Long Island mom sentenced to 26 months in federal prison for dealing oxycodone

Tommyboy

Tommyboy

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"CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A suburban New York mother who admitted selling the prescription painkiller oxycodone in her Long Island community has been sentenced to more than two years in prison.

Joanne Connelly of Nesconset made a tearful plea for leniency Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

The mother of two adolescent boys said her judgment was clouded by drug use when she decided to sell some of the pills. The 49-year-old said she had become hooked on the painkiller after suffering a back injury.

Federal prosecutors say she sold hundreds of the painkillers prior to her arrest in January 2011.

She pleaded guilty last August to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.

She was sentenced to 26 months in prison. U.S. District Court Judge Sandra Feuerstein (FOY'-ur-steen) allowed her to surrender on June 1."

Read more: http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/a...n-federal-drug-case-3389068.php#ixzz1oSniu1UZ
 
The mother of two adolescent boys said her judgment was clouded by drug use when she decided to sell some of the pills. The 49-year-old said she had become hooked on the painkiller after suffering a back injury.
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how often do people "roll the dice" in these situations? has anyone done something like, counter-sue the united states govt for suppressing medical research relevant to the situation,

or say that her judgement was impaired *from the pain itself* and counter-sue the gov for creating the (unconstitutional) conditions where her pain could reach such heights, interfering with her and her doctors' choices to treat the pain...

or say that her judgement was not impaired at all, and it is not immoral to sell medicine...

i know of one case, when timothy leary, after cops found joint roaches on his daughter at a border checkpoint and he took responsibility, represented himself in court, and beat the marijuana tax act (congress next year passed our current controlled substances act, arguably a little bit less unconstitutional..)
 
I got the story on Newsday as well, so I will post it here since I think its version is better.

"A Nesconset mother of two was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison Wednesday for dealing the painkiller oxycodone -- despite a tearful plea that she had learned her lesson and jail time would harm her children.

"I am so very sorry for what I have done that I cannot put into words how ashamed and saddened I feel," Joanne Connelly, 48, of 167 Southern Blvd., said in remarks that were haltingly delivered through tears and sobs. "I realize from the events reported in the newspapers every day, the very grave consequences that arise from the abuse of the these pills."

"I started this medication for back pain and I became dependent on it and they began to cloud my judgment. I know what I have done is wrong," Connelly told U.S. District Judge Sandra Feuerstein in federal court in Central Islip, in pleading for home detention. "I ask for possible leniency to protect my children from the consequences this will have on them."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Ott argued that Connelly should be sentenced to the federal guideline range of 27- to 33-months in prison because, he said, Connelly still did not really seem to accept the fact that she had become a serious dealer who had distributed in her own community hundreds of pills to undercover agents and informants.

Feuerstein did not explain why she sentenced Connelly to one month less than the minimum of the guideline range.

After the sentencing, Connelly's attorney, James O'Rourke, of Hauppauge, said he was disappointed that neither he nor his client could persuade the judge to sentence her to a punishment that did not require prison time. Ott declined to comment.

The Connelly case began in November 2010, as part of a federal Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into the illegal diversion of painkillers on Long Island, according to court records.

That was eight months before the public's attention was sharply focused on the problem of the abuse of painkillers by the June murder of four people in a Medford pharmacy. David Laffer was convicted of the murders as he sought to steal thousands of painkiller pills.

In recent months, DEA agents and local police have made a number of arrests related to the illegal use of oxycodone. On Long Island DEA agents alone have arrested two doctors and a pharmacist on charges related to the illegal diversion of drugs, and raided the offices and seized the records of two other doctors.

In the Connelly case, the mother of two boys, ages 10 and 14, had previously admitted in court to distributing a total of 250 oxycodone pills between November 2010 and January 2011.

Connelly sold the drug in a crushed form that allows it to have an almost immediate effect, according to court documents."

Source
 
She would have gotten off easier if she was selling heroin. Everybody that I know that has been caught selling heroin to support their habbit has been sentenced to rehab. The only people that I know that have been sentence to jailtime, have been caught selling prescription pills. I don't see the logic in that.

This ladies kids are going to go more than 2 years without having their mom home to raise them, and then when she gets out, she will be worse off than when she went in. Also, her drug abuse is not getting addressed properly by sending her to prison. If she was not addicted, she would have been selling the drugs, but instead of addressing the root of the problem, they just sent her to prison where she will likely get worse.

There are so many better ways that this could have been handled. Why not give her a suspended sentence, having her go to a longterm inpatient drug treatment program for a year (they have a few right here on LI) and then reducing or dropping the charge upon successful completion, and if she screwed up in there, then you can consider jail.
 
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^ Those kids are probably going to get made fun of in school for having the "druggie mommy" or some other cruel joke. This should have been kept more private, and the woman should have gotten treatment for her addiction.
 
^ this is sad and i do agree that prison if gonna fuck with her cuz it is a horrible place.. but i thought you got way more time for selling heroin or opiates..? thats the way it was always explained to me if we were having a conversation about it
 
What if you sell to support your hobbit?

frodogamgee.jpg


has to win you some leniency
 
These kind of scenarios are stupid & the DEA, police, prosecuting lawyer & judge should be ashamed of themselves. I dont know how these people sleep at night thinking they put a "criminal" behind bars.

You can name so many other real crimes that get you less time in jail. They are just making an example of her, especially how bad of a rep prescription pills are getting in the news. Along with this year being an election year, these corrupted bastards are out to make examples.........thing is, they better hope not one of their family members get caught up in the same scenario as this poor lady........then again, didnt Jeb Bush's daughter get arrested down in Florida in 2002 for faking prescription with Xanax? Heres the Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/01/29/noelle-bush.htm

When your dad is the governor, how do you not have connections to any drug you want? LoL!


Do I think its right, no but it happens too often in all facets of life & people should not go to jail for these things.......im done my rant!
 
Agree with all of the above, that's really fucked up. This is just going to destroy her life and damage her kids.
 
"Connelly sold the drug in a crushed form that allows it to have an almost immediate effect, according to court documents."

This seems very strange to me..It seems as if she was probably skimping pills by saving some powder and capping the rest and selling it as a full. I don't know much about it, but that seems to make the most logical sense. Why mess with a already exactly dosed pill unless you were keeping some powder to the side for yourself? Also who would buy crushed up oxys besides undercovers, especially on LI where they are rampant. Most people would go else where and not deal with the shadyness because thats a red flag right away.
 
I'd say either she had a lot of gullible customers and was skimming off the top, or the undercovers specifically asked her to do it so they could play it up at her trial.

Whole thing is a joke, she needs rehab and treatment, not sitting in a jail with other criminals cut off from the world and unable to care for her kids.
 
Tommyboy said:
She would have gotten off easier if she was selling heroin. Everybody that I know that has been caught selling heroin to support their habbit has been sentenced to rehab. The only people that I know that have been sentence to jailtime, have been caught selling prescription pills. I don't see the logic in that.
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You don't?

Well let me put it this way. Were your friends or whomever - put away for selling pills - did they steal said pills from other people? I'd like to see people go to jail if they're going to steal from some poor sap like you or me, take our pills, then re-sell them just for a buck? That's unethical.

But if it's their own prescription, or even bought like ten thousand bars from some crazy country - who cares, right? I can understand there isn't any logic there man. But there are worse charges if you're selling pills you stole from someone, I know that much.

TheLostBoys said:
These kind of scenarios are stupid & the DEA, police, prosecuting lawyer & judge should be ashamed of themselves. I dont know how these people sleep at night thinking they put a "criminal" behind bars.

You can name so many other real crimes that get you less time in jail. They are just making an example of her, especially how bad of a rep prescription pills are getting in the news. Along with this year being an election year, these corrupted bastards are out to make examples.........thing is, they better hope not one of their family members get caught up in the same scenario as this poor lady........then again, didnt Jeb Bush's daughter get arrested down in Florida in 2002 for faking prescription with Xanax? Heres the Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/01/29/noelle-bush.htm

When your dad is the governor, how do you not have connections to any drug you want? LoL!


Do I think its right, no but it happens too often in all facets of life & people should not go to jail for these things.......im done my rant!
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After looking at that photo of her, I almost can tell she took all the psychological abuse in that poor family. :(

I'd give that poor girl a break knowing who her father is... give her some xanax. She'll just have another car to crash after she crashes her white Volkswagen. She is a Bush after all...
 
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Captain.Heroin said:
You don't?

Well let me put it this way. Were your friends or whomever - put away for selling pills - did they steal said pills from other people? I'd like to see people go to jail if they're going to steal from some poor sap like you or me, take our pills, then re-sell them just for a buck? That's unethical.

But if it's their own prescription, or even bought like ten thousand bars from some crazy country - who cares, right? I can understand there isn't any logic there man. But there are worse charges if you're selling pills you stole from someone, I know that much.
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They were buying them from people with prescriptions, or selling their own. I have never heard of people stealing pills to sell, other than people holding up pharmacies, but that's a whole different thing. So no, I still don't see the logic in putting away pill dealers, but giving heroin dealers treatment.
 
drgreenthumb00 said:
"Conspiracy" PPAAAAHHHHH. thats why she only got 26 months. I know people who get the 5 yr min mandatory all day every day. i wonder who her lawyer is
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After the sentencing, Connelly's attorney, James O'Rourke, of Hauppauge, said he was disappointed that neither he nor his client could persuade the judge to sentence her to a punishment that did not require prison time.
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Him
 
slimvictor said:
So sad.
The system has destroyed her family because she sold pain medication to willing adults (presumably).
What she did is a victimless crime.
But now she, and her family, have been turned into victims.
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Doesn't sound like a victimless crime to me. Those kids are gonna pick up the tab for this. Any of us that had junkies for parents, ask us how life was with a junkie/drug dealer. And Vicodin IS an opioid, not on par with heroin but certainly nothing to scoff at, either.

Here in the US we know the game, and if we play the game we might get put in check. I have accepted this, these are the rules. Being unhappy about having your ticket punched is understandable, but blaming the doctors, lawyers, prosecutors, police, etc. is useless. If she were not selling her pills, she would not be sitting in prison. The biggest gang in the US is not the AB, or MM, or MS-13. It is the police.

If ya think you might not like the consequences of your actions, don't do naughty things.
 
If ya think you might not like the consequences of your actions, don't do naughty things.
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i don't think it's reasonable to rationalize putting somebody behind bars, taking them away from their kids, when you're basing your decision on feelings about your own addicted parents.
If ya think you might not like the consequences of your actions, don't do naughty things.
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so you're telling this woman, rather than do what she can to have some income and stay afloat, let herself go broke (and all that that entails for her and the family.............) and put herself and her kids at the mercy of the money system of the united states?
blaming the doctors, lawyers, prosecutors, police, etc. is useless.
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it's just as useless as blaming oneself.
If she were not selling her pills, she would not be sitting in prison.
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the laws and surveillance mechanisms have expanded to the point where anybody could go to prison. if you leave the country's borders, you can be executed without a trial or even consulting the judicial system.

here is your sentence revised: if she had enough money, she would not be sitting in prison.
Those kids are gonna pick up the tab for this.
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those kids are now separated from their mother because of rationalizations like those seen in your post.
The biggest gang in the US is not the AB, or MM, or MS-13. It is the police.
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um... exactly.
 
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rocketqueen said:
Doesn't sound like a victimless crime to me. Those kids are gonna pick up the tab for this. Any of us that had junkies for parents, ask us how life was with a junkie/drug dealer. And Vicodin IS an opioid, not on par with heroin but certainly nothing to scoff at, either.

Here in the US we know the game, and if we play the game we might get put in check. I have accepted this, these are the rules. Being unhappy about having your ticket punched is understandable, but blaming the doctors, lawyers, prosecutors, police, etc. is useless. If she were not selling her pills, she would not be sitting in prison. The biggest gang in the US is not the AB, or MM, or MS-13. It is the police.

If ya think you might not like the consequences of your actions, don't do naughty things.
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These are your opinions of course but I feel differently..........we live in a time where a revolution will only save our rights as citizens because they are being taken away minute by minute.......forget about drugs for a second & focus on all the other B.S. people in the USA are being arrested for..........now throw drugs in the mix & this gung ho police state/government think they own us as individuals.

The people that make the laws are the same ones that break them 10 times over............its like your father telling you not to smoke or drink but hes out every night doing the exact things he advised you against. The government is nothing but a hypocritical bunch.........as are the police the bow down to them.
 
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