:07,291 --> 00:55:09,834
but I thought he was brilliant.

1168
00:55:09,917 --> 00:55:11,333
After starting with the company

1169
00:55:11,417 --> 00:55:13,166
and communicating with him daily

1170
00:55:13,250 --> 00:55:15,875
and listening to him on
the conference calls and...

1171
00:55:15,959 --> 00:55:20,333
That's when I really
got to know him.

1172
00:55:20,417 --> 00:55:23,500
We became, you
know, good friends

1173
00:55:23,583 --> 00:55:25,959
and developed a relationship,

1174
00:55:26,041 --> 00:55:28,667
even though I knew
that he was married.

1175
00:55:30,583 --> 00:55:34,000
Which, I mean, we all say
love can be blind, right?

1176
00:55:36,041 --> 00:55:40,000
You know, I saw this man
who worked really hard,

1177
00:55:40,083 --> 00:55:42,667
did things for people,
gave people opportunities,

1178
00:55:42,750 --> 00:55:43,834
like myself.

1179
00:55:52,417 --> 00:55:55,125
I was born in Hawaii, Honolulu.

1180
00:55:55,208 --> 00:55:59,250
Born into a very
abusive household.

1181
00:55:59,333 --> 00:56:01,375
My parents got divorced

1182
00:56:01,458 --> 00:56:05,417
shortly after my
brother was born.

1183
00:56:05,500 --> 00:56:09,834
And then shortly after that,
my father actually took us.

1184
00:56:09,917 --> 00:56:12,250
We were on the, you know, run.

1185
00:56:12,333 --> 00:56:15,250
We were milk-carton
children for a few years.

1186
00:56:15,333 --> 00:56:18,875
We lived all over the place...

1187
00:56:18,959 --> 00:56:21,709
Boston, San Francisco,

1188
00:56:21,792 --> 00:56:24,834
different parts of California,
Chicago, Puerto Rico.

1189
00:56:24,917 --> 00:56:28,583
Sometimes two weeks
to two months.

1190
00:56:28,667 --> 00:56:31,041
I never had a childhood.

1191
00:56:31,125 --> 00:56:33,083
I raised my sister
and my brother

1192
00:56:33,166 --> 00:56:34,834
at a very young age.

1193
00:56:34,917 --> 00:56:38,291
You know, I'm ironing at
five years old and cooking.

1194
00:56:40,125 --> 00:56:42,750
Eventually the law
caught up with him.

1195
00:56:42,834 --> 00:56:47,375
They found my mother.
We moved to Michigan.

1196
00:56:47,458 --> 00:56:50,917
I ended up getting
emancipated when I was 16.

1197
00:56:51,000 --> 00:56:52,583
You have to prove

1198
00:56:52,667 --> 00:56:54,476
that you can take care
of yourself financially,

1199
00:56:54,500 --> 00:56:56,583
which I did, working three jobs,

1200
00:56:56,667 --> 00:57:00,375
going to school, a superior
honor roll student.

1201
00:57:00,458 --> 00:57:04,250
Finished school, got
married, and had a son

1202
00:57:04,333 --> 00:57:08,000
and started going to college.

1203
00:57:08,083 --> 00:57:12,083
And once I turned 18,
I started dancing, too.

1204
00:57:12,166 --> 00:57:14,476
When you don't have anything
and you don't have any support,

1205
00:57:14,500 --> 00:57:17,208
you've got to grind
your way and, you know,

1206
00:57:17,291 --> 00:57:19,171
treat it like a business,
and that's what I did.

1207
00:57:19,250 --> 00:57:21,917
You know, I pushed
myself through school.

1208
00:57:22,000 --> 00:57:25,417
Initially, it was pre-med
and then natural healing.

1209
00:57:25,500 --> 00:57:29,500
And I was board certified
for medical massage therapy.

1210
00:57:31,250 --> 00:57:33,458
Everybody used to
call me Superwoman...

1211
00:57:33,542 --> 00:57:35,083
Or Supermom.

1212
00:57:35,166 --> 00:57:36,875
And I could do it all.

1213
00:57:41,500 --> 00:57:43,792
In 2012,

1214
00:57:43,875 --> 00:57:46,667
I went down to
Florida with the kids

1215
00:57:46,750 --> 00:57:48,959
to try to make some money.

1216
00:57:49,041 --> 00:57:51,959
And it was that summer
when I met Alec.

1217
00:57:55,166 --> 00:57:57,583
I listened to him.

1218
00:57:57,667 --> 00:58:01,667
He said that I needed
a four-year degree.

1219
00:58:01,750 --> 00:58:04,500
He knew I didn't have
a four-year degree.

1220
00:58:04,583 --> 00:58:08,500
And so he helped me
out with my résumé.

1221
00:58:08,583 --> 00:58:10,333
Just said that I
had to, you know,

1222
00:58:10,417 --> 00:58:14,125
put that I had this
bachelor's degree.

1223
00:58:14,208 --> 00:58:16,792
I trusted him.

1224
00:58:16,875 --> 00:58:19,208
Part of what Alec Burlakoff did

1225
00:58:19,291 --> 00:58:23,667
is he pulled in three people
who he knew he could trust

1226
00:58:23,750 --> 00:58:26,500
to implement Kapoor's strategy.

1227
00:58:26,583 --> 00:58:27,834
That is not easy to do.

1228
00:58:27,917 --> 00:58:29,333
It's not easy to hire people

1229
00:58:29,417 --> 00:58:31,166
who are gonna
manage other people

1230
00:58:31,250 --> 00:58:32,959
to engage in criminal activity.

1231
00:58:33,041 --> 00:58:36,500
- You know, they targeted...
- They targeted us,

1232
00:58:36,583 --> 00:58:38,333
people who were...

1233
00:58:38,417 --> 00:58:41,333
I call us the naive dreamers,

1234
00:58:41,417 --> 00:58:43,542
um.

1235
00:58:43,625 --> 00:58:47,375
Where we still believed in the
dream and worked really hard.

1236
00:58:47,458 --> 00:58:49,834
Sunrise Lee, you know,
there's this sort of narrative

1237
00:58:49,917 --> 00:58:51,041
that wants to portray her

1238
00:58:51,125 --> 00:58:52,875
as this person that
worked at a club,

1239
00:58:52,959 --> 00:58:55,041
and that's true, but
she was a much more

1240
00:58:55,125 --> 00:58:58,250
sophisticated
criminal than that.

1241
00:58:58,333 --> 00:59:00,166
She's so successful,
she's promoted.

1242
00:59:00,250 --> 00:59:01,583
She at one point was responsible

1243
00:59:01,667 --> 00:59:03,542
for a third of the country

1244
00:59:03,625 --> 00:59:06,166
in terms of all the sales
reps and the sales managers.

1245
00:59:06,250 --> 00:59:08,101
And she has a conversation
with the district manager,

1246
00:59:08,125 --> 00:59:09,250
and she said, "Listen",

1247
00:59:09,333 --> 00:59:12,208
"you got to make sure that
you stay on top of these guys

1248
00:59:12,291 --> 00:59:13,709
"because they will stop writing

1249
00:59:13,792 --> 00:59:15,601
"unless you're there
every day talking to them.

1250
00:59:15,625 --> 00:59:17,083
"You got to hold
them accountable

1251
00:59:17,166 --> 00:59:18,500
for what they agreed to do."

1252
00:59:18,583 --> 00:59:20,709
Which, of course, is the
definition of a bribe.

1253
00:59:23,166 --> 00:59:26,583
Kapoor wanted doctors
to have twice the amount

1254
00:59:26,667 --> 00:59:29,250
of net revenue generated
by their prescriptions

1255
00:59:29,333 --> 00:59:33,458
as they were given an
honorarium in bribes.

1256
00:59:33,542 --> 00:59:36,625
You got to tell the doctor,
"Look, we are not Pfizer.

1257
00:59:36,709 --> 00:59:40,250
"We track every penny.
I'm held accountable.

1258
00:59:40,333 --> 00:59:42,959
"If we come to an agreement
that you're gonna speak

1259
00:59:43,041 --> 00:59:46,250
"and we're gonna pay
you honorarium to speak,

1260
00:59:46,333 --> 00:59:50,250
"you must clearly understand
that you will be expected

1261
00:59:50,333 --> 00:59:53,291
"to write double
of what we paid you

1262
00:59:53,375 --> 00:59:54,750
"back in prescriptions.

1263
00:59:54,834 --> 00:59:56,083
"And if it's not there,

1264
00:59:56,166 --> 00:59:58,417
"we're gonna reduce
your programs quickly,

1265
00:59:58,500 --> 01:00:00,017
"and then we're just
gonna basically...

1266
01:00:00,041 --> 01:00:02,000
You're gonna disappear
off the map."

1267
01:00:02,083 --> 01:00:03,417
Right?

1268
01:00:03,500 --> 01:00:04,875
The whole thig is disgusting.

1269
01:00:04,959 --> 01:00:07,542
- Kapoor, he had, like, a...
- A spreadsheet.

1270
01:00:07,625 --> 01:00:09,125
Excel spreadsheet.

1271
01:00:09,208 --> 01:00:11,125
In pharmaceuticals,
it's a "no-no."

1272
01:00:11,208 --> 01:00:13,208
It's a forbidden.
You don't do it.

1273
01:00:13,291 --> 01:00:15,000
For obvious reasons, right?

1274
01:00:15,083 --> 01:00:18,166
You start connecting the dots,
and things don't look so good.

1275
01:00:18,250 --> 01:00:20,291
It was the smoking gun.

1276
01:00:20,375 --> 01:00:21,975
They could look at a
list of prescribers,

1277
01:00:22,041 --> 01:00:23,976
and they could say, "Here's
what we've paid this person,

1278
01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:25,291
and here's their scripts."

1279
01:00:25,375 --> 01:00:26,851
And they could do the
simple math to see,

1280
01:00:26,875 --> 01:00:28,083
"Are we making money or not?"

1281
01:00:28,166 --> 01:00:30,458
That was a devastating
piece of evidence

1282
01:00:30,542 --> 01:00:32,667
because it showed
the true intent.

1283
01:00:35,333 --> 01:00:38,709
There was a doctor in
Illinois named Paul Madison.

1284
01:00:38,792 --> 01:00:40,083
He was associated with a doctor

1285
01:00:40,166 --> 01:00:41,959
called in the media
"Dr. Million Pills."

1286
01:00:42,041 --> 01:00:43,458
He had a practice with him.

1287
01:00:43,542 --> 01:00:45,875
There's one email
describing Madison's office

1288
01:00:45,959 --> 01:00:47,709
as a "shady pill mill."

1289
01:00:47,792 --> 01:00:49,166
And what do they do?

1290
01:00:49,250 --> 01:00:52,375
Sunrise Lee, she goes in,
and she flirts with him,

1291
01:00:52,458 --> 01:00:55,667
and she is seen giving
him a lap dance.

1292
01:00:55,750 --> 01:00:58,834
- Never happened, okay?
- It just... it never happened.

1293
01:00:58,917 --> 01:01:01,667
It's not even allowed to
happen at a dance club.

1294
01:01:01,750 --> 01:01:03,166
You would get booted out.

1295
01:01:03,250 --> 01:01:05,208
They sign him up as a speaker,

1296
01:01:05,291 --> 01:01:07,125
and they start bribing him.

1297
01:01:07,208 --> 01:01:10,166
And that happened all
around the United States.

1298
01:01:10,250 --> 01:01:11,625
And another doctor
they worked with

1299
01:01:11,709 --> 01:01:13,333
was Gavin Awerbuch in Michigan,

1300
01:01:13,417 --> 01:01:15,291
who ultimately became
the number-one prescriber

1301
01:01:15,375 --> 01:01:17,255
of substances in the
United States at one point,

1302
01:01:17,291 --> 01:01:21,667
was paid for three different
speaker programs a week.

1303
01:01:21,750 --> 01:01:24,166
A doctor suddenly isn't
a doctor anymore at all.

1304
01:01:24,250 --> 01:01:26,125
They're working for
Insys Therapeutics.

1305
01:01:26,208 --> 01:01:27,309
They're working for themselves.

1306
01:01:27,333 --> 01:01:28,375
They're working for money,

1307
01:01:28,458 --> 01:01:30,542
and the patient has
no knowledge of it.

1308
01:01:30,625 --> 01:01:33,166
It is truly frightening.

1309
01:02:01,625 --> 01:02:03,333
This is a Gallup poll.

1310
01:02:03,417 --> 01:02:05,208
America's ratings of honesty

1311
01:02:05,291 --> 01:02:08,250
and ethical standards
in professions.

1312
01:02:08,333 --> 01:02:10,917
Does anybody know what the
number-one profession is

1313
01:02:11,000 --> 01:02:12,417
in honesty and integrity?

1314
01:02:12,500 --> 01:02:14,458
Anyone, yell it out.

1315
01:02:14,542 --> 01:02:16,875
- Nursing.
- Who said that?

1316
01:02:16,959 --> 01:02:19,709
Who said nursing? You did.

1317
01:02:19,792 --> 01:02:21,083
Think about that.

1318
01:02:21,166 --> 01:02:24,917
Nurses, medical
doctors, and pharmacists

1319
01:02:25,000 --> 01:02:26,917
are one, two, and three.

1320
01:02:27,000 --> 01:02:28,917
You trust them.
Everybody trusts them.

1321
01:02:29,000 --> 01:02:31,041
Why? Because you go
there to get better.

1322
01:02:31,125 --> 01:02:33,583
You go there to get better.

1323
01:02:33,667 --> 01:02:35,959
Okay, that's important

1324
01:02:36,041 --> 01:02:40,542
because people trust their
medical professionals,

1325
01:02:40,625 --> 01:02:43,417
so they'll do what
they're told to do.

1326
01:02:43,500 --> 01:02:46,542
Okay? What's the bottom five?

1327
01:02:48,166 --> 01:02:51,250
-  Bingo!

1328
01:02:51,333 --> 01:02:53,375
Members of Congress are last.

1329
01:02:56,250 --> 01:02:58,125
But this... ahead of
'em are stockbrokers,

1330
01:02:58,208 --> 01:03:00,458
advertising practitioners,
telemarketers,

1331
01:03:00,542 --> 01:03:02,291
and car salespeople.

1332
01:03:02,375 --> 01:03:04,166
The bottom five.

1333
01:03:08,709 --> 01:03:13,750
More can and must be done to
treat this growing epidemic,

1334
01:03:13,834 --> 01:03:17,000
and that is why we have
all worked together

1335
01:03:17,083 --> 01:03:22,125
on HR 4709, the
Ensuring Patient Access

1336
01:03:22,208 --> 01:03:25,291
and Effective Drug
Enforcement Act of 2014.

1337
01:03:25,375 --> 01:03:28,125
What is The Ensuring
Patient Access

1338
01:03:28,208 --> 01:03:30,291
and Effective Drug
Enforcement Act?

1339
01:03:30,375 --> 01:03:32,667
- Sounds great, doesn't it?

1340
01:03:32,750 --> 01:03:36,125
I mean, what could
be wrong with that?

1341
01:03:36,208 --> 01:03:37,959
You know, you get...

1342
01:03:38,041 --> 01:03:39,875
Patients get access
to their medications,

1343
01:03:39,959 --> 01:03:42,875
and there's effective
law enforcement.

1344
01:03:42,959 --> 01:03:45,166
So why would anybody
be opposed to that?

1345
01:03:45,250 --> 01:03:47,834
This is one of these
kind of non sequiturs.

1346
01:03:47,917 --> 01:03:51,000
It's like one of the most
bizarre names for a bill

1347
01:03:51,083 --> 01:03:53,667
that does everything
the opposite.

1348
01:03:53,750 --> 01:03:57,333
Narrator: Instead of passing
a law to protect patients,

1349
01:03:57,417 --> 01:04:00,166
members of Congress
worked hard to pass a bill

1350
01:04:00,250 --> 01:04:03,709
that would undercut the
DEA's power to stop companies

1351
01:04:03,792 --> 01:04:07,250
from recklessly flooding
the country with narcotics.

1352
01:04:07,333 --> 01:04:08,792
To understand why,

1353
01:04:08,875 --> 01:04:10,875
it helps to look at how
Cardinal had retained

1354
01:04:10,959 --> 01:04:14,542
a former DEA official who
was perfectly positioned

1355
01:04:14,625 --> 01:04:18,208
to persuade Congress
to do the wrong thing.

1356
01:04:18,291 --> 01:04:19,709
The chair recognizes Mr. Barber.

1357
01:04:19,792 --> 01:04:21,184
Five minutes for an
opening statement.

1358
01:04:21,208 --> 01:04:22,375
Good morning, Mr. Chairman.

1359
01:04:22,458 --> 01:04:24,375
For the last 3 1/2
years as the director

1360
01:04:24,458 --> 01:04:26,959
of the DEA compliance
and litigation practice

1361
01:04:27,041 --> 01:04:28,041
at Quarels and Brady,

1362
01:04:28,125 --> 01:04:31,542
I have dealt with
registrants on a daily basis,

1363
01:04:31,625 --> 01:04:35,000
but prior to that, I was the
Associate Chief Counsel at DEA.

1364
01:04:35,083 --> 01:04:37,041
I worked at the
agency for 12 years...

1365
01:04:37,125 --> 01:04:39,792
Linden Barber left the DEA

1366
01:04:39,875 --> 01:04:42,000
and formed his own practice

1367
01:04:42,083 --> 01:04:44,291
within a law firm here in town,

1368
01:04:44,375 --> 01:04:46,583
representing the
very same companies

1369
01:04:46,667 --> 01:04:48,375
that he used to go after.

1370
01:04:48,458 --> 01:04:52,208
So around and around
and around it goes.

1371
01:04:52,291 --> 01:04:55,750
He brought with
him the knowledge

1372
01:04:55,834 --> 01:04:59,917
of where the DEA enforcement
regime is weakest,

1373
01:05:00,000 --> 01:05:02,417
and he started to advise
his clients to that effect.

1374
01:05:02,500 --> 01:05:04,250
If you have a DEA
compliance issue

1375
01:05:04,333 --> 01:05:06,417
or you're facing a
government investigation,

1376
01:05:06,500 --> 01:05:07,959
I'd be happy to hear from you.

1377
01:05:11,834 --> 01:05:15,250
According to email
traffic that we received,

1378
01:05:15,333 --> 01:05:18,208
there was an email
between a couple of people

1379
01:05:18,291 --> 01:05:19,792
at the Department of Justice,

1380
01:05:19,875 --> 01:05:23,959
and one person said Linden
Barber wrote this bill.

1381
01:05:25,500 --> 01:05:27,583
Narrator: The bill completely
changed the conditions

1382
01:05:27,667 --> 01:05:30,750
under which the DEA could
issue a suspension order.

1383
01:05:30,834 --> 01:05:34,417
It redefined the term
"imminent danger"

1384
01:05:34,500 --> 01:05:38,500
as a "substantial likelihood
of an immediate threat."

1385
01:05:41,583 --> 01:05:43,458
In law, language is everything.

1386
01:05:43,542 --> 01:05:46,834
So it would be impossible
for the DEA to show

1387
01:05:46,917 --> 01:05:51,834
that a drug distributor
based in Ohio or Connecticut

1388
01:05:51,917 --> 01:05:53,667
or Upstate New York

1389
01:05:53,750 --> 01:05:56,250
posed an immediate
threat of deaths

1390
01:05:56,333 --> 01:05:59,208
by sending drugs
downstream to a community

1391
01:05:59,291 --> 01:06:00,625
in West Virginia.

1392
01:06:00,709 --> 01:06:02,792
It's just impossible.

1393
01:06:02,875 --> 01:06:04,875
You could show before
it was imminent,

1394
01:06:04,959 --> 01:06:07,125
but you can't show now
that it's immediate.

1395
01:06:07,208 --> 01:06:08,792
So, if they passed
the legislation,

1396
01:06:08,875 --> 01:06:11,083
there would be no more
immediate shutdown

1397
01:06:11,166 --> 01:06:12,625
of narcotics distribution.

1398
01:06:12,709 --> 01:06:14,458
It could happen after a hearing,

1399
01:06:14,542 --> 01:06:16,125
but it couldn't happen

1400
01:06:16,208 --> 01:06:17,250
like that.

1401
01:06:17,333 --> 01:06:18,667
The Ensuring Patient Access

1402
01:06:18,750 --> 01:06:20,333
and Effective Drug
Enforcement Act

1403
01:06:20,417 --> 01:06:24,208
provides much-needed clarity in
the Controlled Substances Act.

1404
01:06:24,291 --> 01:06:26,834
And DEA's authority to
issue immediate suspensions

1405
01:06:26,917 --> 01:06:29,333
will be protected from
judicial curtailment

1406
01:06:29,417 --> 01:06:33,000
because there will be
a clear legal standard.

1407
01:06:33,083 --> 01:06:34,291
So, when Linden left

1408
01:06:34,375 --> 01:06:37,166
and then all these
people that I loved

1409
01:06:37,250 --> 01:06:40,000
and loved working with,
you know, begin leaving,

1410
01:06:40,083 --> 01:06:41,625
and they're leaving to go work

1411
01:06:41,709 --> 01:06:43,667
for who they claimed
were the bad guys.

1412
01:06:43,750 --> 01:06:47,041
And they take that same
righteous anger that they had

1413
01:06:47,125 --> 01:06:49,125
working for DEA,

1414
01:06:49,208 --> 01:06:51,333
and now they're using
that righteous anger

1415
01:06:51,417 --> 01:06:52,333
on the other side.

1416
01:06:52,417 --> 01:06:54,208
I don't know how you do that.

1417
01:06:54,291 --> 01:06:56,500
You know, if you go and
work for the drug company,

1418
01:06:56,583 --> 01:06:57,834
that's you.

1419
01:06:57,917 --> 01:06:59,709
I mean, that...
if you want to...

1420
01:06:59,792 --> 01:07:02,875
I never criticize a man for
how he's making his money.

1421
01:07:02,959 --> 01:07:06,542
As a former counsel who
appeared in federal courts,

1422
01:07:06,625 --> 01:07:08,375
assisted U.S. Attorney's office

1423
01:07:08,458 --> 01:07:11,375
in defending the suspension
power of the agency,

1424
01:07:11,458 --> 01:07:14,500
having a clear legal
standard is always best.

1425
01:07:14,583 --> 01:07:15,667
There are federal statutes

1426
01:07:15,750 --> 01:07:17,750
that were passed around
the same time as the CSA

1427
01:07:17,834 --> 01:07:20,333
that contained a definition
of imminent danger...

1428
01:07:20,417 --> 01:07:23,208
I had a conversation
with a key staff member

1429
01:07:23,291 --> 01:07:25,166
of the Energy and
Commerce Committee,

1430
01:07:25,250 --> 01:07:29,208
who said, "We actually
had somebody come up here"

1431
01:07:29,291 --> 01:07:32,208
"and testify who used
to work for the DEA.

1432
01:07:32,291 --> 01:07:34,125
"He was, like, a top
lawyer for the DEA

1433
01:07:34,208 --> 01:07:36,709
"who said that the law
needed to be clarified,

1434
01:07:36,792 --> 01:07:38,750
and it was really important."

1435
01:07:38,834 --> 01:07:41,834
And I said, "Who
was that lawyer?"

1436
01:07:41,917 --> 01:07:45,208
And the staffer said,
"It was Linden Barber."

1437
01:07:45,291 --> 01:07:48,250
And I said, "Do you know
who Linden Barber is?

1438
01:07:48,333 --> 01:07:49,476
Do you know who he works for?"

1439
01:07:49,500 --> 01:07:51,875
He's like, "No. Who
does he work for?"

1440
01:07:51,959 --> 01:07:55,083
I said, "He represents
all of these companies."

1441
01:07:57,208 --> 01:07:59,625
It was kind of a
stunning moment.

1442
01:07:59,709 --> 01:08:01,583
You don't really want to see

1443
01:08:01,667 --> 01:08:03,959
how the sausage is
made on Capitol Hill.

1444
01:08:09,333 --> 01:08:12,917
Our bill seeks to facilitate
greater collaboration

1445
01:08:13,000 --> 01:08:15,667
between industry
stakeholders and regulators

1446
01:08:15,750 --> 01:08:20,083
in our nation's effort to
combat prescription drug abuse.

1447
01:08:20,166 --> 01:08:23,291
Distributors and
pharmacists are finding

1448
01:08:23,375 --> 01:08:27,291
that he unnecessary adversarial
regulatory environment

1449
01:08:27,375 --> 01:08:32,083
created by the DEA is putting
effective enforcement outcomes

1450
01:08:32,166 --> 01:08:33,625
in jeopardy.

1451
01:08:33,709 --> 01:08:35,333
The company's lobbyists

1452
01:08:35,417 --> 01:08:37,792
basically came up
with a strategy...

1453
01:08:37,875 --> 01:08:42,125
"How can we stop the
DEA from picking on us

1454
01:08:42,208 --> 01:08:44,917
and bothering us
and hurting us?"

1455
01:08:45,000 --> 01:08:49,166
They zeroed in on this
congressman, Tom Marino,

1456
01:08:49,250 --> 01:08:53,417
and also Marsha
Blackburn from Tennessee.

1457
01:08:53,500 --> 01:08:54,583
You know, it's interesting,

1458
01:08:54,667 --> 01:08:56,351
'cause Tom Marino and
Marsha Blackburn's districts

1459
01:08:56,375 --> 01:08:58,458
were both really
hard hit by opioids.

1460
01:08:58,542 --> 01:09:01,125
To every family member

1461
01:09:01,208 --> 01:09:04,333
who has lost a loved
one to an overdose...

1462
01:09:04,417 --> 01:09:07,166
The drug industry
got them on board

1463
01:09:07,250 --> 01:09:09,834
to champion their cause.

1464
01:09:09,917 --> 01:09:13,166
McKesson, Cardinal
Health, AmerisourceBergen,

1465
01:09:13,250 --> 01:09:16,291
Purdue Pharma, CVS,
all these companies

1466
01:09:16,375 --> 01:09:19,000
were lobbying heavily
in support of this bill.

1467
01:09:19,083 --> 01:09:23,208
And most were paying Tom
Marino, Marsha Blackburn,

1468
01:09:23,291 --> 01:09:26,709
Orrin Hatch, and a host of
other members of Congress

1469
01:09:26,792 --> 01:09:30,333
a lot of money to
get this bill passed.

1470
01:09:30,417 --> 01:09:32,125
They're getting campaign money,

1471
01:09:32,208 --> 01:09:35,500
and industry lobbyists
are writing the questions

1472
01:09:35,583 --> 01:09:38,500
for them to ask
the DEA officials.

1473
01:09:40,291 --> 01:09:42,417
The chair recognizes Ms.
Blackburn for five minutes.

1474
01:09:42,500 --> 01:09:44,834
Thank you so much.

1475
01:09:44,917 --> 01:09:47,792
Mr. Rannazzisi... Am I
saying your name correctly?

1476
01:09:47,875 --> 01:09:49,667
- Yes, ma'am.
- I'm close enough, huh?

1477
01:09:49,750 --> 01:09:51,375
- Perfect.
- Okay.

1478
01:09:51,458 --> 01:09:56,041
You know, we all are
concerned about patients

1479
01:09:56,125 --> 01:09:58,875
that are in pain
that need medication.

1480
01:09:58,959 --> 01:10:02,250
Numerous seniors in my
district are complaining.

1481
01:10:02,333 --> 01:10:04,166
They call my office
on a regular basis

1482
01:10:04,250 --> 01:10:06,500
'cause they can't get
their pain medications.

1483
01:10:06,583 --> 01:10:07,685
It's critical that patients

1484
01:10:07,709 --> 01:10:09,559
who desperately need these
medicines have access

1485
01:10:09,583 --> 01:10:10,709
without undue delay.

1486
01:10:10,792 --> 01:10:12,226
I mean, what are we
doing to make sure

1487
01:10:12,250 --> 01:10:13,166
that these folks are heard from

1488
01:10:13,250 --> 01:10:14,959
and that the drugs
are available?

1489
01:10:15,041 --> 01:10:18,166
We do not want patients to
go without their medication,

1490
01:10:18,250 --> 01:10:20,333
true pain patients that
need their medication.

1491
01:10:20,417 --> 01:10:21,500
We don't want that.

1492
01:10:21,583 --> 01:10:22,500
But there is no...

1493
01:10:22,583 --> 01:10:23,935
Tell me what you're
doing about it.

1494
01:10:23,959 --> 01:10:25,208
Sometimes it seems that

1495
01:10:25,291 --> 01:10:28,208
all the DEA cares about is the
number of enforcement actions

1496
01:10:28,291 --> 01:10:30,166
and not real solutions
to stop the abuse.

1497
01:10:30,250 --> 01:10:33,041
- That's not correct.
- Provide us some data.

1498
01:10:33,125 --> 01:10:35,417
If you would go on our
website and look at the cases

1499
01:10:35,500 --> 01:10:38,750
that are posted on our
website, both on the case...

1500
01:10:38,834 --> 01:10:39,917
It would've been great

1501
01:10:40,000 --> 01:10:41,643
had you been prepared
to provide that for us.

1502
01:10:41,667 --> 01:10:44,792
Articulate what the efforts
are that the DEA is engaged in.

1503
01:10:44,875 --> 01:10:47,625
Besides the on-site
investigations that we do,

1504
01:10:47,709 --> 01:10:50,291
the cyclical investigations
to determine compliance

1505
01:10:50,375 --> 01:10:54,208
and to assist them in complying

1506
01:10:54,291 --> 01:10:55,542
you know, besides the fact

1507
01:10:55,625 --> 01:10:57,750
that they call in and
request assistance...

1508
01:10:57,834 --> 01:10:59,309
- Okay, well let me move on...
- Questions?

1509
01:10:59,333 --> 01:11:01,417
Then if it's laborious.

1510
01:11:01,500 --> 01:11:04,250
I think you were ticking
off... it's not laborious.

1511
01:11:04,333 --> 01:11:06,250
You asked me to
tick off what I do.

1512
01:11:06,333 --> 01:11:10,625
And 16,651 people in 2010 died

1513
01:11:10,709 --> 01:11:13,125
of opiate overdose, okay?

1514
01:11:13,208 --> 01:11:15,959
Opiate-associated overdose.
This is not a game.

1515
01:11:16,041 --> 01:11:17,041
We're not playing a game.

1516
01:11:17,125 --> 01:11:19,208
Nobody is saying
it is a game, sir.

1517
01:11:19,291 --> 01:11:21,291
Well, yeah, kind of you did,

1518
01:11:21,375 --> 01:11:23,917
because you're questioning
why we're doing this.

1519
01:11:24,000 --> 01:11:27,250
And all you had to do is go
back and look at the cases

1520
01:11:27,333 --> 01:11:30,792
that we did in '11, '12, '13,

1521
01:11:30,875 --> 01:11:32,458
all these different cases.

1522
01:11:32,542 --> 01:11:33,792
Go through the documents,

1523
01:11:33,875 --> 01:11:36,125
and you could see
what they were doing.

1524
01:11:36,208 --> 01:11:39,000
But for some reason,
Representative Blackburn

1525
01:11:39,083 --> 01:11:42,625
decided that she didn't want
the supply chain touched.

1526
01:11:42,709 --> 01:11:45,917
And I guess it's kind of a
Monday attitude sort of day.

1527
01:11:46,000 --> 01:11:48,000
So let me move on, okay?

1528
01:11:48,083 --> 01:11:51,166
I thought maybe you were
doing a little bit to help.

1529
01:11:52,625 --> 01:11:56,667
Then Representative
Blackburn and Tom Marino

1530
01:11:56,750 --> 01:11:58,709
were investigating
me for attempting

1531
01:11:58,792 --> 01:12:01,000
to intimidate Congress.

1532
01:12:01,083 --> 01:12:05,000
Joe Rannazzisi, a
senior DEA official,

1533
01:12:05,083 --> 01:12:09,500
has publicly accused
we sponsors of the bill

1534
01:12:09,583 --> 01:12:14,458
of "supporting criminals."

1535
01:12:14,542 --> 01:12:17,291
This offends me immensely.

1536
01:12:19,250 --> 01:12:22,667
What happened was we
had a telephone call,

1537
01:12:22,750 --> 01:12:24,709
and we started arguing.

1538
01:12:24,792 --> 01:12:28,125
And I said, "If
you pass this bill,

1539
01:12:28,208 --> 01:12:31,625
"it's going to stop us
from doing our jobs,

1540
01:12:31,709 --> 01:12:34,250
"our ability to stop
the hemorrhaging.

1541
01:12:34,333 --> 01:12:38,208
"And with all these people
dying, well, you know,

1542
01:12:38,291 --> 01:12:40,375
"if this bill passes, that
blood's on your hands.

1543
01:12:40,458 --> 01:12:42,417
It's not on mine."

1544
01:12:43,834 --> 01:12:45,250
They filed a complaint

1545
01:12:45,333 --> 01:12:47,709
with the Office of
the Inspector General.

1546
01:12:47,792 --> 01:12:50,750
Ultimately, that was
the end of my career.

1547
01:12:50,834 --> 01:12:51,750
It was a management change.

1548
01:12:51,834 --> 01:12:53,083
A new guy came in,

1549
01:12:53,166 --> 01:12:55,875
replaced me with a guy who had
no pharmaceutical experience,

1550
01:12:55,959 --> 01:13:00,250
and in 2015, after I retired,
they replaced my whole staff.

1551
01:13:00,333 --> 01:13:03,375
Now, this is important 'cause
this is the perfect storm

1552
01:13:03,458 --> 01:13:05,333
for bad policy
and legislation...

1553
01:13:05,417 --> 01:13:07,709
Regulatory pressure
on powerful industry,

1554
01:13:07,792 --> 01:13:09,542
money, lobbying, and Congress.

1555
01:13:09,625 --> 01:13:11,125
And that's exactly
what happened.

1556
01:13:11,208 --> 01:13:12,500
Without objection,

1557
01:13:12,583 --> 01:13:15,333
the bill was read a
third time and passed.

1558
01:13:15,417 --> 01:13:17,959
They all passed it
without even a vote.

1559
01:13:18,041 --> 01:13:20,083
It was just unanimous consent,

1560
01:13:20,166 --> 01:13:22,959
which just means
that it will pass,

1561
01:13:23,041 --> 01:13:24,750
but if one member of
Congress stands up

1562
01:13:24,834 --> 01:13:27,041
and says, "I'm against this,"

1563
01:13:27,125 --> 01:13:28,875
the bill stops
dead in its tracks,

1564
01:13:28,959 --> 01:13:29,976
and they have to vote on it.

1565
01:13:30,000 --> 01:13:34,208
Not one member of Congress
stood up and said,

1566
01:13:34,291 --> 01:13:36,208
"I object to this bill."

1567
01:13:36,291 --> 01:13:37,542
This is bipartisan.

1568
01:13:37,625 --> 01:13:39,250
The Democrats and
the Republicans

1569
01:13:39,333 --> 01:13:41,792
saw the importance in
this and got together.

1570
01:13:41,875 --> 01:13:44,792
People don't like
to hear this, but

1571
01:13:44,875 --> 01:13:48,542
nobody really realized what
the language change meant.

1572
01:13:48,625 --> 01:13:50,583
I don't think that they read it.

1573
01:13:50,667 --> 01:13:52,792
I think the vast majority
of bills that get passed

1574
01:13:52,875 --> 01:13:54,125
on Capitol Hill...

1575
01:13:54,208 --> 01:13:56,917
Legislators do not
read those bills.

1576
01:13:57,041 --> 01:13:58,792
And they had no
excuse for this one,

1577
01:13:58,875 --> 01:14:01,291
because it was,
like, three pages.

1578
01:14:01,375 --> 01:14:05,291
And the key paragraph
is on the first page.

1579
01:14:05,375 --> 01:14:07,792
They were just
asleep at the switch,

1580
01:14:07,875 --> 01:14:09,917
and they gutted
the DEA's ability

1581
01:14:10,000 --> 01:14:12,959
to go after these companies.

1582
01:14:13,041 --> 01:14:16,625
People were dying by
the tens of thousands,

1583
01:14:16,709 --> 01:14:18,792
and their own representatives

1584
01:14:18,875 --> 01:14:20,834
are basically selling
'em down the river.

1585
01:14:20,917 --> 01:14:23,458
It's one of the most outrageous
things I've ever seen

1586
01:14:23,542 --> 01:14:26,458
in the 35 years I've
been doing this.

1587
01:14:26,542 --> 01:14:30,417
Was there any controversy or
any pause by President Obama

1588
01:14:30,500 --> 01:14:33,834
when the law went to
his desk for signature?

1589
01:14:33,917 --> 01:14:35,291
None.

1590
01:14:35,375 --> 01:14:38,792
It just sailed right
through his office.

1591
01:14:38,875 --> 01:14:42,333
And it's... to this day,
it's, like, the big mystery.

1592
01:14:42,417 --> 01:14:44,542
I mean, nobody would talk to us.

1593
01:14:44,625 --> 01:14:47,208
The head of the DEA
wouldn't talk to us.

1594
01:14:47,291 --> 01:14:49,171
The head of the Office
of Management and Budget,

1595
01:14:49,250 --> 01:14:51,125
which signs off on every
piece of legislation,

1596
01:14:51,208 --> 01:14:52,333
wouldn't talk to us.

1597
01:14:52,417 --> 01:14:54,458
The top lawyer for
the White House

1598
01:14:54,542 --> 01:14:55,667
wouldn't talk to us.

1599
01:14:55,750 --> 01:14:58,208
The president
wouldn't talk to us.

1600
01:14:58,291 --> 01:15:00,208
It's incredibly unusual.

1601
01:15:00,291 --> 01:15:02,208
Mr. President-elect

1602
01:15:02,291 --> 01:15:04,458
narrator: The incoming
Trump administration pledged

1603
01:15:04,542 --> 01:15:07,333
to do better than Obama,
but when it came time

1604
01:15:07,417 --> 01:15:09,792
for Trump to announce
his drug czar,

1605
01:15:09,875 --> 01:15:12,625
he named Tom Marino,
the man who spearheaded

1606
01:15:12,709 --> 01:15:15,000
the law to protect
the opioid companies.

1607
01:15:17,417 --> 01:15:19,500
Following the passage
of the Marino bill,

1608
01:15:19,583 --> 01:15:23,542
opioid prescriptions soared
in some parts of the country.

1609
01:15:23,625 --> 01:15:25,917
Yet in many states, there
were also countercurrents

1610
01:15:26,000 --> 01:15:29,375
that swirled in
unpredictable ways.

1611
01:15:29,458 --> 01:15:31,250
As far back as 2012,

1612
01:15:31,333 --> 01:15:34,875
a building resistance
to opioids was colliding

1613
01:15:34,959 --> 01:15:38,041
with a growing
dependence on them.

1614
01:15:38,125 --> 01:15:39,333
You have millions of people

1615
01:15:39,417 --> 01:15:40,875
who start using these drugs

1616
01:15:40,959 --> 01:15:42,542
and become dependent.

1617
01:15:42,625 --> 01:15:43,875
And then

1618
01:15:43,959 --> 01:15:45,041
a series of things happen

1619
01:15:45,125 --> 01:15:48,709
that are good things that
should've happened earlier.

1620
01:15:48,792 --> 01:15:52,041
States start tightening
up regulations,

1621
01:15:52,125 --> 01:15:54,208
pill mills shut down,

1622
01:15:54,291 --> 01:15:56,291
doctors get a
little more careful

1623
01:15:56,375 --> 01:15:58,291
about writing prescriptions.

1624
01:15:58,375 --> 01:16:00,875
These changes are good
to one way of thinking,

1625
01:16:00,959 --> 01:16:03,542
in the sense that
they make it harder

1626
01:16:03,625 --> 01:16:07,417
to buy and abuse
pharmaceutical opioids.

1627
01:16:07,500 --> 01:16:10,041
But what that does is it
drives all these people

1628
01:16:10,125 --> 01:16:13,458
who are already addicted
on to the black market.

1629
01:16:15,500 --> 01:16:17,300
Narrator: The illegal
trafficking of narcotics

1630
01:16:17,333 --> 01:16:19,750
increased due to growing demand.

1631
01:16:19,834 --> 01:16:22,125
International drug
cartels catered to those

1632
01:16:22,208 --> 01:16:25,083
who had become addicted
to prescription pills.

1633
01:16:25,166 --> 01:16:27,291
As their need for
narcotics increased

1634
01:16:27,375 --> 01:16:28,709
and doctors were more reluctant

1635
01:16:28,792 --> 01:16:30,792
to prescribe rising doses,

1636
01:16:30,875 --> 01:16:32,750
users turned to heroin

1637
01:16:32,834 --> 01:16:36,083
and a synthetic opioid
50 times more powerful...

1638
01:16:36,166 --> 01:16:37,375
Fentanyl.

1639
01:16:44,041 --> 01:16:46,125
Fentanyl has been around,

1640
01:16:46,208 --> 01:16:47,959
you know, decades and decades

1641
01:16:48,041 --> 01:16:51,375
and still today has an
extremely important use

1642
01:16:51,458 --> 01:16:55,125
medically within the
medical community.

1643
01:16:55,208 --> 01:16:57,291
For the illicit side,

1644
01:16:57,375 --> 01:17:00,750
when OxyContin and these things
kind of came into the market

1645
01:17:00,834 --> 01:17:05,333
in the 1990s and then people
becoming physically addicted

1646
01:17:05,417 --> 01:17:07,333
to it unknowingly,

1647
01:17:07,417 --> 01:17:08,959
if we look at enforcement

1648
01:17:09,041 --> 01:17:11,625
against the pharmaceutical
industry that took place

1649
01:17:11,709 --> 01:17:14,959
and against doctors and how
things are being prescribed,

1650
01:17:15,041 --> 01:17:18,000
the people who
utilized those drugs,

1651
01:17:18,083 --> 01:17:20,834
they now were kind of
cut off in their supply.

1652
01:17:20,917 --> 01:17:25,625
And cartels and the
illicit side of the markets

1653
01:17:25,709 --> 01:17:27,792
went to fill the void.

1654
01:17:34,875 --> 01:17:38,500
This is the busiest port of
entry in the United States.

1655
01:17:38,583 --> 01:17:40,351
So we're talking about
thousands and thousands

1656
01:17:40,375 --> 01:17:44,166
and thousands of people
that come through every day.

1657
01:17:44,250 --> 01:17:45,625
The San Ysidro port,

1658
01:17:45,709 --> 01:17:49,291
the first time fentanyl
was really intercepted here

1659
01:17:49,375 --> 01:17:53,166
in bulk quantity was in 2014.

1660
01:17:53,250 --> 01:17:54,333
And since then,

1661
01:17:54,417 --> 01:17:57,250
it has just kind of
grown out exponentially.

1662
01:17:57,333 --> 01:18:00,709
It's just part of almost
daily intercept loads here.

1663
01:18:03,375 --> 01:18:08,250
I can tell you that there
is Chinese-produced fentanyl

1664
01:18:08,333 --> 01:18:11,875
that has entered the United
States through the port,

1665
01:18:11,959 --> 01:18:15,583
but there is also
illicitly made fentanyl

1666
01:18:15,667 --> 01:18:19,542
from other locations that
have come through the port.

1667
01:18:29,125 --> 01:18:31,500
narrator: Since 2015,

1668
01:18:31,583 --> 01:18:35,208
fentanyl overdoses have
been rising dramatically.

1669
01:18:35,291 --> 01:18:38,583
Rates have soared by
2,000% in San Diego,

1670
01:18:38,667 --> 01:18:40,208
where a federal task force

1671
01:18:40,291 --> 01:18:42,375
is seeking to prosecute dealers

1672
01:18:42,458 --> 01:18:44,166
for the deaths of their buyers.

1673
01:18:46,083 --> 01:18:48,583
One case involved a
24-year-old college student

1674
01:18:48,667 --> 01:18:50,583
named Sarah Fuzzell.

1675
01:18:50,667 --> 01:18:53,709
Her parents called her
their angel on Earth.

1676
01:18:53,792 --> 01:18:56,250
After getting hooked on
prescription painkillers,

1677
01:18:56,333 --> 01:18:58,417
she battled addiction
for five years

1678
01:18:58,500 --> 01:19:01,875
until the pandemic shut
down her support network.

1679
01:19:01,959 --> 01:19:03,583
After dropping out of school,

1680
01:19:03,667 --> 01:19:06,125
she died of a fentanyl overdose.

1681
01:19:07,875 --> 01:19:10,750
The father of the girl
who had passed away

1682
01:19:10,834 --> 01:19:12,917
had been reaching
out, and he said that

1683
01:19:13,000 --> 01:19:14,875
when he received
her property back,

1684
01:19:14,959 --> 01:19:16,917
her cell phone,
when it turned on

1685
01:19:17,000 --> 01:19:17,917
and was powered up,

1686
01:19:18,000 --> 01:19:19,542
that the person
that they believe

1687
01:19:19,625 --> 01:19:21,417
had sold the drugs
to their daughter

1688
01:19:21,500 --> 01:19:24,083
was still communicating
through the phone.

1689
01:19:25,625 --> 01:19:28,083
They gave us the phone
so we could utilize it

1690
01:19:28,166 --> 01:19:30,792
for investigative value.

1691
01:19:32,667 --> 01:19:34,347
You almost have to
manufacture the energy

1692
01:19:34,375 --> 01:19:36,250
to even want to reach out

1693
01:19:36,333 --> 01:19:38,291
to, like, law
enforcement... You guys...

1694
01:19:38,375 --> 01:19:39,458
Because, you know,

1695
01:19:39,542 --> 01:19:41,834
the ultimate goal of
wishing Sarah wasn't dead,

1696
01:19:41,917 --> 01:19:44,250
that's not a possibility
to change that.

1697
01:19:44,333 --> 01:19:46,542
So, you know, there's
probably some families

1698
01:19:46,625 --> 01:19:48,625
that just kind of
quietly go away

1699
01:19:48,709 --> 01:19:51,667
just because there's
so much hurt.

1700
01:19:51,750 --> 01:19:54,625
But we're wide open to doing
anything that we can do

1701
01:19:54,709 --> 01:19:56,500
- that will help.
- Yeah.

1702
01:19:56,583 --> 01:19:59,834
So let me just give you
kind of a quick rundown...

1703
01:19:59,917 --> 01:20:00,792
Okay.

1704
01:20:00,875 --> 01:20:02,750
Of kind of what took place.

1705
01:20:11,333 --> 01:20:14,667
We spent well over
40-straight man-hours...

1706
01:20:17,083 --> 01:20:21,333
Between about 15 to
30 people at one time

1707
01:20:21,417 --> 01:20:22,792
getting this to go down.

1708
01:20:24,375 --> 01:20:25,495
Basically what we're doing

1709
01:20:25,542 --> 01:20:28,792
is we're targeting a
suspected fentanyl distributor

1710
01:20:28,875 --> 01:20:30,542
who we believe is responsible

1711
01:20:30,625 --> 01:20:34,000
for a recent
overdose drug death.

1712
01:20:34,083 --> 01:20:35,959
And, essentially,
what we're doing

1713
01:20:36,041 --> 01:20:38,959
is we're trying to lure
the distributor out

1714
01:20:39,041 --> 01:20:40,625
to this particular parking lot,

1715
01:20:40,709 --> 01:20:43,375
and then we're gonna place
that person under arrest.

1716
01:21:00,291 --> 01:21:02,542
- So...
- Oh, sweet.

1717
01:22:10,166 --> 01:22:12,041
Yeah, Wasser to all
code five units.

1718
01:22:12,125 --> 01:22:14,208
Try to set something
up for tomorrow.

1719
01:22:14,291 --> 01:22:16,542
I think we've been pushy
enough for the day,

1720
01:22:16,625 --> 01:22:18,083
and I think it's just best

1721
01:22:18,166 --> 01:22:21,625
that we back off for
the moment, break.

1722
01:22:21,709 --> 01:22:23,125
We had a hard time.

1723
01:22:23,208 --> 01:22:24,625
We set up for it.

1724
01:22:24,709 --> 01:22:26,667
We spent the entire day waiting,

1725
01:22:26,750 --> 01:22:29,500
and we never were able
to make that contact.

1726
01:22:29,583 --> 01:22:30,959
Okay.

1727
01:22:31,041 --> 01:22:32,291
We really appreciate

1728
01:22:32,375 --> 01:22:34,615
what you and your task force
and all are doing, you know?

1729
01:22:34,667 --> 01:22:36,500
It's making a difference.

1730
01:22:39,709 --> 01:22:40,792
Every day

1731
01:22:40,875 --> 01:22:43,125
it is a continuous
game of cat and mouse,

1732
01:22:43,208 --> 01:22:46,166
where, you know, the
impact of the death

1733
01:22:46,250 --> 01:22:51,583
is one piece of
this entire puzzle.

1734
01:22:51,667 --> 01:22:54,458
You have people who are
nefariously producing it,

1735
01:22:54,542 --> 01:22:56,291
people who are buying,
procuring chemicals,

1736
01:22:56,375 --> 01:22:57,834
moving that stuff
around the world,

1737
01:22:57,917 --> 01:23:01,291
looking for people to
perfect a new recipe

1738
01:23:01,375 --> 01:23:04,542
or way to market
it in a faster way.

1739
01:23:06,792 --> 01:23:09,709
narrator: To figure out the
puzzle of the opioid crisis,

1740
01:23:09,792 --> 01:23:12,000
you have to look for
ill-fitting pieces

1741
01:23:12,083 --> 01:23:14,417
all over the country.

1742
01:23:14,500 --> 01:23:15,959
In Lubbock, Texas,

1743
01:23:16,041 --> 01:23:18,000
the DEA opened an investigation

1744
01:23:18,083 --> 01:23:21,000
into a possible drug
cartel operation

1745
01:23:21,083 --> 01:23:23,667
when the medical examiner
reported a sudden rise

1746
01:23:23,750 --> 01:23:26,291
in deaths from
fentanyl overdoses.

1747
01:23:26,375 --> 01:23:29,333
But something
surprised the agents.

1748
01:23:29,417 --> 01:23:30,834
The likely kingpin turned out

1749
01:23:30,917 --> 01:23:33,208
not to be a
professional criminal.

1750
01:23:33,291 --> 01:23:34,542
Instead,

1751
01:23:34,625 --> 01:23:37,500
all evidence seemed to lead
to a local computer repair man

1752
01:23:37,583 --> 01:23:39,166
named Caleb Lanier.

1753
01:24:07,625 --> 01:24:09,267
I guess there's a
couple times in my life

1754
01:24:09,291 --> 01:24:12,542
where I could've walked
away, but it's so hard.

1755
01:24:12,625 --> 01:24:14,709
When the doctors start
prescribing these drugs,

1756
01:24:14,792 --> 01:24:16,208
get you addicted to them,

1757
01:24:16,291 --> 01:24:18,667
it numbs you, and it's dangerous

1758
01:24:18,750 --> 01:24:22,083
because somebody that's
depressed and has anxiety

1759
01:24:22,166 --> 01:24:24,083
and now doesn't feel
the fears and doesn't...

1760
01:24:24,166 --> 01:24:26,041
They're going to do
things like I did.

1761
01:24:26,125 --> 01:24:27,125
They are.

1762
01:24:33,667 --> 01:24:36,250
I grew up in a little town
called Clovis, New Mexico.

1763
01:24:36,333 --> 01:24:38,917
It's on the border of
Texas and New Mexico.

1764
01:24:39,000 --> 01:24:41,750
About 40,000 people at the time.

1765
01:24:41,834 --> 01:24:43,625
Pretty normal family.

1766
01:24:43,709 --> 01:24:45,333
My parents did
everything they could

1767
01:24:45,417 --> 01:24:47,583
to help me the best they could.

1768
01:24:47,667 --> 01:24:49,267
Three sisters that
are all older than me,

1769
01:24:49,333 --> 01:24:51,542
so definitely got picked
on a little bit from them,

1770
01:24:51,625 --> 01:24:52,643
but I knew they all loved me

1771
01:24:52,667 --> 01:24:54,250
and I had support, so, you know,

1772
01:24:54,333 --> 01:24:56,625
it wasn't a matter of me not
having loved ones around me

1773
01:24:56,709 --> 01:24:58,750
or growing up in a
rough neighborhood

1774
01:24:58,834 --> 01:25:02,208
or anything like that that led
to the path that I'm at now.

1775
01:25:08,041 --> 01:25:10,959
Now, I got ran over by
a pickup truck in 2001.

1776
01:25:11,041 --> 01:25:14,625
Ran across my right
leg, across my chest,

1777
01:25:14,709 --> 01:25:16,458
and up off my left shoulder.

1778
01:25:16,542 --> 01:25:17,559
Needless to say,
from that point on,

1779
01:25:17,583 --> 01:25:19,458
I've dealt with pain
my entire life...

1780
01:25:19,542 --> 01:25:21,375
Physical pain,
emotional pain as well.

1781
01:25:21,458 --> 01:25:24,250
It's hard to even talk about it.

1782
01:25:24,333 --> 01:25:26,458
I started taking
very heavy opiates.

1783
01:25:26,542 --> 01:25:27,625
I was being prescribed

1784
01:25:27,709 --> 01:25:30,458
40 milligrams of OxyContin
with 2 milligrams Xanax

1785
01:25:30,542 --> 01:25:31,750
from day one,

1786
01:25:31,834 --> 01:25:33,851
and that's huge amounts of
opiates and Xanax together,

1787
01:25:33,875 --> 01:25:36,792
which is not supposed to be
prescribed to begin with.

1788
01:25:36,875 --> 01:25:38,667
I became addicted
pretty quickly.

1789
01:25:41,083 --> 01:25:44,083
He would go to a doctor
in Portales, New Mexico.

1790
01:25:44,166 --> 01:25:46,291
I went with him a
couple of times.

1791
01:25:46,375 --> 01:25:49,000
He would say, "Oh, I
researched this medication,

1792
01:25:49,083 --> 01:25:50,000
and I'd like to try it."

1793
01:25:50,083 --> 01:25:52,500
And she said, "Okay, Caleb."

1794
01:25:52,583 --> 01:25:54,500
The first time, I didn't
think anything of it.

1795
01:25:54,583 --> 01:25:56,875
And then after a couple of times

1796
01:25:56,959 --> 01:25:58,709
and him switching up medications

1797
01:25:58,792 --> 01:26:01,333
and her not even
looking into it,

1798
01:26:01,417 --> 01:26:03,417
just prescribing him
whatever he wanted,

1799
01:26:03,500 --> 01:26:05,291
I said, "Wow, I don't think

1800
01:26:05,375 --> 01:26:07,500
that she should be prescribing
you whatever you want."

1801
01:26:07,583 --> 01:26:09,500
And he said, "Oh, no,
she's my family doctor.

1802
01:26:09,583 --> 01:26:11,667
She trusts me. She knows
I do the research."

1803
01:26:11,750 --> 01:26:14,125
And that was probably
my first inkling

1804
01:26:14,208 --> 01:26:16,125
that, you know,
something was wrong.

1805
01:26:18,750 --> 01:26:19,834
Pain has an issue

1806
01:26:19,917 --> 01:26:22,000
of causing people
to become depressed.

1807
01:26:22,083 --> 01:26:23,959
I mean, it's just... It's
part of it, you know?

1808
01:26:24,041 --> 01:26:25,361
When you deal with
it every day...

1809
01:26:25,417 --> 01:26:26,834
I explain it like
a roller coaster,

1810
01:26:26,917 --> 01:26:28,226
and you're on that
roller coaster,

1811
01:26:28,250 --> 01:26:29,768
and you're getting nauseous,
and you're about to vomit,

1812
01:26:29,792 --> 01:26:31,667
and every time the roller
coaster comes around,

1813
01:26:31,750 --> 01:26:34,166
you're looking at the guy
that has that stop switch.

1814
01:26:34,250 --> 01:26:36,417
And you're like, "Stop
this thing. I want off."

1815
01:26:36,500 --> 01:26:40,083
But there's no stopping.
It's the rest of your life.

1816
01:26:40,166 --> 01:26:41,375
It wears on you.

1817
01:26:41,458 --> 01:26:42,935
You look at the things that
you used to be able to do,

1818
01:26:42,959 --> 01:26:44,476
the things you want to
do with your family,

1819
01:26:44,500 --> 01:26:46,220
the things you want to
do with your friends,

1820
01:26:46,291 --> 01:26:47,834
and you can't do them.

1821
01:26:50,834 --> 01:26:52,375
I got where I was using so much

1822
01:26:52,458 --> 01:26:55,041
that I would go through
my entire prescription

1823
01:26:55,125 --> 01:26:58,583
within the first four
days of the month.

1824
01:26:58,667 --> 01:27:00,333
You're so tired of
this roller coaster,

1825
01:27:00,417 --> 01:27:03,417
you'd rather just put
a needle in your arm

1826
01:27:03,500 --> 01:27:06,041
and make the pain go away.

1827
01:27:06,125 --> 01:27:09,458
I started using
heroin at that point.

1828
01:27:09,542 --> 01:27:11,625
Heroin worked for a
short period of time,

1829
01:27:11,709 --> 01:27:13,208
but it was too expensive.

1830
01:27:13,291 --> 01:27:15,709
I had also been on fentanyl,

1831
01:27:15,792 --> 01:27:20,750
and that led to me finding
it on the Internet.

1832
01:27:33,333 --> 01:27:34,709
The first thing that we saw...

1833
01:27:34,792 --> 01:27:36,417
There was a shipment of fentanyl

1834
01:27:36,500 --> 01:27:38,208
that was destined
to Lubbock, Texas,

1835
01:27:38,291 --> 01:27:40,583
that was seized by Customs
and Border Protection

1836
01:27:40,667 --> 01:27:43,417
in November of 2015.

1837
01:27:43,500 --> 01:27:45,709
We started talking to
Lubbock Police Department,

1838
01:27:45,792 --> 01:27:47,458
the sheriff's office,
narcotics units,

1839
01:27:47,542 --> 01:27:49,662
and we discovered that they
were also seeing an uptick

1840
01:27:49,709 --> 01:27:50,625
in fentanyl.

1841
01:27:50,709 --> 01:27:53,792
They were buying it
in street-level sales.

1842
01:27:53,875 --> 01:27:57,667
And then we had several people
that walked into our door

1843
01:27:57,750 --> 01:28:01,291
that were fentanyl users
that had gone to drug rehab.

1844
01:28:01,375 --> 01:28:05,041
We took the intelligence
from those individuals,

1845
01:28:05,125 --> 01:28:08,875
and we started extensive
surveillance on Caleb Lanier.

1846
01:28:08,959 --> 01:28:10,500
And we discovered that, yes,

1847
01:28:10,583 --> 01:28:13,291
this is the person that's
using the dark web,

1848
01:28:13,375 --> 01:28:15,500
reaching out to labs
in China directly.

1849
01:28:15,583 --> 01:28:17,333
- Hello, everyone.

1850
01:28:17,417 --> 01:28:20,208
We are the vendor of
research chemical products.

1851
01:28:20,291 --> 01:28:23,834
Include 2-FDCK, etizolam...

1852
01:28:26,500 --> 01:28:28,834
He had a wood shed
behind his house

1853
01:28:28,917 --> 01:28:32,208
that he used as a
modified chemistry lab.

1854
01:28:32,291 --> 01:28:34,041
He was experimenting extensively

1855
01:28:34,125 --> 01:28:37,166
with different
variants of fentanyl...

1856
01:28:37,250 --> 01:28:39,041
Furanyl fentanyl,
acrylofentanyl.

1857
01:28:39,125 --> 01:28:40,834
And he was tweaking them

1858
01:28:40,917 --> 01:28:42,333
and he was using them on himself

1859
01:28:42,417 --> 01:28:45,375
to try to figure out which
provided the best high,

1860
01:28:45,458 --> 01:28:47,000
which lasted the longest,

1861
01:28:47,083 --> 01:28:49,667
and he figured out a way that
he could maximize his profits

1862
01:28:49,750 --> 01:28:51,667
while he was also
treating himself.

1863
01:28:54,333 --> 01:28:55,792
I thought I was a good father.

1864
01:28:55,875 --> 01:28:57,101
I thought I was a good husband,

1865
01:28:57,125 --> 01:29:01,834
but it look back at it sober
and realize it's insane.

1866
01:29:01,917 --> 01:29:03,333
Most heroin addicts
might shoot up

1867
01:29:03,417 --> 01:29:04,667
two, three times a day.

1868
01:29:04,750 --> 01:29:06,166
I was shooting 20 times a day.

1869
01:29:06,250 --> 01:29:08,333
There was times I
was so high, right,

1870
01:29:08,417 --> 01:29:11,542
that I would fall asleep
while I'm counting $100 bills.

1871
01:29:11,625 --> 01:29:13,166
I would have to get my children

1872
01:29:13,250 --> 01:29:14,625
to help me count the money.

1873
01:29:18,125 --> 01:29:22,375
Lanier, he was a victim
of the opioid epidemic,

1874
01:29:22,458 --> 01:29:25,417
but then he starting
selling, distributing,

1875
01:29:25,500 --> 01:29:28,542
and he realized the
profitability in it.

1876
01:29:28,625 --> 01:29:32,041
He could import 200 grams
of fentanyl from China

1877
01:29:32,125 --> 01:29:34,500
for around $3,500,

1878
01:29:34,583 --> 01:29:38,875
and he was making over
$300,000 in profit.

1879
01:29:38,959 --> 01:29:41,709
He started developing
ways to launder his money.

1880
01:29:41,792 --> 01:29:43,667
He had a new business

1881
01:29:43,750 --> 01:29:46,917
that had a lot of cash
deposits that weren't normal.

1882
01:29:47,000 --> 01:29:48,709
He started recruiting
other people

1883
01:29:48,792 --> 01:29:50,542
to sell fentanyl in the street,

1884
01:29:50,625 --> 01:29:54,041
to gather money to
take back to Lanier.

1885
01:29:54,125 --> 01:29:56,709
He became the leader of a
drug-trafficking organization.

1886
01:29:58,333 --> 01:30:00,750
The fentanyl that they were
bringing in the community

1887
01:30:00,834 --> 01:30:02,583
attracted a whole
new branch of people

1888
01:30:02,667 --> 01:30:05,291
that normally wouldn't even
be associated with opioids.

1889
01:30:05,375 --> 01:30:08,083
We had people from
all walks of life

1890
01:30:08,166 --> 01:30:09,375
overdosing on fentanyl,

1891
01:30:09,458 --> 01:30:11,750
and we knew that
if we didn't get

1892
01:30:11,834 --> 01:30:13,083
a handle on it really quick,

1893
01:30:13,166 --> 01:30:15,542
it was gonna be a bigger
and bigger problem.

1894
01:30:19,458 --> 01:30:20,750
When you look at this problem,

1895
01:30:20,834 --> 01:30:22,834
it can look, from a distance,

1896
01:30:22,917 --> 01:30:25,583
forbiddingly complex,
but, actually,

1897
01:30:25,667 --> 01:30:29,458
there's a mechanism that should
be pretty easy to understand.

1898
01:30:29,542 --> 01:30:31,917
So what Purdue
would say today...

1899
01:30:32,000 --> 01:30:33,750
What a lot of these
pharmaceutical companies

1900
01:30:33,834 --> 01:30:35,917
say today is...

1901
01:30:36,000 --> 01:30:38,250
"Don't blame us for
the opioid crisis.

1902
01:30:38,333 --> 01:30:40,583
"These people today,
they're dying from heroin.

1903
01:30:40,667 --> 01:30:42,458
They're dying from fentanyl."

1904
01:30:42,542 --> 01:30:44,667
As though the roots
of this thing,

1905
01:30:44,750 --> 01:30:46,667
it was some foreign invasion,

1906
01:30:46,750 --> 01:30:50,417
when the truth is that the
pharmaceutical companies

1907
01:30:50,500 --> 01:30:53,125
got very good at getting
people on to opioids

1908
01:30:53,208 --> 01:30:55,625
but not at getting them off.

1909
01:31:10,250 --> 01:31:12,792
Titration, it's actually
the responsible thing to do,

1910
01:31:12,875 --> 01:31:14,458
but not in this regard.

1911
01:31:14,542 --> 01:31:17,417
But, typically, what you're
supposed to do is start low,

1912
01:31:17,500 --> 01:31:18,750
and titrate slow.

1913
01:31:18,834 --> 01:31:21,333
You're supposed to titrate
up to the appropriate level.

1914
01:31:21,417 --> 01:31:22,333
Now, this is something

1915
01:31:22,417 --> 01:31:23,893
that happens in
medicine all the time,

1916
01:31:23,917 --> 01:31:25,667
and it's totally normal, right?

1917
01:31:25,750 --> 01:31:28,000
Start the low dose,
play it conservative.

1918
01:31:28,083 --> 01:31:31,083
It's simply about balancing
the side effects with efficacy.

1919
01:31:40,917 --> 01:31:43,083
But at Insys, was the
higher, the better.

1920
01:31:43,166 --> 01:31:45,375
It was called the
effective dose campaign.

1921
01:31:45,458 --> 01:31:48,709
It was a campaign that was
created by Dr. John Kapoor.

1922
01:31:51,417 --> 01:31:52,667
What Kapoor said unequivocally

1923
01:31:52,750 --> 01:31:55,166
and what is in black
and white in emails

1924
01:31:55,250 --> 01:31:56,834
is they knew that if you got

1925
01:31:56,917 --> 01:31:58,333
to a 400-microgram
dose or higher,

1926
01:31:58,417 --> 01:32:00,333
they would stay on
the drug longer,

1927
01:32:00,417 --> 01:32:02,542
and so they'd make more money.

1928
01:32:06,917 --> 01:32:08,250
In the context of this video,

1929
01:32:08,333 --> 01:32:11,041
it's like titrate means,
like, goose up the dosage,

1930
01:32:11,125 --> 01:32:12,309
and then we're gonna
make more money.

1931
01:32:12,333 --> 01:32:15,542
- Is that the idea?

1932
01:32:15,625 --> 01:32:16,500
Yes.

1933
01:32:16,583 --> 01:32:17,726
They spent a lot
of time and energy

1934
01:32:17,750 --> 01:32:20,041
trying to convince
sales reps to do this,

1935
01:32:20,125 --> 01:32:22,542
and some of the more
absurd aspects of the case

1936
01:32:22,625 --> 01:32:23,875
with this bottle,

1937
01:32:23,959 --> 01:32:26,542
of a 1,600-microgram
dose of Subsys

1938
01:32:26,625 --> 01:32:28,583
dancing around to a rap

1939
01:32:28,667 --> 01:32:30,667
written over a popular
A$AP Rocky song,

1940
01:32:30,750 --> 01:32:32,110
trying to convince
the sales force,

1941
01:32:32,166 --> 01:32:34,375
"Go tell your doctor
titration's not a problem."

1942
01:32:36,959 --> 01:32:39,542
That video was the
worst possible move

1943
01:32:39,625 --> 01:32:40,792
we could've ever made.

1944
01:32:40,875 --> 01:32:44,542
We asked the sales force to
put together a short video,

1945
01:32:44,625 --> 01:32:47,917
and then we would provide
the award to the best video.

1946
01:32:48,000 --> 01:32:49,250
All right, dude!

1947
01:32:49,333 --> 01:32:50,976
- Dude, we killed it last year.
- We demolished it last year.

1948
01:32:51,000 --> 01:32:52,280
Reps are gonna be
gunning for us.

1949
01:32:52,333 --> 01:32:53,417
Absolutely.

1950
01:32:53,500 --> 01:32:56,709
So these two really
sharp, good-looking guys,

1951
01:32:56,792 --> 01:32:58,834
you know, who look like
models, supermodels...

1952
01:33:01,166 --> 01:33:02,709
Obviously, they went all-out.

1953
01:33:06,000 --> 01:33:08,166
And they're phenomenal
salespeople, by the way.

1954
01:33:15,625 --> 01:33:18,125
When that video first
came through email,

1955
01:33:18,208 --> 01:33:20,917
I'm watching this
video, and I'm engaged.

1956
01:33:21,000 --> 01:33:22,417
I was enthusiastic

1957
01:33:22,500 --> 01:33:25,000
and actually was a
little bit emotional.

1958
01:33:27,709 --> 01:33:29,351
I said, "I can't believe
the effort they put in.

1959
01:33:29,375 --> 01:33:30,375
I'm touched."

1960
01:33:48,166 --> 01:33:49,250
The person in the costume

1961
01:33:49,333 --> 01:33:52,458
dancing and singing and
rapping, that's not me.

1962
01:33:52,542 --> 01:33:54,059
People who know me,
they know I can't dance.

1963
01:33:54,083 --> 01:33:55,250
They know I can't rap.

1964
01:33:55,333 --> 01:33:56,493
"Yeah, I'm a 5'8" Jewish guy.

1965
01:33:56,542 --> 01:33:58,250
I mean, it's just not happening.

1966
01:34:05,875 --> 01:34:07,333
Months later, they go,

1967
01:34:07,417 --> 01:34:09,166
"You got to put this costume on,

1968
01:34:09,250 --> 01:34:10,875
"and we're gonna
reveal it at the end

1969
01:34:10,959 --> 01:34:13,291
that you're the guy
in the costume."

1970
01:34:15,125 --> 01:34:16,333
Whoo!

1971
01:34:16,417 --> 01:34:18,625
Nine takes later, an
hour and a half later,

1972
01:34:18,709 --> 01:34:20,000
this frickin' thing is done.

1973
01:34:23,125 --> 01:34:25,166
Just in terms of shedding light

1974
01:34:25,250 --> 01:34:27,000
on the corporate culture, right?

1975
01:34:27,083 --> 01:34:28,542
John Kapoor is in the room

1976
01:34:28,625 --> 01:34:31,667
while this video
is being played.

1977
01:34:31,750 --> 01:34:33,726
This is two years after
they've received a subpoena

1978
01:34:33,750 --> 01:34:36,542
from the government looking
into their practices.

1979
01:34:36,625 --> 01:34:38,333
As all this was happening,

1980
01:34:38,417 --> 01:34:41,333
you took a pretty
confident approach,

1981
01:34:41,417 --> 01:34:43,375
in terms of... you gave a speech

1982
01:34:43,458 --> 01:34:45,101
at, like, a rep conference
or something like that,

1983
01:34:45,125 --> 01:34:47,166
and one of the things you
said up at the top was,

1984
01:34:47,250 --> 01:34:48,834
- "Oh, any spies here?"
- Mm-hmm.

1985
01:34:48,917 --> 01:34:50,542
You referred to
the investigation.

1986
01:34:50,625 --> 01:34:52,041
Mm-hmm.

1987
01:34:52,125 --> 01:34:53,250
You must've had an idea

1988
01:34:53,333 --> 01:34:54,935
that there was something
worth investigating.

1989
01:34:54,959 --> 01:34:57,101
But why were you so confident
that nothing was gonna happen?

1990
01:34:57,125 --> 01:35:00,500
- I wasn't confident.
- I was scared as heck.

1991
01:35:00,583 --> 01:35:02,750
I talked to my dad every night,

1992
01:35:02,834 --> 01:35:05,166
and I'm like, "How do I get
out of this freakin' place?"

1993
01:35:05,250 --> 01:35:06,875
He's like, "Just leave."

1994
01:35:06,959 --> 01:35:08,101
And I'm like, "But
they did this,

1995
01:35:08,125 --> 01:35:09,434
"and they did that,
and they have this,

1996
01:35:09,458 --> 01:35:11,267
"and they told me to do this,
and no matter what I do,

1997
01:35:11,291 --> 01:35:12,417
"I'm gonna be in trouble,

1998
01:35:12,500 --> 01:35:13,940
and they promised
me all this money,"

1999
01:35:14,000 --> 01:35:16,500
and all these stupid things.

2000
01:35:17,917 --> 01:35:19,810
I mean, from the moment
I woke up in the morning,

2001
01:35:19,834 --> 01:35:21,976
my heart would be just pounding
through my chest, you know?

2002
01:35:22,000 --> 01:35:24,041
And the whole drive
to the office,

2003
01:35:24,125 --> 01:35:27,417
just pounding,
pounding, pounding.

2004
01:35:27,500 --> 01:35:29,250
This is in Chandler, Arizona.

2005
01:35:29,333 --> 01:35:31,083
We moved, like,
two or three times.

2006
01:35:31,166 --> 01:35:33,917
This was the final office
that I was a part of.

2007
01:35:34,000 --> 01:35:35,917
You know, my kids
were in a new school.

2008
01:35:36,000 --> 01:35:37,125
We're in a new place.

2009
01:35:37,208 --> 01:35:38,750
My wife's trying
to get adjusted.

2010
01:35:38,834 --> 01:35:40,583
I forced 'em to make this move.

2011
01:35:40,667 --> 01:35:43,542
And the numbers come in
while I'm driving to work,

2012
01:35:43,625 --> 01:35:44,542
always.

2013
01:35:44,625 --> 01:35:46,375
Literally, you're just
holding your phone.

2014
01:35:46,458 --> 01:35:47,542
Boom. There it shows up.

2015
01:35:47,625 --> 01:35:49,583
213, 330, whatever.

2016
01:35:49,667 --> 01:35:51,750
"Alec, what plan of action
do you have in place?

2017
01:35:51,834 --> 01:35:53,583
"Alec, do you have
a flight booked?

2018
01:35:53,667 --> 01:35:54,709
"Where are you staying?

2019
01:35:54,792 --> 01:35:57,583
"Why is your flight not
booked? Are you a moron?

2020
01:35:57,667 --> 01:35:58,583
"I don't understand.

2021
01:35:58,667 --> 01:36:01,709
The guy's down 18%
from last week."

2022
01:36:01,792 --> 01:36:04,083
"Dr. Kapoor, can I speak?"

2023
01:36:04,166 --> 01:36:05,375
"No!

2024
01:36:05,458 --> 01:36:07,750
"Alec, you're VP of sales.
Where are the prescriptions?

2025
01:36:07,834 --> 01:36:08,750
"They're not there?

2026
01:36:08,834 --> 01:36:10,250
"Pack your bags, grab your kids,

2027
01:36:10,333 --> 01:36:13,750
grab your wife,
catch a bus home."

2028
01:36:13,834 --> 01:36:17,041
People were getting
fired left and right.

2029
01:36:17,125 --> 01:36:18,851
I don't know if it's
different for anybody else,

2030
01:36:18,875 --> 01:36:19,959
but for me,

2031
01:36:20,041 --> 01:36:23,625
because I entered in
knowing, if I don't produce,

2032
01:36:23,709 --> 01:36:26,917
that I'm dispensable
at any point regardless

2033
01:36:27,000 --> 01:36:30,166
because I'm the one that
didn't have the degree.

2034
01:36:30,250 --> 01:36:33,792
But the culture, definitely

2035
01:36:33,875 --> 01:36:35,750
it wasn't an equal culture.

2036
01:36:35,834 --> 01:36:40,250
I heard about other
relationships with girls

2037
01:36:40,333 --> 01:36:43,125
and executives,

2038
01:36:43,208 --> 01:36:47,959
and once they had
expired...

2039
01:36:48,041 --> 01:36:51,291
Then you're dispensable, right?

2040
01:36:54,125 --> 01:36:56,041
A lot of pressure.

2041
01:36:56,125 --> 01:36:57,542
A lot of pressure.

2042
01:36:57,625 --> 01:37:00,792
"Do this or this."

2043
01:37:00,875 --> 01:37:04,542
The relationship with
Alec didn't help.

2044
01:37:04,625 --> 01:37:07,166
It was very volatile.

2045
01:37:07,250 --> 01:37:11,166
What's very weird is Alec
was saying things like,

2046
01:37:11,250 --> 01:37:13,500
"I'm out of time.
I'm out of time."

2047
01:37:13,583 --> 01:37:16,875
And I was pressuring him to
tell me what is going on,

2048
01:37:16,959 --> 01:37:21,208
and he pulled out a gun
out of his glovebox,

2049
01:37:21,291 --> 01:37:25,166
and he was like, "You see?
I'm carrying this gun."

2050
01:37:25,250 --> 01:37:27,208
He's like, "You don't
know. I'm carrying this.

2051
01:37:27,291 --> 01:37:30,000
I got to protect myself."

2052
01:37:30,083 --> 01:37:33,166
He had obviously
been treated poorly

2053
01:37:33,250 --> 01:37:35,500
by the company.

2054
01:37:35,583 --> 01:37:38,834
I think that he became aware

2055
01:37:38,917 --> 01:37:42,917
that he was gonna be the
scapegoat in the case,

2056
01:37:43,000 --> 01:37:47,542
that the other defendants
were going to blame Burlakoff.

2057
01:37:47,625 --> 01:37:50,875
The company told
me nothing, ever.

2058
01:37:50,959 --> 01:37:52,709
I asked a million times,

2059
01:37:52,792 --> 01:37:53,935
"What happened
with this doctor?"

2060
01:37:53,959 --> 01:37:55,601
"Why did this doctor
get arrested? What..."

2061
01:37:55,625 --> 01:37:57,375
"I heard a patient
passed away. What..."

2062
01:37:57,458 --> 01:38:00,709
"Ne... Alex, stay in your
lane. What's your lane? Sales."

2063
01:38:00,792 --> 01:38:04,542
I think a lot of people who
have been in legal situations

2064
01:38:04,625 --> 01:38:07,875
would understand what
I'm talking about.

2065
01:38:07,959 --> 01:38:09,500
It's just no way to live,

2066
01:38:09,583 --> 01:38:12,041
wondering when the other
shoe is gonna drop.

2067
01:38:17,834 --> 01:38:19,583
He reached out again.

2068
01:38:19,667 --> 01:38:21,041
We were actually able to

2069
01:38:21,125 --> 01:38:23,792
get him telling us a location.

2070
01:38:23,875 --> 01:38:26,667
We're gonna try to bounce
him from 6th over to 4th,

2071
01:38:26,750 --> 01:38:29,417
kind of that roundabout
over by Horton Plaza.

2072
01:38:29,500 --> 01:38:31,291
What's the last you've told him?

2073
01:38:31,375 --> 01:38:33,917
- I said I'm coming.
- Oh, okay.

2074
01:38:34,000 --> 01:38:36,417
So we wound up in
downtown San Diego.

2075
01:38:36,500 --> 01:38:38,291
We set him in on a vehicle.

2076
01:38:38,375 --> 01:38:39,583
10-4 the ID.

2077
01:38:39,667 --> 01:38:42,750
So, basically, he's saying
he spent his money on this,

2078
01:38:42,834 --> 01:38:45,959
that he needs her to
be there before 1:30.

2079
01:38:48,000 --> 01:38:51,709
He last relayed his location
at 12:48 at 6th and Broadway

2080
01:38:51,792 --> 01:38:55,291
and says that he has no car.

2081
01:38:55,375 --> 01:38:58,250
All right, updated... He's
saying he's on his way.

2082
01:38:58,333 --> 01:39:02,333
I asked him where he was,
and that was his response.

2083
01:39:04,709 --> 01:39:06,625
Also said, "Just let me
know where you parked

2084
01:39:06,709 --> 01:39:08,166
so I can come find you."

2085
01:39:08,250 --> 01:39:09,959
And then, "Oh, on my way."

2086
01:39:28,208 --> 01:39:31,375
- It's torture.

2087
01:39:31,458 --> 01:39:33,291
Just wait. The wait's
always torture.

2088
01:39:33,375 --> 01:39:35,917
You think you'd get used
to it, but it's just...

2089
01:39:49,917 --> 01:39:51,333
All right, James,
start moving in.

2090
01:39:51,417 --> 01:39:53,709
- Now.
- Now.

2091
01:39:53,792 --> 01:39:56,959
- Lights.

2092
01:40:07,917 --> 01:40:09,559
- San Diego Police!
- Let me see your hands!

2093
01:40:09,583 --> 01:40:10,959
- Get on the ground!
- Do it now!

2094
01:40:11,041 --> 01:40:13,000
- Drop to the ground right now!
- Don't move!

2095
01:40:13,083 --> 01:40:14,500
Put your hands behind your back!

2096
01:40:14,583 --> 01:40:16,041
- Do not move!
- Don't move.

2097
01:40:19,125 --> 01:40:20,500
Say about 5:30 in the morning,

2098
01:40:20,583 --> 01:40:22,017
I was sleeping on the
couch, and I woke up,

2099
01:40:22,041 --> 01:40:23,750
and went and said good
morning to my wife.

2100
01:40:23,834 --> 01:40:26,041
And I heard
'em hit the door.

2101
01:40:26,125 --> 01:40:27,875
Saying, "DEA."

2102
01:40:27,959 --> 01:40:30,041
They looked like they were
fixing to kill somebody.

2103
01:40:30,125 --> 01:40:32,875
And I panicked and put
my hands in the air,

2104
01:40:32,959 --> 01:40:36,375
and I watch as they come
in with HAZMAT suits.

2105
01:40:38,834 --> 01:40:40,750
Everyone was very,
very stressed,

2106
01:40:40,834 --> 01:40:43,208
and it wasn't the
people, it was fentanyl.

2107
01:40:43,291 --> 01:40:45,375
It's 50 times more potent
than what you would see

2108
01:40:45,458 --> 01:40:47,709
in normal heroin
coming in from Mexico.

2109
01:40:47,792 --> 01:40:50,542
We had no idea how spread it
would be throughout the house,

2110
01:40:50,625 --> 01:40:53,709
what efforts we would have
to take to clean it up

2111
01:40:53,792 --> 01:40:55,375
and dismantle their labs.

2112
01:40:55,458 --> 01:40:57,917
We just had no idea.

2113
01:40:58,000 --> 01:40:59,041
During the search warrant,

2114
01:40:59,125 --> 01:41:01,291
we found several
analogues of fentanyl

2115
01:41:01,375 --> 01:41:04,458
that DEA had never seen
in the U.S. before.

2116
01:41:04,542 --> 01:41:07,917
I had about 300 grams of
pure acrylic fentanyl.

2117
01:41:08,000 --> 01:41:10,208
Sells for about $300 a gram,

2118
01:41:10,291 --> 01:41:13,083
so a lot of money's worth.

2119
01:41:13,166 --> 01:41:14,417
When we hit 'em,

2120
01:41:14,500 --> 01:41:17,041
they were kind of at the
peak of their organization.

2121
01:41:17,125 --> 01:41:18,458
They were probably selling

2122
01:41:18,542 --> 01:41:23,250
$25,000 to $30,000
a week in fentanyl.

2123
01:41:23,333 --> 01:41:25,333
I don't know how he
managed to do that.

2124
01:41:25,417 --> 01:41:28,417
I never even saw a package
get delivered here.

2125
01:41:28,500 --> 01:41:29,583
He never left the couch,

2126
01:41:29,667 --> 01:41:32,583
and we didn't have people
coming and going either.

2127
01:41:32,667 --> 01:41:37,000
So whatever he was doing, he
was really quiet about it.

2128
01:41:37,083 --> 01:41:38,709
I'd never expected the raid.

2129
01:41:38,792 --> 01:41:41,875
When I saw those officers
piling up on my porch

2130
01:41:41,959 --> 01:41:43,083
through my bedroom window,

2131
01:41:43,166 --> 01:41:44,643
I thought it was,
like, a home invasion.

2132
01:41:44,667 --> 01:41:46,184
I was trying to call
911 from my phone.

2133
01:41:46,208 --> 01:41:49,834
I didn't know that they
were police officers.

2134
01:41:49,917 --> 01:41:50,959
I can still to this day

2135
01:41:51,041 --> 01:41:54,083
hear my wife and my
children screaming.

2136
01:41:57,417 --> 01:41:58,583
Looking back at 'em,

2137
01:41:58,667 --> 01:42:02,458
and I said, "Please move
me so they can't see me."

2138
01:42:02,542 --> 01:42:04,417
Fear? I didn't have that.

2139
01:42:04,500 --> 01:42:07,750
It was shame, but
it wasn't fear.

2140
01:42:07,834 --> 01:42:11,000
If anything, I was relieved.
Just take me to jail.

2141
01:42:11,083 --> 01:42:12,917
I was either gonna
die from withdrawals,

2142
01:42:13,000 --> 01:42:14,333
or I was getting off of drugs,

2143
01:42:14,417 --> 01:42:16,959
and I didn't care
which one it was.

2144
01:42:17,041 --> 01:42:19,083
You have the right
to remain silent.

2145
01:42:19,166 --> 01:42:22,583
You can refuse to answer
questions at any time.

2146
01:42:22,667 --> 01:42:24,166
Anything you say...

2147
01:42:32,583 --> 01:42:34,291
We found fentanyl on him.

2148
01:42:34,375 --> 01:42:36,875
We went back to the hotel
room that they stayed in,

2149
01:42:36,959 --> 01:42:39,667
and we were able to
find more drugs there.

2150
01:42:39,750 --> 01:42:45,208
He's an addict himself, so
he fuels his use by sales.

2151
01:42:45,291 --> 01:42:46,333
Wow.

2152
01:42:46,417 --> 01:42:48,500
And, you know, at
the end of the day,

2153
01:42:48,583 --> 01:42:50,542
everybody's a victim
in this thing.

2154
01:42:50,625 --> 01:42:53,083
You know, other than the
people that manufacture it

2155
01:42:53,166 --> 01:42:56,500
and, you know, make
the big money from it.

2156
01:42:56,583 --> 01:42:57,875
You know, once
you get past that,

2157
01:42:57,959 --> 01:43:00,041
once you get into
the people that use,

2158
01:43:00,125 --> 01:43:02,208
whether they're
dealers or customers

2159
01:43:02,291 --> 01:43:03,500
or whatever they might be,

2160
01:43:03,583 --> 01:43:05,500
everybody becomes a victim.

2161
01:43:05,583 --> 01:43:09,542
So I don't know if it's worse
to die and finally be at peace

2162
01:43:09,625 --> 01:43:12,166
and not have to fight
these urges every day.

2163
01:43:12,250 --> 01:43:13,542
I don't know if that's the worst

2164
01:43:13,625 --> 01:43:16,166
or if it's these
people that live

2165
01:43:16,250 --> 01:43:18,333
that every day now
have to be tortured

2166
01:43:18,417 --> 01:43:20,750
with this need to go
out and find this stuff.

2167
01:43:20,834 --> 01:43:23,709
You know, it's just wrong.

2168
01:43:23,792 --> 01:43:26,750
I just don't understand how
the pharmaceutical companies

2169
01:43:26,834 --> 01:43:28,542
get away with this stuff.

2170
01:43:34,959 --> 01:43:36,709
You did a great job
staying in touch.

2171
01:43:36,792 --> 01:43:38,184
- We appreciate you.
- You're welcome.

2172
01:43:38,208 --> 01:43:39,709
Have a good evening.

2173
01:43:39,792 --> 01:43:41,709
You too. Bye-bye.

2174
01:44:00,542 --> 01:44:01,917
I'd been working on the case

2175
01:44:02,000 --> 01:44:03,917
over the course
of several years.

2176
01:44:04,000 --> 01:44:06,792
And suddenly, Alec
Burlakoff left me a message,

2177
01:44:06,875 --> 01:44:10,250
and the message says,
"I fired my lawyer,

2178
01:44:10,333 --> 01:44:12,142
and I want to come in, and
I want to talk to you."

2179
01:44:12,166 --> 01:44:15,583
This is highly unusual. This
has never happened, right?

2180
01:44:15,667 --> 01:44:18,041
You know, white-collar folks
are always well-represented,

2181
01:44:18,125 --> 01:44:20,017
and the last think you want
to do is go in and talk

2182
01:44:20,041 --> 01:44:22,792
to the federal government
without a lawyer.

2183
01:44:22,875 --> 01:44:26,625
I decided to fly from
Arizona to Boston,

2184
01:44:26,709 --> 01:44:29,583
and I met with Mr. Yeager,

2185
01:44:29,667 --> 01:44:32,166
and there were a couple
other people in the room.

2186
01:44:32,250 --> 01:44:34,792
And I basically proceeded
to speak with them

2187
01:44:34,875 --> 01:44:36,625
for about four, five hours

2188
01:44:36,709 --> 01:44:40,125
and basically lied to them.

2189
01:44:40,208 --> 01:44:43,291
What I did was, is I
told a lot of truths.

2190
01:44:43,375 --> 01:44:46,041
I just left myself out of it.

2191
01:44:46,125 --> 01:44:48,959
You can say it was
based on a true story,

2192
01:44:49,041 --> 01:44:51,125
just left the names
out, you know?

2193
01:44:51,208 --> 01:44:52,648
And we just let
him talk, you know?

2194
01:44:52,709 --> 01:44:53,834
We had evidence against him.

2195
01:44:53,917 --> 01:44:56,125
We knew that we were gonna
prosecute him at some point.

2196
01:44:56,208 --> 01:45:00,083
We had, very early
on, texts and emails

2197
01:45:00,166 --> 01:45:02,125
telling people to
go bribe doctors,

2198
01:45:02,208 --> 01:45:05,125
that he personally was asking
doctors to write prescriptions

2199
01:45:05,208 --> 01:45:08,667
in exchange for
money paid by Insys.

2200
01:45:08,750 --> 01:45:10,625
So, when the conversation
was over, I told him

2201
01:45:10,709 --> 01:45:13,333
I thought he just spent the
last four hours lying to us,

2202
01:45:13,417 --> 01:45:15,393
it was nice meeting him,
and he'd be hearing from us.

2203
01:45:15,417 --> 01:45:17,959
- I mean, I just felt...
- My whole world,

2204
01:45:18,041 --> 01:45:20,291
I knew it was
basically crashing in,

2205
01:45:20,375 --> 01:45:22,959
and it was gonna
happen really slowly,

2206
01:45:23,041 --> 01:45:25,291
and it was gonna
be very painful.

2207
01:45:25,375 --> 01:45:28,166
You know, several months later

2208
01:45:28,250 --> 01:45:30,125
he was charged and indicted.

2209
01:45:31,750 --> 01:45:36,000
narrator: In October
2017, Burlakoff, Kapoor,

2210
01:45:36,083 --> 01:45:37,542
Sunrise Lee, and four others

2211
01:45:37,625 --> 01:45:40,500
were charged with leading
a nationwide conspiracy

2212
01:45:40,583 --> 01:45:43,000
to profit by using
fraud and bribes

2213
01:45:43,083 --> 01:45:46,166
to cause the illegal
distribution of fentanyl.

2214
01:45:46,250 --> 01:45:48,959
In addition to bribing
doctors, the charges included

2215
01:45:49,041 --> 01:45:51,542
defrauding insurance providers.

2216
01:45:58,291 --> 01:46:00,917
- Thank you, sir.

2217
01:46:07,458 --> 01:46:09,166
- Any comment?
- No.

2218
01:46:09,250 --> 01:46:11,875
Narrator: The evidence
against Alec Burlakoff

2219
01:46:11,959 --> 01:46:13,208
was so overwhelming,

2220
01:46:13,291 --> 01:46:14,500
his attorney asked him

2221
01:46:14,583 --> 01:46:16,583
to consider cooperating
with the prosecution

2222
01:46:16,667 --> 01:46:18,250
in exchange for a deal.

2223
01:46:19,792 --> 01:46:21,834
I looked at him, tears
started to come to my eyes,

2224
01:46:21,917 --> 01:46:25,041
and I said, "Yes, I will do
it. I will plead guilty."

2225
01:46:25,125 --> 01:46:30,667
Because there is no way
under any circumstance

2226
01:46:30,750 --> 01:46:33,417
that I would ever
sit on the same side

2227
01:46:33,500 --> 01:46:37,709
or at the same table
as John Kapoor, ever.

2228
01:46:37,792 --> 01:46:40,959
We all chose him
to be our mentor,

2229
01:46:41,041 --> 01:46:43,542
and he was supposed to take
us to the promised land

2230
01:46:43,625 --> 01:46:45,291
if we followed him loyally.

2231
01:46:45,375 --> 01:46:47,125
And look where he took us.

2232
01:46:49,667 --> 01:46:51,427
narrator: From the bench,
the presiding judge

2233
01:46:51,500 --> 01:46:54,125
called the crimes of Insys
"an offense of greed"

2234
01:46:54,208 --> 01:46:57,417
for bribing doctors to
prescribe an addictive drug

2235
01:46:57,500 --> 01:47:00,208
without regard for the best
interests of their patients

2236
01:47:00,291 --> 01:47:04,917
and sentenced Alec Burlakoff
to 26 months in prison.

2237
01:47:05,000 --> 01:47:06,375
Sunrise Lee wasn't able

2238
01:47:06,458 --> 01:47:08,250
to make a deal with prosecutors,

2239
01:47:08,333 --> 01:47:10,750
likely because she couldn't
offer them an inside look

2240
01:47:10,834 --> 01:47:13,458
at decisions made in
the executive suite.

2241
01:47:13,542 --> 01:47:16,417
She was sentenced
to a year in prison.

2242
01:47:16,500 --> 01:47:18,250
They painted this picture of me

2243
01:47:18,333 --> 01:47:21,792
you know, as a dancer,
being uneducated,

2244
01:47:21,875 --> 01:47:24,458
and...

2245
01:47:24,542 --> 01:47:28,458
And just the
stereotype of it all.

2246
01:47:28,542 --> 01:47:31,125
It stole a lot from me.

2247
01:47:31,208 --> 01:47:34,709
Everything that I've worked
hard my entire life for.

2248
01:47:36,709 --> 01:47:39,125
It's the
first time ever in my life

2249
01:47:39,208 --> 01:47:41,875
where I haven't been
able to persevere.

2250
01:47:54,458 --> 01:47:57,750
narrator: John Kapoor was
sentenced to 5 1/2 years.

2251
01:47:57,834 --> 01:48:00,834
In the courtroom, he had
listened without expression

2252
01:48:00,917 --> 01:48:04,542
to the mother of a woman
who had overdosed on Subsys.

2253
01:48:04,625 --> 01:48:07,000
"The actions of John Kapoor
and his conspirators,"

2254
01:48:07,083 --> 01:48:10,667
she said, "had been a sentence
of hell for our family."

2255
01:48:14,750 --> 01:48:18,500
All the decisions that these
people are making at Insys

2256
01:48:18,583 --> 01:48:19,625
and, for that matter,

2257
01:48:19,709 --> 01:48:21,667
every other opioid company
in the United States,

2258
01:48:21,750 --> 01:48:25,375
are made in the context of what
is very clearly an epidemic.

2259
01:48:25,458 --> 01:48:26,834
You know, in 2012,

2260
01:48:26,917 --> 01:48:31,542
the first year of this
criminal conspiracy for Insys,

2261
01:48:31,625 --> 01:48:34,458
I think there were something
like 230 million, 240 million

2262
01:48:34,542 --> 01:48:36,500
prescriptions for opioids
in the United States.

2263
01:48:36,583 --> 01:48:38,333
That's more than
one prescription

2264
01:48:38,417 --> 01:48:39,875
for every adult American.

2265
01:48:41,750 --> 01:48:44,250
When we were doing
our reporting,

2266
01:48:44,333 --> 01:48:47,542
"The Washington Post" sued
to get this confidential.

2267
01:48:47,625 --> 01:48:49,875
Drug Enforcement
Administration database

2268
01:48:49,959 --> 01:48:52,375
that tracked all these
prescription pills,

2269
01:48:52,458 --> 01:48:57,375
from the manufacturer to the
distributor to the pharmacy.

2270
01:48:57,458 --> 01:48:59,583
It was a virtual road map,

2271
01:48:59,667 --> 01:49:04,208
a blueprint that would show
us, give us so many insights

2272
01:49:04,291 --> 01:49:06,417
into understanding
the opioid epidemic.

2273
01:49:06,500 --> 01:49:10,375
Never in my wildest
dreams did I imagine

2274
01:49:10,458 --> 01:49:13,083
we were talking about the
kinds of numbers that came out.

2275
01:49:15,375 --> 01:49:17,542
We got nine years of data

2276
01:49:17,625 --> 01:49:20,750
and between 2006 and 2014,

2277
01:49:20,834 --> 01:49:24,583
100 billion pills
had been sent out

2278
01:49:24,667 --> 01:49:27,959
to communities all
across this country.

2279
01:49:28,041 --> 01:49:30,417
Narrator: The opioid
companies knew every pharmacy

2280
01:49:30,500 --> 01:49:34,250
in every small town where
every pill was going.

2281
01:49:34,333 --> 01:49:35,625
From Maine to Mexico,

2282
01:49:35,709 --> 01:49:39,250
they could track the very
abuse they were manufacturing.

2283
01:49:39,333 --> 01:49:42,709
The database ranked cities
by pills per person.

2284
01:49:42,792 --> 01:49:45,333
In some places,
close to one a day

2285
01:49:45,417 --> 01:49:48,709
for every man, woman, and child.

2286
01:49:48,792 --> 01:49:50,291
Did the companies really think

2287
01:49:50,375 --> 01:49:53,125
that all those pills
were for back pain?

2288
01:49:54,750 --> 01:49:57,583
This is something that
affects everybody.

2289
01:49:57,667 --> 01:49:59,375
It doesn't matter your color,

2290
01:49:59,458 --> 01:50:02,458
your nationality, your gender,

2291
01:50:02,542 --> 01:50:06,125
whether you're
economically privileged,

2292
01:50:06,208 --> 01:50:07,500
or poor.

2293
01:50:07,583 --> 01:50:09,333
It doesn't matter.

2294
01:50:09,417 --> 01:50:11,333
As long as the
opioid sales go up,

2295
01:50:11,417 --> 01:50:13,125
and opioid deaths will go up

2296
01:50:13,208 --> 01:50:15,625
and opioid treatment
admissions are gonna go up.

2297
01:50:15,709 --> 01:50:17,333
That's where we are now.

2298
01:50:17,417 --> 01:50:19,500
And that's where
we continue to be.

2299
01:50:19,583 --> 01:50:20,750
Okay, that said

2300
01:50:20,834 --> 01:50:23,041
narrator: After Rannazzisi
was forced out of the DEA,

2301
01:50:23,125 --> 01:50:24,667
he took his message on the road

2302
01:50:24,750 --> 01:50:26,583
to those who would listen

2303
01:50:26,667 --> 01:50:29,125
and he began to be a witness
for towns and counties

2304
01:50:29,208 --> 01:50:32,458
trying to take action against
the big drug companies.

2305
01:50:32,542 --> 01:50:35,792
One by one, they started
suing the opioid manufacturers

2306
01:50:35,875 --> 01:50:38,458
and distributors
for the damage done.

2307
01:50:44,041 --> 01:50:47,000
With more than 2,500 lawsuits
from all over the country,

2308
01:50:47,083 --> 01:50:48,834
a judge in Ohio convened

2309
01:50:48,917 --> 01:50:50,875
a multi-district
litigation center

2310
01:50:50,959 --> 01:50:54,375
to consolidate the
claims in one courtroom.

2311
01:50:54,458 --> 01:50:58,000
Late in 2019, reporters
converged in Cleveland,

2312
01:50:58,083 --> 01:51:00,125
because in the first big case,

2313
01:51:00,208 --> 01:51:03,667
two counties in Ohio were
resisting a legal settlement

2314
01:51:03,750 --> 01:51:05,500
with three major
drug distributors

2315
01:51:05,583 --> 01:51:08,375
for their role in fueling
the opioid crisis.

2316
01:51:10,250 --> 01:51:12,458
It seemed that there
might finally be a trial,

2317
01:51:12,542 --> 01:51:14,166
where the public
would see evidence

2318
01:51:14,250 --> 01:51:18,041
of the corporate negligence
that had cost so many lives.

2319
01:51:18,125 --> 01:51:19,875
Then at the last minute,

2320
01:51:19,959 --> 01:51:21,875
the companies took
out their checkbooks

2321
01:51:21,959 --> 01:51:24,792
and paid to keep
the evidence hidden.

2322
01:51:24,875 --> 01:51:27,583
A settlement has been
reached for our two counties

2323
01:51:27,667 --> 01:51:29,667
with the...

2324
01:51:29,750 --> 01:51:33,166
The three big defendants.

2325
01:51:33,250 --> 01:51:37,375
The settlement does not
bring things to an end.

2326
01:51:37,458 --> 01:51:38,625
It is, though,

2327
01:51:38,709 --> 01:51:41,041
a very good development for
the people of our counties.

2328
01:51:41,125 --> 01:51:42,601
What was the sticking
point last night?

2329
01:51:42,625 --> 01:51:45,083
Why did it take till
midnight, 1:00 a.m.?

2330
01:51:45,166 --> 01:51:46,417
Money.

2331
01:51:46,500 --> 01:51:48,709
They wanted to pay less. I
wanted them to play more.

2332
01:51:50,458 --> 01:51:52,709
Is there an admission of
wrongdoing on behalf...

2333
01:51:52,792 --> 01:51:54,875
No, but, you know,
common sense tells me

2334
01:51:54,959 --> 01:51:58,667
when they paid over $323 million

2335
01:51:58,750 --> 01:52:00,041
to these two counties,

2336
01:52:00,125 --> 01:52:01,885
one might say that's a
pretty good admission.

2337
01:52:03,166 --> 01:52:04,375
Narrator: In cases like these,

2338
01:52:04,458 --> 01:52:06,250
lawyers like to
represent that money paid

2339
01:52:06,333 --> 01:52:10,250
is some kind of justice,
and in a sense, it is.

2340
01:52:10,333 --> 01:52:12,750
After all, the cost
of addiction is high,

2341
01:52:12,834 --> 01:52:15,542
and the price of treatment
centers and first responders

2342
01:52:15,625 --> 01:52:19,083
should be borne by the
companies responsible.

2343
01:52:19,166 --> 01:52:21,250
But what of the lives lost?

2344
01:52:21,333 --> 01:52:24,375
How do you put a value on them?

2345
01:52:28,125 --> 01:52:29,750
During the COVID pandemic,

2346
01:52:29,834 --> 01:52:33,208
opioid addiction and
overdoses increased.

2347
01:52:33,291 --> 01:52:36,417
It was not surprising, then,
that in the fall of 2020,

2348
01:52:36,500 --> 01:52:38,250
the families of
those who had died

2349
01:52:38,333 --> 01:52:41,083
were stirred by rumors
that the federal government

2350
01:52:41,166 --> 01:52:44,583
might bring new criminal
charges against the Sacklers,

2351
01:52:44,667 --> 01:52:46,458
the family that had
profited so much

2352
01:52:46,542 --> 01:52:49,083
during the opioid
crisis and the company

2353
01:52:49,166 --> 01:52:51,917
that had started it
all, Purdue Pharma.

2354
01:52:53,917 --> 01:52:55,083
This morning,

2355
01:52:55,166 --> 01:52:57,792
the Department of Justice
is announcing a resolution

2356
01:52:57,875 --> 01:53:00,458
which will redress past wrongs

2357
01:53:00,542 --> 01:53:03,875
and will also provide
extraordinary new resources

2358
01:53:03,959 --> 01:53:07,625
for the treatment and care of
those affected by opioids...

2359
01:53:07,709 --> 01:53:10,375
Narrator: Late in 2020, the
Trump administration rushed

2360
01:53:10,458 --> 01:53:13,291
to make an announcement for
the presidential election.

2361
01:53:13,375 --> 01:53:16,458
Pleading guilty to
three felony counts

2362
01:53:16,542 --> 01:53:20,959
narrator: The Sackler family
would pay a $225 million fine.

2363
01:53:21,041 --> 01:53:24,291
Purdue Pharma would plead
guilty to kickbacks and fraud

2364
01:53:24,375 --> 01:53:29,166
and promised to pay fines
totaling more than $8 billion.

2365
01:53:29,250 --> 01:53:33,625
That number immediately
gets repeated in headlines

2366
01:53:33,709 --> 01:53:34,792
all across the country.

2367
01:53:34,875 --> 01:53:36,667
The news goes out on the wires.

2368
01:53:36,750 --> 01:53:40,667
You think, "My God. $8
billion. That's massive."

2369
01:53:40,750 --> 01:53:43,542
But Purdue is in bankruptcy

2370
01:53:43,625 --> 01:53:45,625
and only has about
a billion dollars,

2371
01:53:45,709 --> 01:53:47,000
which a whole bunch of creditors

2372
01:53:47,083 --> 01:53:48,834
are already fighting over.

2373
01:53:48,917 --> 01:53:52,166
That money is never going
to get paid by the company

2374
01:53:52,250 --> 01:53:53,125
or anybody else.

2375
01:53:53,208 --> 01:53:55,000
It's a number, in
some ways, I think,

2376
01:53:55,083 --> 01:53:59,792
that's been kind of
designed to make headlines.

2377
01:54:01,583 --> 01:54:04,458
narrator: Behind the headlines
was an intricate plot.

2378
01:54:04,542 --> 01:54:09,000
In 2019, Purdue had declared
Chapter 11 bankruptcy,

2379
01:54:09,083 --> 01:54:10,959
which allowed it to
continue to operate

2380
01:54:11,041 --> 01:54:14,208
while paying fines to
those seeking damages.

2381
01:54:14,291 --> 01:54:16,417
That led to a cruel irony.

2382
01:54:16,500 --> 01:54:19,208
The only way the company
could pay damages

2383
01:54:19,291 --> 01:54:24,083
was to increase its sales of
drugs, including OxyContin.

2384
01:54:24,166 --> 01:54:26,875
To pay for the damage
done by opioids,

2385
01:54:26,959 --> 01:54:29,875
Purdue Pharma would
sell more opioids.

2386
01:54:34,959 --> 01:54:38,041
- Shame on Purdue!
- All: Shame on Purdue!

2387
01:54:38,125 --> 01:54:39,750
Dead from greed!

2388
01:54:39,834 --> 01:54:42,083
Narrator: While the company
was charged with crimes,

2389
01:54:42,166 --> 01:54:45,375
none of Purdue's executives
or owners were indicted,

2390
01:54:45,458 --> 01:54:46,458
and the Sacklers

2391
01:54:46,542 --> 01:54:48,709
refused to take any
personal responsibility.

2392
01:54:48,792 --> 01:54:50,875
Sacklers lie! All: People die!

2393
01:54:50,959 --> 01:54:53,458
Sacklers lie! All: People die!

2394
01:54:53,542 --> 01:54:56,291
Narrator: That raised questions.

2395
01:54:56,375 --> 01:54:57,709
Starting in 2008,

2396
01:54:57,792 --> 01:55:00,792
just after Purdue pled
guilty to a previous felony,

2397
01:55:00,875 --> 01:55:03,834
the Sacklers started taking
more than $10 billion

2398
01:55:03,917 --> 01:55:05,083
out of the company

2399
01:55:05,166 --> 01:55:07,250
in complicated
overseas transactions

2400
01:55:07,333 --> 01:55:11,917
and vaulted vast sums
in their accounts.

2401
01:55:12,000 --> 01:55:16,250
Of the $10 billion,
roughly half went to taxes,

2402
01:55:16,333 --> 01:55:19,375
so that money, we do not have.

2403
01:55:19,458 --> 01:55:21,750
It was paid in taxes.

2404
01:55:21,834 --> 01:55:25,125
The family and the board
acted legally and ethically.

2405
01:55:29,375 --> 01:55:34,250
So I think that's not the
right way to look at this.

2406
01:55:34,333 --> 01:55:37,542
The resolution here
is very significant.

2407
01:55:37,625 --> 01:55:42,458
It involves, for the company,
three felony guilty pleas.

2408
01:55:42,542 --> 01:55:44,917
For both the company
and the shareholders,

2409
01:55:45,000 --> 01:55:47,500
it involves very sizable
amounts of money.

2410
01:55:52,041 --> 01:55:53,125
If you talk to people

2411
01:55:53,208 --> 01:55:55,834
whose lives have
been touched by this,

2412
01:55:55,917 --> 01:55:58,959
a lot of them will say,
"It's not about the money.

2413
01:55:59,041 --> 01:56:01,208
"You could never
generate enough money

2414
01:56:01,291 --> 01:56:05,625
"to make up for the human cost.

2415
01:56:05,709 --> 01:56:07,792
That can never happen."

2416
01:56:07,875 --> 01:56:10,625
What does matter to a lot
of these people is truth.

2417
01:56:20,417 --> 01:56:23,208
And, finally, I'm gonna
leave you with this.

2418
01:56:23,291 --> 01:56:28,500
We've talked about truths,
talked about fiction,

2419
01:56:28,583 --> 01:56:30,750
and now we're gonna
talk about reality.

2420
01:56:32,750 --> 01:56:34,000
Turn that up?

2421
01:56:34,083 --> 01:56:36,291
- I need an ambulance.
- My son's not breathing.

2422
01:56:36,375 --> 01:56:38,333
What's the address? 10731?

2423
01:56:38,417 --> 01:56:40,166
31, yes. Hurry.

2424
01:56:40,250 --> 01:56:44,500
- He's blue?
- He's... white.

2425
01:56:44,583 --> 01:56:45,834
How old is he?

2426
01:56:45,917 --> 01:56:48,166
Oh, God, he's dead!

2427
01:56:48,250 --> 01:56:50,417
Ma'am, I need you to
calm down. How old is he?

2428
01:56:50,500 --> 01:56:53,834
-  Oh, he's dead!
- Ma'am?

2429
01:56:53,917 --> 01:56:55,792
Ma'am, I need you to calm down.

2430
01:56:55,875 --> 01:56:56,875
How old is he?

2431
01:57:02,750 --> 01:57:05,709
- Can you pick up on that?

2432
01:57:05,792 --> 01:57:07,792
- Stop, please.

2433
01:57:07,875 --> 01:57:11,834
-  How old is he?

2434
01:57:55,709 --> 01:57:57,269
I know I could've
fought my case more,

2435
01:57:57,333 --> 01:57:59,417
but I was done fighting.

2436
01:57:59,500 --> 01:58:02,083
I've been sentenced to 135
months in federal prison

2437
01:58:02,166 --> 01:58:05,417
for conspiracy to
possess furanyl fentanyl

2438
01:58:05,500 --> 01:58:07,458
and fentanyl with
intent to distribute.

2439
01:58:07,542 --> 01:58:09,625
I am currently in Federal
Correction Institute

2440
01:58:09,709 --> 01:58:11,583
at Big Springs, Texas.

2441
01:58:11,667 --> 01:58:14,917
It's a low-security prison.

2442
01:58:15,000 --> 01:58:16,917
It could be worse.

2443
01:58:17,000 --> 01:58:18,583
I could be dead.

2444
01:58:18,667 --> 01:58:19,667
You know what I mean?

2445
01:58:19,750 --> 01:58:20,625
I'm close to home,

2446
01:58:20,709 --> 01:58:23,083
so my wife can come visit me.

2447
01:58:23,166 --> 01:58:26,250
I get to visit my
kids every weekend.

2448
01:58:26,333 --> 01:58:27,917
This saved my life.

2449
01:58:28,000 --> 01:58:30,333
It gives me an opportunity
for a second act.

2450
01:58:30,417 --> 01:58:32,458
I screwed up the first one.

2451
01:58:32,542 --> 01:58:34,000
I can't ever take it back,

2452
01:58:34,083 --> 01:58:35,333
but I get an act two

2453
01:58:35,417 --> 01:58:37,625
where maybe I can
build upon the past

2454
01:58:37,709 --> 01:58:38,789
and use my past experiences

2455
01:58:38,834 --> 01:58:40,291
to make a better life

2456
01:58:40,375 --> 01:58:42,291
for my wife and my kids

2457
01:58:42,375 --> 01:58:43,792
and possibly other people

2458
01:58:43,875 --> 01:58:44,792
that would go down

2459
01:58:44,875 --> 01:58:46,500
the same stupid
road I went down.

2460
01:58:46,583 --> 01:58:50,709
So yeah, I mean

2461
01:58:50,792 --> 01:58:52,333
act two.