Police

Former Hellertown Pharmacist Sentenced to Prison, Must Pay $2.5 Million

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A former Hellertown pharmacist convicted in federal court for her participation in an international online painkiller distribution scheme was sentenced to three years in prison, two years of probation and ordered to forfeit $2.5 million Wednesday, according to an article published by the Express-Times.pills-384846_1280

Lena Lasher, 47, of High Bridge, N.J., dispensed or aided in the illegal dispensing of hundreds of thousands of prescription pills worth more than $13 million while she supervised Palmer Pharmacy & Much More and was pharmacist-in-charge at Hellertown Pharmacy, authorities were able to prove at trial, according to the article.

The Hellertown Pharmacy–which was located in the Shoppes at Hellertown from late 2010 until it closed in early 2013–was raided by federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency in November 2012.

Subsequently charges were brought against Lasher and pharmacy owner Peter Riccio, who pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing a controlled substance over the Internet in late 2013 and was sentenced to two years of probation and a $400,000 forfeiture last year, the Express-Times reported.

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About the author

Josh Popichak

Josh Popichak is the owner, publisher and editor of Saucon Source. A Lehigh Valley native, he's covered local news since 2005 and previously worked for Berks-Mont News and AOL/Patch. Contact him at josh@sauconsource.com.

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