The opioid epidemic continues to tear across the country, as well as New York and Suffolk County. While overdose deaths continue to rise, deaths at the hands of impaired drivers and laced substances continue to stand out as elected officials plan to lobby Albany for loophole closures and as the community awaits answers.
Elected officials and affected families Gathered at the Suffolk County District Attorney building in Hauppauge on Friday morning to hold a final press conference before the groups’ Monday, January 8, descent on Albany.
Alan Bodie, Chief Assistant District Attorney to Ray Tierney (R), headlined the press conference, calling for “common sense changes to our laws to fight this opioid crisis.” The group will be lobbying for four bipartisan laws, with one to classify families who have lost loved ones to overdoses as crime victims, and another to outlaw xylazine, otherwise known as Tranq, in New York State. Xylazine is a cattle sedative that is being mixed with fentanyl to increase the latter drug’s high. It is increasingly being linked to overdose deaths.
Bodie introduced the many families who have lost young family members to overdoses. Notably, Sue and Gene Murray, parents of Chelsey, for whom Chelsey’s Law is named, were present. The Murrays also lost their son Michael to an overdose. Chelsey died of an overdose at the age of 31 in 2022 after purchasing substances laced with fentanyl.
Chelsey’s Law would hold drug dealers accountable for the deaths of buyers who overdose on their products that are laced with fentanyl.
“It’s not just about our daughter Chelsey,” said Gene Murray. “It’s about all the families who have lost people over the years. We have to change the laws because nobody is being held accountable for dealing death. The fentanyl that killed my daughter was a tiny amount, but it was deadly. The dealers get out of prison in a few years, but the families deal with this for life.”
Bodie mentioned that the law enforcement agencies and unions paid for the transportation to Albany for Monday’s rally.
“This opioid crisis is an epidemic; it’s the leading cause of death for people aged 18 to 50,” said Bodie. “Last year, 110,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. That’s even more casualties than all the years of the Vietnam War put together. This needs to be treated like a crisis. 300 people a day die of an overdose in the United States; that’s the equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing every day.”
Bodie also relayed the problem he and others have seen in the Suffolk and Nassau District Attorneys’ offices.
“As prosecutors, we can’t ask for bail on a fentanyl dealer unless they deal enough fentanyl to kill 114,000 people,” said Bodie. “We cannot ask for bail until somebody dies. If we are able to charge a dealer, all we can charge them with is the drug sale. There is no additional penalty whatsoever for selling drugs that you know are going to kill somebody.”
Bodie expanded on the ancillary problems of the crisis. For example, xylazine has been found in 20% of drug overdose autopsies in Suffolk County. Xylazine is not illegal for sale in New York State.
Bodie also spoke of desired legislation that recognizes the families of overdose victims as victims themselves.
“Even if we’re able to charge the dealers with the drug sale that caused the death of a young person, the families are kept out of the crime victims’ fund. They’re not eligible to get money to bury their loved ones. That’s wrong,” said Bodie.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) attended and spoke in support of the legislation and the initiative.
“Last year, 400 people in this county died of fentanyl overdoses,” said Romaine. “We have to petition the State. The DA told me if a mosquito lands on your arm, the weight of that mosquito in fentanyl is enough to kill you, and yet they can’t charge someone or hold them for bail unless it’s many times that amount. I’m 100% behind these changes.”
Romaine also offered a commitment: “As County Executive, we are going to make sure that we have the police, detectives, and superior officers necessary to address this crisis, and to work hand-in-glove with our health department, which has to give a greater priority to this epidemic. They will have the resources to do so.”
“I have hope in the bipartisan support that this bill is getting that we can get this passed,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly (R). “It will give DA Tierney and I the tools to prosecute the people for killing our children.”
Lou Civello, President of the Suffolk PBA, offered his thoughts and support.
“It’s staggering to hear the list of young lives taken before their times,” said Civello. “Are we so misguided and so perverse in our morals that we treat victims this way, that they cannot bury their loved ones? We treat drug dealers as if they were the victims? This is not a partisan issue. Fentanyl kills Democrats and Republicans alike. We are asking for common sense changes that will allow your law enforcement and prosecutors to stem the tide of death and poison coming into our communities.”
Assemblyman Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills), the sponsor of the initiative, spoke on behalf of the NYS Assembly.
“This is a public health and safety issue, but I’m sure most of my colleagues would agree, it’s one of the most important moral issues of our time,” said Stern. “We all agree that too many of our loved ones, neighbors, and too many within our communities are dying and we need to do much more. The initiatives that we are bringing to Albany will, when enacted, make an immediate impact. We are very confident that our colleagues in Albany will see it the same way. You cannot tell me that after spending a few moments with the families of the victims that these family members are not victims themselves. The victims’ families should always have a word to say in how we create policy going forward. ”
State Senator Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue) spoke on behalf of the NYS Senate.
“This has been months and months of work back and forth to get it right,” said Murray. “We’re talking about saving lives here. This package of four bills is literally about life and death.”
Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer (D-North Babylon) presented Bodie with a passed resolution in support of the initiative.
In attendance also were Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon (D), Senator Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk), Senator Steve Rhoads (R-Bellmore), Senator Mario Mattera (R-St. James), Assemblyman Keith Brown (R-Northport), and Suffolk County Legislator and Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst).
Of law enforcement, Suffolk Police Benevolent Association Lou Civello, Superior Officers Association James Gruenfelder, Deputy Sheriffs PBA President John Becker, Suffolk County Correction Officers Association President Lou Viscusi, and representatives from the Southampton PBA, the Police Association of Suffolk County, the Eastern Long Island Police Conference of New York, the Police Conference of New York, the Asian Jade Society, and the Suffolk County Detectives Association were all in attendance.
