NEW YORK – Two men were charged with distributing “Breaking Bad” heroin, the use of which caused the overdose death of three people, authorities said.
A federal criminal complaint was unsealed Thursday charged Dennis Sica, 36, and John Rohlman, 25, both of Dutchess County, with drug distribution, officials said.
“Three young people from our community are dead, the tragic victims of heroin peddled by the defendants under the label ‘Breaking Bad.’ Heroin and opioid abuse hurts all of our communities,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. “It affects everyday people, people with jobs, people with families. Although the heroin and prescription painkiller epidemic may be breaking bad, we must aggressively make good on our collective obligation to stamp out this affliction. No more half-measures. The lives of our children and the vitality of our communities depend on it.”
“This year DEA New York has seized 110% more heroin than in 2009. The Mexican drug trafficking organizations are flooding the Northeast market with heroin, leaving tragic overdose deaths in the cartel’s wakes” said DEA Acting Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt. “Case in point – the tragic deaths of three victims who allegedly bought heroin from two local drug dealers; Dennis Sica and John Rohlman. I applaud the prosecutors and investigators who arrested the defendants. These arrests are a message to dealers alike that behind every overdose, law enforcement is looking for the drug dealer responsible.”
According to the allegations in the complaint:
From at least late 2013 to February, Sica and Rohlma worked together in Dutchess County to sell a particularly potent form of heroin, bags of which were stamped with the brand name “Breaking Bad.” At least some of the heroin distributed by Sica and Rohlman was laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is significantly stronger than street heroin.
On the night of December 28, 2013, Sica sold “Breaking Bad” heroin to Anthony Delello, a 20-year-old resident of Beekman, New York. Delello snorted some of Sica’s heroin and was found dead by his girlfriend the following day.
The Dutchess County Medical Examiner’s report concluded that he died from “acute heroin intoxication.”
Delello’s death did not stop Sica and Rohlman from selling “Breaking Bad” heroin.
Four days after Delello was found dead, Sica and Rohlman exchanged a series of text messages in which Sica urged Rohlma to delete the text message history in the phone they used to sell heroin and, if asked, to deny knowing anything about Delello or the manner of his death.
According to one witness, during the month that followed, Sica and Rohlman were responsible for distributing approximately 250 grams of “Breaking Bad” heroin per day.
Slightly more than a month after Delello’s death, two more individuals died after overdosing on “Breaking Bad” heroin.
On February 1, Thomas Miller, 31, was found dead by his mother at his home in Pawling, New York.
A hypodermic needle, as well as several glassine bags stamped with the words “Breaking Bad” were found near his body. Some of the glassine bags were full, others were empty. A chemical analysis of the contents of the full glassine bags showed that they contained a mixture of quinine, fentanyl, and heroin, authorities allege.
The medical examiner’s report indicates that Miller died of “acute intoxication by the combined effects of heroin and fentanyl.”
Text messages between Miller and Rohlman on the night before Miller was found dead show that Rohlman arranged for Miller to purchase “Breaking Bad” heroin from Sica that night, officials said.
On February 2, 2014, SICA was arrested in East Fishkill, New York after a car in which he was riding was stopped by law enforcement.
During the stop, an East Fishkill police officer noticed several glassine envelopes lying on the car’s floorboard. Upon further inspection, the officer observed that the glassine bags were stamped with a “Breaking Bad” stamp identical to the one that appears on the envelopes recovered from Thomas Miller’s bedroom, according to officials,
If convicted of these crimes, Sica and Rohlman could get up to life in prison.