Drug industry hired dozens of officials from the DEA as the agency tried to curb opioid abuse
The headquarters of McKesson in downtown San Francisco.
high quality replica handbags The hires came after the DEA launched an aggressive campaign to curb a rising opioid epidemic that has resulted in thousands Handbags Replica of overdose deaths each year. In 2005, the DEA began to crack down on companies that were distributing inordinate numbers of pills such as oxycodone to pain management clinics and pharmacies around the country. high quality replica handbags
Replica Bags Wholesale Since then, the pharmaceutical companies and law firms that Fake Designer Bags represent them have hired at least 42 officials from the DEA 31 of them directly from Designer Replica Bags the division responsible for regulating the industry, according to work histories compiled by The Post and interviews with current and former agency officials. Replica Bags Wholesale
Replica Bags The number of hires has prompted some KnockOff Handbags current and former government officials to ask Replica Bags whether the companies raided the division to hire away DEA officials who were architects of the agency’s enforcement campaign or were most responsible for enforcing the laws the firms were accused of violating. Replica Bags
Replica Designer Handbags “The number of employees recruited from that division points to a deliberate strategy by the pharmaceutical industry to hire people who are the biggest headaches for them,” said John Carnevale, who was Replica Bags director of planning for the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy and now runs a consulting firm. “These people understand how DEA operates, the culture around diversion and DEA’s goals, and they can advise their clients how to stay within the guidelines.” Replica Designer Handbags
wholesale replica designer handbags The DEA’s Diversion Control Division, tasked with preventing prescription drugs from reaching the black market, wields enormous replica handbags online power within the pharmaceutical world. The small division, with about 300 employees at its Arlington, Va., headquarters, can suspend or revoke the licenses of doctors, pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies that fail to comply with federal law. States including Massachusetts, purse replica handbags and Replica Bags most recently Virginia, have declared public health emergencies as the number of deaths has replica bags escalated. wholesale replica designer handbags
[How drugs intended for patients ended up in the hands of illegal users]
replica Purse It is not unusual for corporations to hire federal employees directly high quality replica handbags away from the government. Their expertise and inside knowledge can be invaluable, but there are laws and regulations to slow the “revolving door” in Washington and prevent potential conflicts of interest. replica Purse
Fake Handbags The restrictions include a lifetime ban on participating “personally and substantially” on a “particular matter” that the official had handled while working for the federal government. There also is a two year ban on switching sides on a wider array of matters that replica handbags china were in the employee’s official purview. State bar associations impose additional post employment restrictions for government lawyers. Fake Handbags
Fake Designer Bags An industry spokesman said former DEA diversion purse replica handbags officials are hired for their expertise. Fake Designer Bags
“Our industry is highly specialized, and the replica Purse function replica handbags online of https://www.handbagaol.com drug diversion experts even more Fake Handbags so,” said John M. Gray, president and chief executive of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, which represents drug distributors. “As such, for these individuals who want to continue to grow in their areas of expertise, it is logical for them to pursue government and industry roles that are closely aligned with their professional experience.”
replica handbags china While The Post did not find evidence that the officials violated conflict of interest regulations, the number of hires from one key division shows how an industry can potentially blunt a government agency’s aggressive attempts at enforcement. replica handbags china
cheap replica handbags The DEA diversion officials who have gone to the industry since 2005 include two executive assistants who managed day to day operations; the deputy director of the division; the deputy chief of operations; two chiefs of policy; a deputy chief of policy; the chief of investigations; and two associate chief counsels in charge of legal affairs and enforcement actions against Replica Handbags pharmaceutical companies. cheap replica handbags
purse replica handbags “It’s obvious that they targeted the office,” said Joseph T. Rannazzisi, who ran Designer Replica Bags the diversion division for a decade before he was removed from his position and retired in 2015. “If you want to understand Replica Handbags how we were doing our investigations, the best way to do it is aaa replica designer handbags to take our people who are doing the investigations Designer Fake Bags and put them in place Replica Bags in your company. It’s not difficult to understand why you would take these guys. They know the law.” purse replica handbags
Most of the DEA officials went to work for the pharmaceutical industry and law firms within weeks of leaving the agency. Among the 31 DEA diversion employees, 22 began their new jobs within weeks of leaving the DEA, according to work histories the officials posted on LinkedIn, as well as news cheap replica handbags releases and biographies published by the companies and law firms that hired them.
aaa replica designer handbags The Post found that several high ranking DEA supervisors from outside the diversion division also took top jobs with industry: four special agents wholesale replica designer handbags in charge and three assistant special agents in charge Wholesale Replica Bags of field operations in some of the nation’s largest cities, including replica handbags china New York, Washington and Atlanta. aaa replica designer handbags
Replica Handbags In responses to questions from The Post, the DEA said in a statement that Designer Replica Bags former employees must follow the law and ethics regulations in taking jobs in the Replica Designer Handbags private sector. Replica Handbags
Wholesale Replica Bags “Many who serve in government possess expert knowledge in a wide variety of fields. It is not uncommon for former government officials to use or rely on such expertise when they transfer to the private sector Fake Handbags following their public sector service,” DEA spokesman Rusty Payne said in the statement. “Employees who leave DEA and other government agencies for private sector work are expected to abide by the applicable laws and ethics rules that govern their private sector activities.” Wholesale Replica Bags
Designer Replica Bags At Replica Designer Handbags least five of the 31 DEA employees were hired by McKesson the nation’s largest drug distributor and fifth largest corporation. McKesson has been the subject of two publicly disclosed DEA enforcement actions, which resulted in $163million in fines after allegations that the firm failed to report hundreds of suspicious orders for millions of pain pills from Internet pharmacies and others. Designer Replica Bags
Handbags Replica “McKesson Replica Bags has put significant resources towards building a best in class controlled substance monitoring program to help identify suspicious orders and prevent prescription drug diversion in the Replica Designer Handbags supply chain,” the company said in a statement. “It is only natural that this team is comprised of a broad range of experts, including individuals Replica Bags who have spent time at DEA, as they bring deep knowledge of effective strategies to prevent diversion. Our team is deeply passionate about curbing the opioid epidemic in our country.” Handbags Replica
The Post contacted a dozen former DEA officials Designer Replica Bags who went to work for the drug industry, but few agreed to be interviewed. Those who did said they followed federal ethics guidelines designed to prevent potential conflicts of interest for officials who switch from government to the industries they once regulated.
KnockOff Handbags “I don’t feel like I took off the white hat and put the black hat on,” said Larry P. Cote, who left as the associate chief counsel for the DEA’s diversion division in May 2012 to become a partner Replica Designer Handbags at the law firm Quarles Brady. “That’s really not what’s going on. It’s trying to get the best people in place to make Wholesale Replica Bags sure that companies are replica Purse staying purse replica handbags compliant. And frankly, that benefits the DEA as much as it benefits the companies.” KnockOff Handbags
At Quarles Brady, Cote serves as co director of the Handbags Replica firm’s DEA Compliance and Litigation Practice Group and provides legal advice to some of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies.
Cote said he obtained an ethics opinion from the DEA that advised him on which cases he could and could not handle in the private sector.
Designer Fake Bags Ethics experts said revolving door KnockOff Handbags issues have been a long standing concern across the government, Replica Designer Handbags with some of the most notable cases coming from the Defense Department. President elect Donald Trump recently criticized the revolving door at the Pentagon, saying high ranking officials “should never be allowed to go work” for companies in the defense industry. Designer Fake Bags
replica handbags online The ethics experts said the number of officials switching sides at the DEA raises serious questions about whether the ability of the diversion division to carry out its mission has been compromised by the pharmaceutical industry replica handbags online.
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