James Cosentino has pending case for allegedly using forged prescriptions to acquire more than 13,000 opioid pills over the course of nine months
MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Valley Stream man has been indicted for allegedly using doctors’ prescription pads to illegally obtain Oxycodone and Morphine from several pharmacies in Nassau County in 2021 and 2022.
James Cosentino, 29, was indicted by a grand jury and arraigned Thursday before Judge Fran Ricigliano on charges including eight counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree (a D felony); eight counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree (a B felony); and eight counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree (an A misdemeanor). The defendant is due back in court on August 3, 2022. If convicted of the top charge, the defendant faces a potential maximum of nine years in prison.
“This defendant has, on several occasions, allegedly used forged prescriptions to obtain large quantities of opioids, including Oxycodone and Morphine, from pharmacies around Nassau County,” said DA Donnelly. “Again and again, Cosentino allegedly used these forged prescription pads – stolen from doctors’ offices – to get his hands on thousands of pills. We will continue to fight the scourge of opioids in our county and prosecute those individuals who prolong the life of this epidemic in our communities.”
DA Donnelly said that, according to the charges, Cosentino allegedly acquired prescription pads that were stolen from doctors’ offices in Inwood and Valley Stream. Between approximately December 2021 and April 2022, the defendant allegedly went to several Nassau County-based pharmacies, on numerous occasions, and handed forged prescriptions to the pharmacies for drugs including Oxycodone and Morphine.
Cosentino allegedly acquired approximately 1,830 pills during this period.
The defendant was previously indicted on December 23, 2021, on charges including Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree for allegedly using forged prescriptions at Nassau County-based pharmacies between approximately December 2019 and September 2020, to acquire Oxycodone and Morphine.
In this pending matter, the defendant allegedly acquired 11,580 oxycodone pills and 2,820 morphine pills during the nine-month period.
Cosentino was arrested on these new charges by members of the Nassau County Police Department on April 13, 2022.
This case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Matthew Laube of the Narcotics, Firearms, and Gangs Bureau. The defendant is represented by Kimberly Lerner, Esq.
The charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.
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