New York, NY – The Office of Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman recently issued an end-of-the-year review detailing many of its accomplishments in areas including economic justice, public safety, taxpayer protection, public integrity, civil rights, labor enforcement and environmental protection.
“Across every bureau, our office has worked diligently this year to restore New Yorkers’ faith in the public and private sectors, and I am proud of the results we’ve delivered for the people of this state,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “From pursuing the financial frauds that were at the heart of the economic crisis, to cracking down on government corruption, to rooting out fraud against taxpayers and consumers, to keeping our streets safe from crime, we are moving closer to fulfilling the goal of building the best public law firm in the country to serve and protect all New Yorkers.”
Among significant achievements, the Attorney general noted the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Act, or I-STOP:
Secured a major victory for New Yorkers when the New York State legislature unanimously passedthe Attorney General’s Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Act, or I-STOP. The law provides health care practitioners and pharmacists with centralized information to avoid over-prescribing, help shut down prescription drug trafficking, as well as identify and treat patients who seek to abuse prescription drugs. Governor Cuomo signed the legislationinto law on August 27.
Apprehended Bronx resident Suzanne Beniziofor heading an illegal prescription drug operation that forged more than 250 prescriptions for narcotics, including addictive painkillers. The arrest highlighted the direness of New York’s prescription drug crisis as well as the significance of the Attorney General’s I-STOP legislation: A real-time database would have invalidated Benizio’s forged prescriptions and prevented this supply of addictive painkillers from reaching communities across the state.
Continued his crackdown on New York’s prescription drug crisis with the arrest of a Westchester doctorwho conspired to deal prescriptions for 15,000 oxycodone pills, worth over $450,000.
Source: NY AG’s Office