Former Purdue Pharma CEO called opioid addicts 'victimizers' and 'criminals' in 2001 email.
Former chief executive officer of opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma Richard Sackler wrote an email to a friend in 2001 calling opioid abusers"victimizers" and"criminals" and complained that"calling drug addicts 'scum of the earth' will guarantee that I become the poster child for liberals who want to distribute the blame to someone else," according to previously-undisclosed documents attached to a lawsuit against Purdue from the state of Connecticut.
An attorney for Sackler confirmed through a spokeswoman the authenticity of the email exchanges but said they were written long ago and taken out of context. “Unfortunately," Sackler responded,"when I’m ambushed by 60 Minutes I can’t easily get this concept across. Calling drug addicts ‘scum of the earth’ will guarantee that I become the poster child for liberals who want to distribute the blame to someone else.”
Connecticut attorney general William Tong indicated in a statement that the comments were infuriating to him. "Purdue and defendant members of the Sackler family knew people were dying, but they continued to push their opioids in blind pursuit of profit. Purdue and the Sacklers must be held accountable," said Tong.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Algerian police arrest brother of former president, two former intelligence chiefs: sourcesAlgerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former pr...
Read more »
Former CEO Eric Schmidt and former Google Cloud leader Diane Greene will leave Alphabet boardSchmidt will become a technical advisor to the company he formerly chaired. He handed the CEO role to co-founder Larry Page in 2012, and left the chairman of the board position in 2018.
Read more »
Trump taps former Obama Border Patrol chief Mark Morgan to run ICEPresident Trump announces that he is nominating Mark Morgan, who briefly ran the Border Patrol under President Obama, to lead ICE.
Read more »
Former Billionaire John Kapoor Convicted In Opioid Bribery TrialAfter more than three weeks of deliberation, a federal jury has found Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor as well as three former Insys managers guilty of racketeering conspiracy.
Read more »
Former Billionaire John Kapoor Convicted In Opioid Bribery TrialAfter more than three weeks of deliberation, a federal jury has found Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor as well as three former Insys managers guilty of racketeering conspiracy.
Read more »
Former CIA officer Jerry Lee admits conspiracy to spy for ChinaOfficials believe he helped compromise assets in the country.
Read more »
Michael Cohen, president's former fixer, heads to prisonMichael Cohen heads to prison: “I hope when I rejoin my family and friends that the country will be in a place without xenophobia, injustice and lies at the helm of our country'
Read more »
Trump pardons former soldier who was convicted of murdering an Iraqi prisonerMichael Behenna, who said he acted in self-defense, served five years in prison for stripping an al-Qaeda suspect naked and shooting him.
Read more »
Former Obama Treasury official mocks Trump’s ‘brilliant’ conclusion about lifeAaron Klein, a Brookings economist and former deputy assistant Treasury secretary under Obama, kicked off his appearance at the Milken Institute Global...
Read more »