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A joint investigation by state and federal law enforcement authorities has resulted in the arrest of an employee of a Skokie pharmacy for illegally selling millions of dollars worth of painkilling drugs, according to the Office of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

Earl Newsome, 57, of Calumet Park, has been charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance and Theft following a joint investigation by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department. Newsome appeared in court today at the Cook County Courthouse in Skokie where his bail was set at $3 million by Judge Marcia Orr. His case was continued to October 3rd for a preliminary hearing.

According to investigators, Newsome worked at Pharmore Drugs, a pharmacy in Skokie that supplies healthcare facilities with prescription medications.   Newsome’s responsibilities with the company included placing orders with drug wholesale companies.

Within recent months investigators developed information that various individuals were traveling to Pharmore Drugs to purchase large quantities of Hydrocodone, a painkilling drug that is marketed in various forms under a number of different trademark names including Vicodin and Norco.

According to prosecutors, Newsome acted in his capacity as a technician at the pharmacy to over-order large quantities of certain medications containing hydrocodone.  As part of this scheme, prosecutors allege that Newsome diverted the additional quantities of hydrocodone shipments when they were received at Pharmore Drugs and then sold these bulk quantities of the drug to various buyers who then distributed the hydrocodone for illicit street-level sales.  Pharmore Drugs was then billed and made payment for the illegally diverted drugs.

Investigators believe that since January of 2011 Newsome illegally sold an estimated 700,000 pills containing hydrocodone, with an estimated street value of $6 to $10 per pill for a total estimated street value ranging up to $7 million. 

Newsome was arrested Thursday and search warrants were executed at his Calumet Park residence as well as at Pharmore Drugs.

State’s Attorney Alvarez thanked the agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency, Sheriff’s Police and Assistant State’s Attorneys from the Narcotics Bureau for their joint work on the case.

"The sale of illegal prescription drugs is a serious consumer concern and it is a crime that we will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute," Alvarez said.  "We thank our investigative partners for their fine work on this case and their coordinated efforts."

“Prescription drug abuse continues to plague communities throughout the United States and the Chicago-land area is no different. The DEA has recently stressed the importance of guarding prescription drugs from being diverted in the home to those they were not prescribed for,” stated Jack Riley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA. “In this investigation, DEA agents and Diversion Investigators partnered with Cook County Sheriff’s Investigators to plug a gaping hole of powerful prescription pain medication from allegedly being diverted for illegal mass distribution.”

The public is reminded that charging documents contain allegations that are not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial at which the state has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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