Opioid addiction is a powerful disease that causes sufferers to do desperate things. Once an addict's doctor stops refilling their prescription, they have to find a way to keep feeding their illness. Often, their only option is to commit prescription drug fraud....
Onondaga County Criminal Defense Blog
New York’s opioid addiction crisis affects most, in one way or another
While the COVID-19 pandemic is consuming most of the headlines right now, there is another health crisis affecting New Yorkers here in Syracuse and across the state: opioid addiction. These powerful painkillers can be highly addictive. Millions of Americans became...
Potential defenses in embezzlement cases
Your career was not supposed to end this way. As a longtime bookkeeper for a nonprofit, your job was filled with responsibilities and tasks such as overseeing some of your organization’s financial accounts. You had your fingers on the nonprofit’s financial pulse, and...
Factors that impact the accuracy of sobriety tests
When you hear the word test, the words pass or fail might also come to mind. But when it comes to demonstrating whether you’ve been driving under the influence of alcohol or not, the results aren’t always so straightforward. There are errors a police officer may make...
The red flags that may signal white collar criminal activity
White collar crime – fraud, embezzlement, Ponzi schemes, insider trading, identity theft, etc. – hits the headlines only when the most spectacular cases break. Some individuals become infamous because of the crimes they committed (Bernard Madoff). In other cases, the...
New York’s different DWI laws
You already knew that drinking and driving is against the law in New York state. What you might not know is that there is more than one form of drinking and driving in the state's criminal code. Depending on what you are charged with, the penalties you could face can...
Reality TV star faces federal fraud charges
It began more than nine years ago with “Love & Hip Hop: New York.” VH-1’s reality TV show revolved around a cast of hip hop and R&B performers, musicians, managers and producers. The show that launched in early 2011 was a hit, spawning several spin-offs in...
A guide to federal drug conspiracy charges
The federal government takes drug charges seriously. The feds will often pursue federal drug conspiracy charges to enhance the potentially harsh consequences of a criminal charge. It is important to know how the government defines a “conspiracy” and how you can help...
The extensive repercussions of DWI convictions for college students
Nobody wants their child to drink and drive, but when they make a mistake, you want them to learn from that error with it affecting the rest of their life. If a student is charged with a DWI or DWAI (driving while ability impaired), the conviction could affect their...
How the criminal justice system fails those with addiction issues
In a lot of ways, the War on Drugs has been a failed operation. Not only have addiction rates soared across the country in recent years, but our government now locks up individuals whose only crime is dependence on a substance declared illegal. Treating chemical...
