CHICAGO —(ENEWSPF)–January 29, 2016. A suspended Chicago pharmacist was sentenced today to a year and a day in federal prison for dispensing counterfeit erectile-dysfunction pills he had imported from China.
MICHAEL MARKIEWICZ sold approximately 1,600 counterfeit Viagra and Cialis tablets without a prescription to customers at his Northwest Side pharmacy. Markiewicz had ordered the phony pills from China via the Internet. Had the pills been genuine, their retail value would have been approximately $35,000.
Markiewicz, 39, of Norridge, pleaded guilty last year to one count of trafficking and attempting to traffic in a counterfeit drug, and one count of dispensing a counterfeit drug with the intent to defraud and mislead.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee also fined Markiewicz $10,000 and ordered him to forfeit his pharmacy to the government.
“Defendant’s conduct risked the health of his customers, both by ordering a drug with mysterious origins and by giving it to patients without a doctor’s authorization,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel B. Cole argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “It was a substantial breach of trust by a medical professional.”
According to Markiewicz’ plea agreement, the counterfeit tablets from China were shipped in boxes that purported to contain pens. The customs declaration described the packages as containing only the pens, without identifying the hidden tablets. Markiewicz sold the counterfeit tablets in his pharmacy for at least $20 per pill, according to the plea agreement.
The Illinois Department of Professional Regulation suspended Markiewicz’ pharmacist license in 2012, and it also revoked the pharmaceutical privileges of his business, Belmont Pharmacy. Markiewicz had most recently been operating the business as an herb and nutrient retailer in the same location, 6148 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago.
The sentencing was announced today by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Mark S. McCormack, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office in Chicago; and Antonio Gómez, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago.
The government is represented by Mr. Cole and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric S. Pruitt.
Source: http://www.justice.gov
