Family doctor busted for allegedly distributing millions of pain pills

June 6, 2017 By Paul Frangipane Special to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Dr. Martin Tesher covered his face in front of reporters outside Brooklyn Federal Court Monday. Eagle photo by Paul Frangipane

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An 81-year-old Manhattan doctor is out on a $250,000 bond after he was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court Monday for allegedly and illegally prescribing more than 2.2 million oxycodone pills.

Martin Tesher, a general practitioner who operates on 68th Street in Manhattan between Fifth and Madison avenues, allegedly wrote more than 14,000 oxycodone prescriptions “without a legitimate medical purpose,” authorities said, in some cases to opioid addicts, between June 2012 and January 2017.

Oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, is highly addictive and produces euphoric effects similar to heroin.

Federal prosecutors said Tesher prescribed a “disproportionately high amount” of painkillers for a family doctor on a continuing basis to patients that he had reason to believe had substance abuse issues, according to court documents.

An investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began in December 2015 with a confidential informant patient.

The patient showed Tesher a scar from a previous surgery and said he or she was taking oxycodone from a family member. Tesher then prescribed 240 30 mg pills and continued to prescribe more at each appointment. The patient saw Tesher about 15 times and was never offered physical therapy or other treatment.

In another case, a DEA informant sat in the waiting room when a male patient said that he was getting 600 pills per month from Tesher and used to get 800 per month to sell them for $35 per pill on the street. When the informant asked about the scripts to a nurse, the nursed asked how the informant found out about Tesher’s “program.”

Tesher allegedly indicated that the informant had addiction problems, as with other patients Tesher treated, and prescribed oxycodone anyway on the first appointment.

Oxycodone addiction commonly leads to heroin addiction, which is significantly cheaper on the street level.

There were 937 overdose deaths in 2015 citywide, with 223 in Brooklyn, according to a statement by the Health Department.

Mayor Bill de Blasio added $25 million over three years to tackle the rising opioid epidemic in New York.

In 2016, there were more than 1,370 overdose deaths across New York, roughly 80 percent of those involved opioid overdoses, according to a report by the Daily News.

Tesher said in court that he makes about $66,000 a month and is applying for a private attorney, but because of $133,000 worth of debt from his wife’s medical charges, Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom said he might not be eligible.

Federal Defender Len Kamdang currently represents him.

Tesher was stripped of his right to prescribe substances Schedules II, III, IV and V. He may still prescribe antibiotics.