NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — A New Rochelle physician pleaded guilty to selling thousands of Oxycodone pills for cash, authorities announced on Tuesday.
Mordechai Bar, 71, of Larchmont, was convicted of one count of illicitly distributing and dispensing oxycodone and other controlled substances.
According to court documents, between January 2023 and June 2024, Bar, repeatedly prescribed oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose and outside of the usual course of professional practice.
Bar often prescribed oxycodone, a highly addictive opioid that is used to treat severe and chronic pain, as well as pain associated with certain forms of cancer and other terminal illnesses, in combination with amphetamines and/or alprazolam, controlled substances that are themselves frequently abused and resold illicitly, prosecutors said.
Oxycodone prescriptions command high prices in the black market because of demand by drug abusers, US Attorney Damian Williams said.
Bar sold these prescriptions for cash, and he did so without performing physical examinations or medical tests on the patients in whose names the prescriptions were issued.
Bar faces up to 20 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 18, 2025.
"Dr. Mordechai Bar hid behind his medical license while he prescribed oxycodone without a legitimate medical need. Like any drug dealer, he pumped highly addictive substances into the streets for profit, with no regard for the impact on the community," Williams said. "Along with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively prosecute physicians who help fuel the opioid crisis."