Dopesick (2021) s01e08 Episode Script
The People vs. Purdue Pharma
1
I brought you here tonight
to sign a petition
so we can try to bring
an end to this nightmare.
I think a lot about being a doctor again.
A way to make amends for the pain that we have caused others is to give back.
You need to get to a hospital immediately.
Fuck off.
Come to New Orleans.
I'll be the regional manager.
We'll make a fortune there.
A black box label indicates the drug is much more dangerous.
Absolutely not.
I don't believe you will find support at Main Justice for felony charges against these individuals.
Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen.
After careful consideration, I have decided to indict Michael Friedman, Paul Goldenheim, and Howard Udell on felony charges.
I'm starting Suboxone tomorrow.
Give me one hell of a sendâoff.
Got it.
Beth is in heaven now.
Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Take down their name! Take down their name! Take down their name! Take down their name! No longer! No longer! No longer.
No longer! No longer! No longer! 400,000 dead, 400,000 dead, 400,000 Sacklers lie, people die! Sacklers lie, people die! Sacklers lie, people die! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Your record since the plea deal continues to be clean, which is good.
You also continue to pass your drug tests, also good.
You're on path to complete your probation in three months' time.
Have you thought about what you'll do then? Well, I really want to get my medical license back, but I can't do that as long as I'm on Suboxone.
How long do you think you'll be on the MAT for? I don't know.
Um I'm afraid I'll relapse if I stop.
If you choose to stay on the MAT, you need to consider a profession that doesn't require a medical license.
Yeah, okay.
Hey, Elizabeth Ann.
How you doing? Whatââ what are you doing here? Same as you, Doc.
You had enough to eat, enough sleep? You don'tââ Can you just leave me alone? Hey, you.
What if I wait outside for you? When you're done in here, I'll take you to lunch.
We'll visit a little bit and catch up.
You know, I'll buy you anything you want.
If you don't eat it, you can take it home.
How was your meeting? Not great.
I got two years left, and she keeps telling me I'll probably end up back in jail.
Yeah, they all think we're just a bunch of, you know, worthless junkies.
They don't get it.
They don't know that if we don't have this stuff, it feels like we can't breathe.
If I stop, I'll die.
And if I don't stop, I'll die.
So I guess I'm gonna die.
So that's kind of why I wanted to talk to you.
Okay? I'm seeing this doctor.
And I'm on this new medication, and it's really helped me.
I haven't relapsed in a year, and my mind is coming back like it used to be before all this.
Really? Yeah, really.
Hey.
Elizabeth Ann, you're young.
You got an entire future that you could do anything.
You could go to college if you wanted to go to college.
You could if you wanted to.
You could.
Listen to me.
I will personally drive you to this doctor I've been seeing.
I'll drive you there, and I'll you drive back.
And I'll take you to therapy twice a week, and I'll pay for all of it.
What's in it for you? I delivered you, girl.
Ain't no one thing in this world I wouldn't do to help you get better when you're sick, nothing.
I'll try it.
I'll try it.
But no promises I'll keep going.
Okay, okay, fair enough.
Today, we are here to celebrate the promotion of Amber Collins.
Look, all I have to say is, New Orleans better watch out because they got a bitch tiger coming their way! Cheers! Cheers! Sayonara, you motherfuckers.
Hi.
Hey.
Someone hasn't put in their transfer to Nola yet.
I was giving it some space between you leaving, so they're not suspicious.
Are you not coming? Of course I'm still coming.
'Cause I'm a big girl.
If you changed your mind, you can tell me.
I haven't changed my mind.
Good, I wanna make this work.
Me too.
You better.
Hey, Billy.
Um, I gotta run a few things past you.
Can you swing by my office in say, ten? Sure.
Okay.
Shut the door for me, Billy.
Sure.
Have a seat.
Yeah.
How's it going? These are two lawyers from headquarters.
I have some concern over three training tapes that went missing from my office.
And you were in here alone last week.
Right.
Um I didn't takeââif that's I don't know anything about any missing tapes.
If Purdue property were to show up in the media or in the hands of law enforcement, and those tapes were traced back to you, we would sue you for stolen property, breach of contract, and misappropriation of trade secrets.
We'll bankrupt you with litigation for the rest of your life.
But I didn'tââI didn'tââ I didn't take 'em.
I didn't take the tapes.
Several people, including myself, have noticed a very negative attitude towards your work of late.
We think it's best to terminate your contract.
Um Okay.
This is a nondisclosure agreement.
If you sign it, you'll get a severance package of $75,000.
I would need to show this to my lawyer first, but Iââ No, you need to sign it right now, right here.
If you don't, you get nothing, and you make yourself vulnerable to future litigation.
Billy, come on.
This doesn't have to get ugly.
If you did take the tapes, this will smooth it all out, as long as you destroy those tapes right away.
You are not gonna get a better deal than this.
And the flip side, flip side could get really bad.
Do what you do best, and take the money.
Clear the way, Clear the way! Are you friends with him? No.
I always thought he was kind of a tool.
All right? I remember you were one of my smartest.
You were probably the smartest patient I had.
Always reading a book, you know.
I'm looking for something new.
You got any favorites? How'd it go? She did very well.
She took her first dose, and she needs to wait here an hour to make sure she doesn't have an adverse reaction to the medication.
All right, okay.
Well then, we'll just stay put for a minute.
I'll see you in a week, young lady.
Thanks, Doc.
He's a good guy.
You okay? Vanity Fair.
What? You should read Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.
It's one of my favorites.
People think it's a girls' book, but it's really more than that.
What's it about? It's about this poor girl, Becky, who's smart, and cunning, and determined to make her way into London society.
But, of course, it's not easy, 'cause all those snobs care about is status and class.
Sounds about right.
Neither Purdue, nor the FDA, nor the DEA, nor the medical community anticipated the extent of this problem.
Purdue's marketing practices have not played a role in the criminal activities of doctors who illegally prescribe OxyContin for cash and have not encouraged robberies from pharmacies or patients.
From Dr.
Goldenheim's personal emails, we can prove that he knew his testimony before Congress was false.
He was aware the reports of patient abuse are not rare, as they were described in countless newspaper articles, some of which were emailed directly to Dr.
Goldenheim.
This testimony was taken in D.
C.
, so it's not admissible in the state of Virginia case.
Well, the state of Virginia is a Commonwealth, and we thought you might bring that up.
We uncovered that transcripts from Goldenheim's, Udell's, and Friedman's false Congressional testimony were faxed to sales reps all over the country to show them top executives, quote, "had their backs.
" And one of the places that it was faxed to was here in Virginia, which makes it not only admissible, but we'll now also be charging wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud based on the use of wires to transmit this false testimony.
You really think a judge will go for that? You really think they won't? My client will not move forward with any settlement that involves felony charges against individual executives.
However, I am authorized to offer a financial settlement to resolve this matter.
How much? $10 million.
The Commonwealth of Virginia counters at 1.
6 billion.
Is that a joke? No, and since we have Michael Friedman, Howard Udell, and Paul Goldenheim all dead to rights on lying to Congress and conspiracy to defraud, there will be no deal until they plead guilty to felony charges as well.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Thank you for coming by.
These assholes really do think they're just gonna barrel right over us.
I mean, 10 million? Fuck those guys.
How long before they find out Main Justice doesn't want to pursue felony charges against individuals? Well, they probably already know through Giuliani, but it doesn't really make a difference.
We're just gonna keep moving ahead like it's happening.
We don't indict, we lose any shot of getting 'em to flip on the Sacklers.
Yeah, I get that, but look.
If we're gonna move Main Justice on indictments, it's going to take something significant to change their mind.
I mean, it's gonna take something emotional.
It's gonna take something egregious that might publicly blow up in their face if they don't indict.
Of course.
We'll keep looking.
Thank you, sir.
Anything with breakthrough pain? Covered it.
Maybe new way into blood charts? Maybe a direct link to Richard Sackler ordering the graph manipulation? If it was there, we'd have it.
We never did anything substantial with Toppers Contest.
You think a drugâselling competition with a powerful narcotic might move Main Justice? Hey, Jerry.
You mind if I come in? Sure.
Diane.
I haven't really been able to sleep since I heard about Betsy.
And I'm sorry I didn't come to the funeral.
We didn't want you there.
Well, that's why I didn't come.
If I could change places with her, I would.
I heard you got off that stuff.
Is that true? You know, one day at a time.
Good for you.
Hey, man.
I sure am sorry, Jerry.
Look, ain't nothing either one of us can say gonna change anything.
Or make us feel any different, really.
So just go on and live your life, Doc.
Yeah.
Well All right.
You take care.
You too now.
"I never wanted to tell anyone "my dream was to be a famous writer living in Paris "'cause I knew they'd all laugh at me.
"But I wrote almost every day till the drugs took over.
"I liked how they made the fear "I had of not being successful go away.
But the shame I feel outweighs any of that.
" Hey, wait, I'm stopping you.
I don't want to hear about shame.
I want to hear about Paris.
That was great, wasn't it, Doc? Heck yeah, it was, really great, really great.
You know what I want you guys to do? Write about your favorite memory, all right? Write something about your favorite memory, and you can make it fun.
It's okay to have fun with it.
Hey, Doc.
I mean, Sam.
It's real nice of you to keep driving us like this, but you live an hour east, and this takes up a whole day.
Why don't you move back to Finch Creek? Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
No, don't think that's a good idea.
I don't thinkââ I don't think anybody wants me back in Finch Creek.
So? Nobody wants me there.
You should come back.
Nah.
No, I don't think I could ever go back.
Purdue Pharma.
Ever since I left that place, I've been trying to put it out of my mind.
So what are you guys looking for? We'd like to discuss a sales competition known as Toppers Contest.
Right.
Was it effective? Yeah, oh, yeah, it was, like gangbusters.
You've got every rep in the country selling as hard as they can for, you know, a free trip to Bermuda or Palm Springs.
You ever seen any other pharma company do something like that before? You guys mind taking a walk? All right, look, to answer your question, no.
The bonus structure was unbelievable.
The more milligrams you sold, the more money you made.
No one else does that.
Did it bother you that sales reps were financially motivated to sell higher doses? Not at first.
I mean, look, they tricked the managers the same way they played the reps.
They would give us all this data from pain societies that made everything seem so legit.
So why'd you finally leave? Yeah, so hold on.
So I kept having to appear in court for all these lawsuits that were coming in.
I show up one day to a deposition, and Purdue doesn't have a lawyer for me.
They left me on my own, and I knew right then I have got to get out, or I'm gonna end up in some serious shit.
So why didn't they have a lawyer for you? They were pissed.
One of my sales reps stole some training session tapes out of my office, and they were scared that they were gonna leak them to the press.
Well, Billy, thanks for seeing us on such short notice.
Sure grateful to you.
Oh, that's, uhââ that's all right.
I kind of knew this day was coming.
I figured I'd have to account for my sins eventually.
So, uh, what would you like me to do, testify or You didn't sign an NDA? No, um, I couldn't.
I just couldn't keep taking their money anymore, so I didn't sign.
I can tell you whatever you want to know.
What we want are those videotapes.
Tapes? Mmâhmm.
I, uh I don't have any tapes.
We think you do.
I'm sorry.
I don't.
Listen.
You know, we all done things in our lives that we aren't proud of.
But we make amends by trying by trying to make the future a better place for others.
And, hey, you have a real opportunity here.
You could help millions of people avoid the pain brought to so many.
I did not take those tapes.
And if I did, they were destroyed a long time ago.
Unless you have a subpoena, this interview's over.
And if you do, we won't continue without an attorney present.
This is my wife, Kaitlyn.
We're at law school together.
Oh.
Is it a boy or girl? Boy.
Okay.
Well, good luck in law school.
Whatââwhat field are you thinking of? Consumer protection.
That's perfect.
You can protect the public from people like yourself.
Y'all have a nice day.
We'll let ourselves out.
Sir.
Dr.
Richard, thâthere's a petition going around Virginia.
I thought it was West Virginia.
No, it was Virginia.
Like there's a difference.
Exactly.
So I guess a nun and a country doctor formed a community coalition.
I'm sorry, aââa nun and a country doc did they walk into a bar? Richard, they collected 10,000 signatures on a petition to recall OC, pull it from the market, and reformulate it to make it safer.
And sent the petition to the FDA, where it has not gone unnoticed.
Okay.
Go to West Virginia and resolve the situation.
Um, how would you like it resolved? What did we spend in Florida? A little over two million.
No, just take care of this.
Yes, sir.
Oh, Dr.
Van Zee, Sister Beth.
How're you doing? Howard Udell, Purdue Pharma.
Nice to meet you.
A real pleasure.
This is my wife, Sue Ella.
Oh.
Thank you for meeting us.
It was a real surprise to hear from you.
Of course, we were very concerned when we saw your petition.
Sister Beth, I've actually known quite a few nuns.
I'm still good friends with a Sister Julie, so That's wonderful that you know other nuns.
It makes me feel a closeness to you I have never before experienced.
Before we discuss our petition, we wanted you to hear a personal story from a parent who lost their child to addiction, so you could get an understanding of how your drug has affected the community.
Hello.
My daughter Betsy was a quiet, hardworking girl.
After she hurt her back on her job, she started taking OxyContin, and within a year, she was a liar, a thief, and a heroin addict.
No matter what she did, she couldn't stop.
And she tried.
When she died from an overdose, there was a part of me that was relieved that she was finally out of her pain.
But that pain lives in me now and in her father.
OxyContin destroyed our family like it has so many others.
And we hope you can find a way to make it safer.
Thank you.
That's Betsy.
Yeah.
Thank you for this story.
And, um, we're so sorry for your loss.
Our coalition has gathered a petition with 10,000 signatures requesting you reformulate OxyContin.
We know this is possible because in 1983, SterlingâWinthrop pulled their painkiller Talwin and added a narcotic blocker, which immediately reduced abuse.
Thank you, Dr.
Van Zee.
We have carefully looked into this, and one of the reasons we came down here was to pay you the respect of giving you a preview of an open letter to your community that we are going to publish.
And I'd like to read it for you now, if I may.
"Dear Lee County, at Purdue Pharma, "we are aware there has been an issue in your community "with drug diversion involving our painkiller OxyContin.
"We take very seriously these issues, "and we want you to know we have heard you.
"We understand there is a request "to reformulate the drug, "but unfortunately, at this time, "it is not easy to do, "and we do not plan on taking that action.
Our main issueââ" You don't care.
You don't care that it's killing people.
You know it's dangerous.
You just wanna make as much money as possible.
That is absolutely untrue, ma'am.
You've done more to hurt the people of Appalachia than the coal industry ever thought about doing.
Yeah, ma'am, I resent that accusation.
My family goes back here for generations.
This whole meeting is a setup, it's a setup! Let's all calm down please.
Ma'am, I'm sorry to interrupt.
It is not a setup.
The main reason we came here was to make a donation to your coalition, which we know is doing tremendous work.
What kind of donation? Oh, Howard Purdue Pharma just wants to help.
So in that spirit, we'd like to donate $100,000 to your group as a gesture of goodwill to help the community.
That'sââthat's very generous.
We'll need to discuss it.
Of course.
The number of new patients I could give free care to would be significant.
That money would make a huge difference around here.
If we can get something out of these people, I think we should.
One bad month, and you could be shut down for good.
What do you think, Diane? Well, I don't know much about these matters, but if it would help people down here, then I think it might be a good idea to take it.
You might be right.
Sister Beth? Well You know, I'm not from this region originally, but I have been living here for over 30 years, and I've seen a lot of things.
I've seen coal executives fly in for generations and use their money to shut down unions and manipulate this region into lower labor costs.
That's just what wealthy people do.
They take advantage of the folks that don't have money to fight back.
That's what Purdue is doing in this very moment.
So you wanna take their payoff to shut us all up, you go ahead.
But if you do that, I will quit this coalition right here and now because I would rather burn in hell than take a penny of their blood money.
Hey, Karen? You know what this is? There's no return address.
No, but it was marked urgent, so I just left it on your desk.
Do you think it's dangerous? I don't hear ticking.
Oh, stop it.
What's going on? Somebody sent Rick a bomb.
Uhâoh.
Well, we only got a thousand potential suspects, so What is it? Purdue Pharma training tapes.
I'll be.
Looks like Billy found his soul.
Emphasize the time release coding.
It makes our drug less addictive, less prone to abuse.
It makes it almost impossible to extract oxycodone from the drug in order to snort or inject.
If theââ There's hours of tape just like this showing Purdue sales reps being trained to lie, manipulate, and aggressively sell addictive narcotics as nonaddictive.
It is absolutely outrageous.
And we now have an openâ andâshut case of misbranding, mail fraud, wire fraud, and because the company profited from illegal activity, we've got money laundering as well.
We need to discuss this with our client.
Of course.
I think we can get at least 100 million out of 'em.
Oh, I think so, too.
What does Main Justice say? Any new indications on individual indictments? No, not yet.
But, you know, the quiet tells me that we've got 'em thinking.
Now you really gotta hit 'em in the gut with your prosecution memo.
Lay it all out for Main Justice so that when they read it, they know they've got no choice but to indict these guys.
Yes, sir.
Proposed indictment of Purdue Pharma, Michael Friedman, Howard R.
Udell, and Paul D.
Goldenheim.
Perhaps no case in our history rivals the burden placed on public health and safety as that in the Western District of Virginia.
It is our recommendation to charge the defendants with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, interstate distribution of misbranded drug with intent to defraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
OxyContin abuse has significantly impacted the lives of millions of Americans.
And the fraudulent scheme and conduct articulated in this matter has a direct correlation to the health of this region and to the entire nation as a whole.
Hello, Father.
Well, I see you've decided to ruin a perfectly good evening.
Good to see you too, Richard.
Let me guess.
Mortimer's kids want more disbursements? I've asked Stephen to join us because we have a very serious issue.
This is John Brownlee, U.
S.
Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.
I've taken care of West Virginia.
Brownlee is the U.
S.
attorney that covers Appalachia.
That's the region where that nun and that country doctor rejected your offer.
I said, it's taken care of.
The FDA isn't going to respond to their petition.
But this problem goes deeper than a petition.
John Brownlee is former army, spent four years in the infantry, left the military to go to law school with the intention to be a prosecutor.
His father is currently the secretary of the army.
Now, I'm telling you this because he has opened a secret grand jury into Purdue Pharma.
Since when? We think maybe four or five months ago, but we're not exactly sure.
Call the governor or a senator.
They have no authority over a U.
S.
attorney.
Now, these are the assistant U.
S.
attorneys running the case, Rick Mountcastle and Randy Ramseyer.
Both men are top prosecutors and are driven by a strong sense of justice.
Ramseyerââhe referees local high school sports and has a deep connection to the region.
Mountcastle used to prosecute mobsters and converted to Christianity at the age of 40.
Why are you telling me all this? So that you understand they cannot be bought.
They cannot be pushed off the case.
They will not be seeking our employment when they leave office like the U.
S.
attorney in Maine.
And it is very likely that they will soon subpoena Purdue's internal documents to make a major case against us.
The damage a U.
S.
attorney can do for a company like us is staggering.
They can fine us to death.
And they can bring criminal charges against individuals.
You think that's possible? It's not possible.
It's likely.
These people in Appalachia are very angry, and now their U.
S.
attorney is coming for us.
We're gonna hire Rudy Giuliani, and he'll be able to lobby high up in the chain of the Justice Department and the White House, but eventually there will be a price to pay.
From this point on, you need to do everything you can to reduce personal liability.
It's very possible people are going to prison, and I don't want that to be you.
Elizabeth Ann? Hello? This is Sally Washington from the Virginia Health Department returning for Samuel Finnix.
Yeah, yeah.
Thanks for calling me.
Uh, listen, I willââIââ Fuck off, I know you fucking took it from me! Excuse me? What was that? Sorry, I was calling about the, uh, MAT clinics in Virginia.
What about them? Well, I've seen people have really good results with Suboxone and methadone, and seems to me the problem is that there are so few clinics that people just can't get access to the drugs.
I understand the problem, but people don't want treatments centers in their community.
It's just a political nonstarter, I'm sorry to say.
Yeah, I understand.
Well, okay.
Well, thanks for your time.
Hey, Elizabeth Ann! Hey, wake up! Hey! What are you doing? I brought you coffee.
Oh, thanks.
Come on.
I gotta get you out of this place.
But black is the color of my true love's hair His face so soft and wondrous fair The prettiest eyes and the neatest hands I love the ground Whereon he stands I love my love and well he knows I love the ground whereon he goes If you on Earth no more I see I can't serve you Did you work in the mines? Yes, I did.
I was in that protest.
I love the ground You are doing very well.
No relapses or craving for opiates.
If you want, we can try and taper you down.
You think one day I can just be completely off it? Like I said, it can be hard to get off the medication permanently, but some do.
We won't know until we try.
So what do you think, Sam? I just really wanna be a doctor again.
What's up? No good.
Fraud unit agreed with your prosecution memo, but unfortunately, it didn't sway the criminal division.
Shit.
Look, the career guys are with you, but I think you'll ultimately get blocked by the political appointees.
This is so fucked.
I know, but there may be a compromise here.
Purdue's hinting they'd go for misdemeanors against the execs.
Misdemeanors.
And the company will plead guilty to felonies and pay a substantial fine.
You'd end up with a big win.
Those executives belong in jail.
But what happens if you indict and lose in court? I get nothing.
There's a lot of risk with indicting.
Personally, I think you should take the misdemeanors before Main Justice shuts it all down.
Randy.
Hm? Sir.
We would have been happy to have come out to Roanoke.
It's a hell of a case.
A couple of AUSAs in a strip mall taking on one of the wealthiest families in the country.
Did the memo get Main Justice over the finish line on felony charges? I don't think it did.
But there's also a chance we go to court and lose everything.
That's why I made a deal.
It's finished then.
It is.
All right, have a seat.
So the three executives will plead to misdemeanors.
Significant consequences, and there's three years' probation.
It's 400 hours of community service, and their careers in pharmaceuticals are effectively over.
Misdemeanors.
But without felonies, we got no shot at any of them ever flipping on the Sacklers.
Yeah, but at the end of the day, we're not sure they would have.
Right.
And look, I'll be honest with you guys.
I, uh I think that this is about as far as Main Justice was going to let us go.
I'm sorry, sir.
I tried to build the case in a way that Main Justice couldn't just brush it under the rug.
No, don't apologize.
You did an incredible job.
All right, we got a hell of a lot here, but the company is going to plead guilty to misbranding.
We're also gonna have a public sentencing of the executives, so we can shame the everâliving shit out of them, create a lot of negative media attention around OxyContin.
Now, on the financial settlement with Purdue, they came at me again with 10 million, and I countered with 600 million and told them I wouldn't budge.
So where'd you land? 600 million.
Congratulations, guys.
It'sââ it's one of the highest settlements ever paid by a pharmaceutical company in the history of the country.
Look, it's not everything we wanted, but it's a big win.
Oh, congratulations, sir.
Well done.
Randy, congrats.
Have a seat.
I know that sometimes I have a bad habit of ignoring people's feelings.
I've always been an outsider in this family.
And my my personal life took aââa path IââI didn't expect.
I held a great deal of resentment that I unfairly took out on the people around me, pressures of launching the drug.
But now that it's doing so well, it's time IââI focus on my family andââand mend some of those fences.
I, uh, think that's a great idea.
I do as well.
So I'm going to step down as president, and I couldn't think of a better person to take over than you.
Are you serious, sir? Very serious.
As you know, what's most important to the board is your loyalty to the family.
Of course, of course.
And, um, you shall have it, sir.
Congratulations.
You're the new president of Purdue Pharma.
Thank you, sir.
Hey, uhâuh, whoa! No splashing.
Yeah? I have the chief of staff to the deputy attorney general.
Okay.
Hey, John.
Sorry to call so late.
No, that's fine, Mr.
Elston.
Mike, call me Mike.
Okay, Mike.
Look, I know you're supposed to sign the deal tomorrow with Purdue, but Mary Jo White called.
Howard Udell's attorney.
Correct, and she'd like to delay finalizing the plea agreement.
She wants more time to discuss it.
No, no, no, no, I'm sorry.
The time for discussion is over.
I have a deal.
It's not signed yet.
No reason why you can't keep talking with her.
Sorry, is this request from you or from the deputy attorney general? It's not coming from the deputy attorney general.
Then you can go fuck yourself.
Purdue signs tomorrow, or we go to court.
I've been getting a lot of tips on other pharma cases.
I'm thinking maybe we ought to find another Purdue to go after.
What's the point? To get the bad guys again.
Did we get 'em? Purdue's just gonna keep on selling.
The field's just so compromised with the government.
Well, gentlemen, here you have it, a signed guilty plea deal from your friends and neighbors at Purdue Pharma.
What were they like when they signed? Quiet, solemn.
How brave.
I still can't believe Main Justice tried to shut it down the last second.
I can.
Thank you for pushing back.
I mean, I had to.
Needed to stop, or who knows what could've happened? Um, sir, can I speak to you? There's an urgent issue.
Uh, go ahead.
You can tell me in front of these guys.
Okay.
A memo leaked from the attorney general's office of a list of U.
S.
attorneys to be fired.
There's gonna be a wave of firings.
Am I on the list? I'm afraid so, sir, yes.
I'm sorry, sir.
Reject the plea! Reject the plea! Reject the plea! We are live at the Abingdon courthouse for the sentencing hearing of three Purdue pharma executives for their role in criminally misbranding their drug OxyContin.
Now, there are a number of protesters here who want the plea deal rejected, enraged none of the executives would go to prison.
Reject the plea! Reject the plea! Reject the plea! Do you feel your placement on the U.
S.
Attorney firing list is because of your involvement on this case? You know, I don't know.
I don't know why I was on the list.
Do you feel vindicated since you weren't ultimately fired? Well, todayââ today is not about me.
It's about the people here and having their voices be heard.
My grandson Brian is here in the courtroom with me today.
He lost his mother to your horrible drug when he was only six years old.
And I wanted him here so he could see that bad things do happen to bad people.
You are sheer evil.
The first time that I heard the word OxyContin, my 18âyearâold honor student son was dead from it after taking it at a party.
You are nothing more than corporate drug lords.
You have killed and continue to kill our future of tomorrow.
And you killed my son and so many others.
I know you don't care about what happened to our children.
But what if it was your son or daughter you saw in the morgue? Would you care then? On May 1st, the year 2003, my husband and I lost our only son, an 18âyearâold son named Randall, to an accidental overdose of OxyContin.
Right before this happened, he was getting ready to go to college.
We ended up using his prepaid college to pay for his funeral.
These are his ashes.
This is from your drug.
This is what you did to him.
Now he's here in the courtroom.
Reject the plea deal! Money means nothing to them! Let the punishment fit the crime.
Reject the plea.
Reject the plea.
Reject the plea! Order, order in the court! Order, order! The lack of incarceration in this case, to me, is the most difficult aspect of the plea agreements.
And I must confess it bothers me.
And I have studied this case for many months.
However, I have concluded that the plea agreements should be accepted.
While I understand this may not be a popular decision, it is my job to follow the law.
We're adjourned.
The first thing you tell your doctors is that the settlement was grossly unfair.
These execs didn't have anything to do with what they were charged with.
It was a few bad apples we fired years ago.
What's most important is, you keep selling aggressively as possible.
This isn't a time for caution.
I'm going to fly down there next week.
I will personally visit doctors with you.
You need to push higher doses for longer periods of time.
You have to get these doctors to keep prescribing.
Sell, sell, sell.
Well, thank you very much.
We're going to look into that.
I appreciate it, buhâbye.
Hey, so You okay, boss? What's up? Well, I know you're not gonna be over the Moon at the prospect of another pharma case, but I just got some interesting intel on Abbott Labs.
They got a drug called Depakote.
It's an antiepileptic medication, and supposedly they have been targeting nursing homes.
Why don't you give it to the Eastern District? We don't need to go down that rabbit hole again.
You think maybe you ought to take a couple of weeks off? You know, recharge a bit.
Randy, I'm okay.
You guys have a visitor.
I brought sparkling cider.
I remembered you guys were a couple pussies that don't drink.
I know you were hoping to never see me again, but I really wanted to toast to you guys for staying the course.
Nothing's gonna change.
They'll just keep selling as hard as they can.
Yes, but you dealt the first blow, and now there's convictions and a legal record of their crimes.
It's an important achievement that people will be able to use to build future cases on.
I worked in D.
C.
for years, and I always knew it could go down this way, but given the factsââ I don't know, I had to try.
Cheers to that.
Here's to the ones who fight the battles, even if they don't win the war.
Okay.
Hear, hear.
So what are you guys up to next? We have another pharma case we're looking into.
I I really can't thank you enough for bringing this case.
I mean it.
I don't know if I'd ever sleep if the Sacklers hadn't been publicly exposed.
And they will someday go down.
I know this in my heart.
I don't know.
If you have friends 400,000 deaths! 400,000 deaths! Under pressure from protests led by artist Nan Goldin, major museums are refusing to accept future donations from the Sackler family.
Louvre Museum in Paris has become the first major institution to remove the Sackler family name from plaques.
I lost my sister in this epidemic, andââ so this is like a really great win for us.
Members of the Sackler family are moving out of New York City after being publicly shamed as a family that originated the opioid crisis.
This morning, my office filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts State Court against Purdue Pharma For fueling the nation's opioid epidemic By knowingly deceiving doctors and the public.
Attorney generals in over 25 states have brought class action suits against Purdue Pharma.
David Sackler and Dr.
Kathe Sackler recently went public to defend the family's actions, testifying remotely at a Congressional hearing.
You knew that it was too potent, and you did nothing about it as a family.
You have created a nationwide epidemic.
You and your family are addicted to money.
I'm not sure that I'm aware of any family in America that's more evil than yours.
There is nothing that I can find that I would have done differently.
Late today, a federal bankruptcy judge gave conditional approval to a multiâbillion dollar plan to settle lawsuits against Purdue Pharma.
The Sackler family will forfeit ownership of Purdue Pharma, turn over 30 million documents, and pay $4.
5 billion.
In return, the Sacklers cannot be sued.
This process was stacked from beginning.
They knew that the Sacklers were betting on a broken bankruptcy system that would allow them to use the bankruptcy of the company of Purdue Pharma to shield themselves.
Let's be clear, the Sacklers are not bankrupt.
As far as I can tell, no Sackler will have to sell a boat, or a house, or a piece of art.
Dr.
Finnix.
Yeah.
I need you to sign these prescriptions for Suboxone.
Yes, ma'am.
And you've got group in ten minutes.
All right.
After group, you've got individual patients until 6:00 p.
m.
, and then you have to attend that fundraiser at 8:00 p.
m.
Oh, I hate those.
I hate asking people for money.
You want to keep the lights on, don't you? Yeah, you're right.
You're always right.
You know, what's so important about these group sessions is the chance to connect.
Addiction does the exact opposite of what connection does, right? Addiction tears apart.
It tears apart friendships.
It tears apart marriages.
It'll tear apart a family, tear apart a whole community.
Part of the reason we relapse is because of pain.
There's some kind of pain that's in a lot of us, or all of us, we just don't want to feel anymore.
And further we fall into addiction, pain says to us, hell, we'd better off just feeling nothing at all.
So we go numb.
And our souls go numb.
Now we've got a real problem.
You know, pain is just pain.
Not good, not bad, just part of being a human being.
And sometimes, good can come out of it.
And if we're brave enough and willing to go a little deeper, work our way through it, and try to overcome it, well, we just might find our better selves.
I think a lot about being a doctor again.
A way to make amends for the pain that we have caused others is to give back.
You need to get to a hospital immediately.
Fuck off.
Come to New Orleans.
I'll be the regional manager.
We'll make a fortune there.
A black box label indicates the drug is much more dangerous.
Absolutely not.
I don't believe you will find support at Main Justice for felony charges against these individuals.
Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen.
After careful consideration, I have decided to indict Michael Friedman, Paul Goldenheim, and Howard Udell on felony charges.
I'm starting Suboxone tomorrow.
Give me one hell of a sendâoff.
Got it.
Beth is in heaven now.
Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Take down their name! Take down their name! Take down their name! Take down their name! No longer! No longer! No longer.
No longer! No longer! No longer! 400,000 dead, 400,000 dead, 400,000 Sacklers lie, people die! Sacklers lie, people die! Sacklers lie, people die! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler! Your record since the plea deal continues to be clean, which is good.
You also continue to pass your drug tests, also good.
You're on path to complete your probation in three months' time.
Have you thought about what you'll do then? Well, I really want to get my medical license back, but I can't do that as long as I'm on Suboxone.
How long do you think you'll be on the MAT for? I don't know.
Um I'm afraid I'll relapse if I stop.
If you choose to stay on the MAT, you need to consider a profession that doesn't require a medical license.
Yeah, okay.
Hey, Elizabeth Ann.
How you doing? Whatââ what are you doing here? Same as you, Doc.
You had enough to eat, enough sleep? You don'tââ Can you just leave me alone? Hey, you.
What if I wait outside for you? When you're done in here, I'll take you to lunch.
We'll visit a little bit and catch up.
You know, I'll buy you anything you want.
If you don't eat it, you can take it home.
How was your meeting? Not great.
I got two years left, and she keeps telling me I'll probably end up back in jail.
Yeah, they all think we're just a bunch of, you know, worthless junkies.
They don't get it.
They don't know that if we don't have this stuff, it feels like we can't breathe.
If I stop, I'll die.
And if I don't stop, I'll die.
So I guess I'm gonna die.
So that's kind of why I wanted to talk to you.
Okay? I'm seeing this doctor.
And I'm on this new medication, and it's really helped me.
I haven't relapsed in a year, and my mind is coming back like it used to be before all this.
Really? Yeah, really.
Hey.
Elizabeth Ann, you're young.
You got an entire future that you could do anything.
You could go to college if you wanted to go to college.
You could if you wanted to.
You could.
Listen to me.
I will personally drive you to this doctor I've been seeing.
I'll drive you there, and I'll you drive back.
And I'll take you to therapy twice a week, and I'll pay for all of it.
What's in it for you? I delivered you, girl.
Ain't no one thing in this world I wouldn't do to help you get better when you're sick, nothing.
I'll try it.
I'll try it.
But no promises I'll keep going.
Okay, okay, fair enough.
Today, we are here to celebrate the promotion of Amber Collins.
Look, all I have to say is, New Orleans better watch out because they got a bitch tiger coming their way! Cheers! Cheers! Sayonara, you motherfuckers.
Hi.
Hey.
Someone hasn't put in their transfer to Nola yet.
I was giving it some space between you leaving, so they're not suspicious.
Are you not coming? Of course I'm still coming.
'Cause I'm a big girl.
If you changed your mind, you can tell me.
I haven't changed my mind.
Good, I wanna make this work.
Me too.
You better.
Hey, Billy.
Um, I gotta run a few things past you.
Can you swing by my office in say, ten? Sure.
Okay.
Shut the door for me, Billy.
Sure.
Have a seat.
Yeah.
How's it going? These are two lawyers from headquarters.
I have some concern over three training tapes that went missing from my office.
And you were in here alone last week.
Right.
Um I didn't takeââif that's I don't know anything about any missing tapes.
If Purdue property were to show up in the media or in the hands of law enforcement, and those tapes were traced back to you, we would sue you for stolen property, breach of contract, and misappropriation of trade secrets.
We'll bankrupt you with litigation for the rest of your life.
But I didn'tââI didn'tââ I didn't take 'em.
I didn't take the tapes.
Several people, including myself, have noticed a very negative attitude towards your work of late.
We think it's best to terminate your contract.
Um Okay.
This is a nondisclosure agreement.
If you sign it, you'll get a severance package of $75,000.
I would need to show this to my lawyer first, but Iââ No, you need to sign it right now, right here.
If you don't, you get nothing, and you make yourself vulnerable to future litigation.
Billy, come on.
This doesn't have to get ugly.
If you did take the tapes, this will smooth it all out, as long as you destroy those tapes right away.
You are not gonna get a better deal than this.
And the flip side, flip side could get really bad.
Do what you do best, and take the money.
Clear the way, Clear the way! Are you friends with him? No.
I always thought he was kind of a tool.
All right? I remember you were one of my smartest.
You were probably the smartest patient I had.
Always reading a book, you know.
I'm looking for something new.
You got any favorites? How'd it go? She did very well.
She took her first dose, and she needs to wait here an hour to make sure she doesn't have an adverse reaction to the medication.
All right, okay.
Well then, we'll just stay put for a minute.
I'll see you in a week, young lady.
Thanks, Doc.
He's a good guy.
You okay? Vanity Fair.
What? You should read Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.
It's one of my favorites.
People think it's a girls' book, but it's really more than that.
What's it about? It's about this poor girl, Becky, who's smart, and cunning, and determined to make her way into London society.
But, of course, it's not easy, 'cause all those snobs care about is status and class.
Sounds about right.
Neither Purdue, nor the FDA, nor the DEA, nor the medical community anticipated the extent of this problem.
Purdue's marketing practices have not played a role in the criminal activities of doctors who illegally prescribe OxyContin for cash and have not encouraged robberies from pharmacies or patients.
From Dr.
Goldenheim's personal emails, we can prove that he knew his testimony before Congress was false.
He was aware the reports of patient abuse are not rare, as they were described in countless newspaper articles, some of which were emailed directly to Dr.
Goldenheim.
This testimony was taken in D.
C.
, so it's not admissible in the state of Virginia case.
Well, the state of Virginia is a Commonwealth, and we thought you might bring that up.
We uncovered that transcripts from Goldenheim's, Udell's, and Friedman's false Congressional testimony were faxed to sales reps all over the country to show them top executives, quote, "had their backs.
" And one of the places that it was faxed to was here in Virginia, which makes it not only admissible, but we'll now also be charging wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud based on the use of wires to transmit this false testimony.
You really think a judge will go for that? You really think they won't? My client will not move forward with any settlement that involves felony charges against individual executives.
However, I am authorized to offer a financial settlement to resolve this matter.
How much? $10 million.
The Commonwealth of Virginia counters at 1.
6 billion.
Is that a joke? No, and since we have Michael Friedman, Howard Udell, and Paul Goldenheim all dead to rights on lying to Congress and conspiracy to defraud, there will be no deal until they plead guilty to felony charges as well.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Thank you for coming by.
These assholes really do think they're just gonna barrel right over us.
I mean, 10 million? Fuck those guys.
How long before they find out Main Justice doesn't want to pursue felony charges against individuals? Well, they probably already know through Giuliani, but it doesn't really make a difference.
We're just gonna keep moving ahead like it's happening.
We don't indict, we lose any shot of getting 'em to flip on the Sacklers.
Yeah, I get that, but look.
If we're gonna move Main Justice on indictments, it's going to take something significant to change their mind.
I mean, it's gonna take something emotional.
It's gonna take something egregious that might publicly blow up in their face if they don't indict.
Of course.
We'll keep looking.
Thank you, sir.
Anything with breakthrough pain? Covered it.
Maybe new way into blood charts? Maybe a direct link to Richard Sackler ordering the graph manipulation? If it was there, we'd have it.
We never did anything substantial with Toppers Contest.
You think a drugâselling competition with a powerful narcotic might move Main Justice? Hey, Jerry.
You mind if I come in? Sure.
Diane.
I haven't really been able to sleep since I heard about Betsy.
And I'm sorry I didn't come to the funeral.
We didn't want you there.
Well, that's why I didn't come.
If I could change places with her, I would.
I heard you got off that stuff.
Is that true? You know, one day at a time.
Good for you.
Hey, man.
I sure am sorry, Jerry.
Look, ain't nothing either one of us can say gonna change anything.
Or make us feel any different, really.
So just go on and live your life, Doc.
Yeah.
Well All right.
You take care.
You too now.
"I never wanted to tell anyone "my dream was to be a famous writer living in Paris "'cause I knew they'd all laugh at me.
"But I wrote almost every day till the drugs took over.
"I liked how they made the fear "I had of not being successful go away.
But the shame I feel outweighs any of that.
" Hey, wait, I'm stopping you.
I don't want to hear about shame.
I want to hear about Paris.
That was great, wasn't it, Doc? Heck yeah, it was, really great, really great.
You know what I want you guys to do? Write about your favorite memory, all right? Write something about your favorite memory, and you can make it fun.
It's okay to have fun with it.
Hey, Doc.
I mean, Sam.
It's real nice of you to keep driving us like this, but you live an hour east, and this takes up a whole day.
Why don't you move back to Finch Creek? Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
No, don't think that's a good idea.
I don't thinkââ I don't think anybody wants me back in Finch Creek.
So? Nobody wants me there.
You should come back.
Nah.
No, I don't think I could ever go back.
Purdue Pharma.
Ever since I left that place, I've been trying to put it out of my mind.
So what are you guys looking for? We'd like to discuss a sales competition known as Toppers Contest.
Right.
Was it effective? Yeah, oh, yeah, it was, like gangbusters.
You've got every rep in the country selling as hard as they can for, you know, a free trip to Bermuda or Palm Springs.
You ever seen any other pharma company do something like that before? You guys mind taking a walk? All right, look, to answer your question, no.
The bonus structure was unbelievable.
The more milligrams you sold, the more money you made.
No one else does that.
Did it bother you that sales reps were financially motivated to sell higher doses? Not at first.
I mean, look, they tricked the managers the same way they played the reps.
They would give us all this data from pain societies that made everything seem so legit.
So why'd you finally leave? Yeah, so hold on.
So I kept having to appear in court for all these lawsuits that were coming in.
I show up one day to a deposition, and Purdue doesn't have a lawyer for me.
They left me on my own, and I knew right then I have got to get out, or I'm gonna end up in some serious shit.
So why didn't they have a lawyer for you? They were pissed.
One of my sales reps stole some training session tapes out of my office, and they were scared that they were gonna leak them to the press.
Well, Billy, thanks for seeing us on such short notice.
Sure grateful to you.
Oh, that's, uhââ that's all right.
I kind of knew this day was coming.
I figured I'd have to account for my sins eventually.
So, uh, what would you like me to do, testify or You didn't sign an NDA? No, um, I couldn't.
I just couldn't keep taking their money anymore, so I didn't sign.
I can tell you whatever you want to know.
What we want are those videotapes.
Tapes? Mmâhmm.
I, uh I don't have any tapes.
We think you do.
I'm sorry.
I don't.
Listen.
You know, we all done things in our lives that we aren't proud of.
But we make amends by trying by trying to make the future a better place for others.
And, hey, you have a real opportunity here.
You could help millions of people avoid the pain brought to so many.
I did not take those tapes.
And if I did, they were destroyed a long time ago.
Unless you have a subpoena, this interview's over.
And if you do, we won't continue without an attorney present.
This is my wife, Kaitlyn.
We're at law school together.
Oh.
Is it a boy or girl? Boy.
Okay.
Well, good luck in law school.
Whatââwhat field are you thinking of? Consumer protection.
That's perfect.
You can protect the public from people like yourself.
Y'all have a nice day.
We'll let ourselves out.
Sir.
Dr.
Richard, thâthere's a petition going around Virginia.
I thought it was West Virginia.
No, it was Virginia.
Like there's a difference.
Exactly.
So I guess a nun and a country doctor formed a community coalition.
I'm sorry, aââa nun and a country doc did they walk into a bar? Richard, they collected 10,000 signatures on a petition to recall OC, pull it from the market, and reformulate it to make it safer.
And sent the petition to the FDA, where it has not gone unnoticed.
Okay.
Go to West Virginia and resolve the situation.
Um, how would you like it resolved? What did we spend in Florida? A little over two million.
No, just take care of this.
Yes, sir.
Oh, Dr.
Van Zee, Sister Beth.
How're you doing? Howard Udell, Purdue Pharma.
Nice to meet you.
A real pleasure.
This is my wife, Sue Ella.
Oh.
Thank you for meeting us.
It was a real surprise to hear from you.
Of course, we were very concerned when we saw your petition.
Sister Beth, I've actually known quite a few nuns.
I'm still good friends with a Sister Julie, so That's wonderful that you know other nuns.
It makes me feel a closeness to you I have never before experienced.
Before we discuss our petition, we wanted you to hear a personal story from a parent who lost their child to addiction, so you could get an understanding of how your drug has affected the community.
Hello.
My daughter Betsy was a quiet, hardworking girl.
After she hurt her back on her job, she started taking OxyContin, and within a year, she was a liar, a thief, and a heroin addict.
No matter what she did, she couldn't stop.
And she tried.
When she died from an overdose, there was a part of me that was relieved that she was finally out of her pain.
But that pain lives in me now and in her father.
OxyContin destroyed our family like it has so many others.
And we hope you can find a way to make it safer.
Thank you.
That's Betsy.
Yeah.
Thank you for this story.
And, um, we're so sorry for your loss.
Our coalition has gathered a petition with 10,000 signatures requesting you reformulate OxyContin.
We know this is possible because in 1983, SterlingâWinthrop pulled their painkiller Talwin and added a narcotic blocker, which immediately reduced abuse.
Thank you, Dr.
Van Zee.
We have carefully looked into this, and one of the reasons we came down here was to pay you the respect of giving you a preview of an open letter to your community that we are going to publish.
And I'd like to read it for you now, if I may.
"Dear Lee County, at Purdue Pharma, "we are aware there has been an issue in your community "with drug diversion involving our painkiller OxyContin.
"We take very seriously these issues, "and we want you to know we have heard you.
"We understand there is a request "to reformulate the drug, "but unfortunately, at this time, "it is not easy to do, "and we do not plan on taking that action.
Our main issueââ" You don't care.
You don't care that it's killing people.
You know it's dangerous.
You just wanna make as much money as possible.
That is absolutely untrue, ma'am.
You've done more to hurt the people of Appalachia than the coal industry ever thought about doing.
Yeah, ma'am, I resent that accusation.
My family goes back here for generations.
This whole meeting is a setup, it's a setup! Let's all calm down please.
Ma'am, I'm sorry to interrupt.
It is not a setup.
The main reason we came here was to make a donation to your coalition, which we know is doing tremendous work.
What kind of donation? Oh, Howard Purdue Pharma just wants to help.
So in that spirit, we'd like to donate $100,000 to your group as a gesture of goodwill to help the community.
That'sââthat's very generous.
We'll need to discuss it.
Of course.
The number of new patients I could give free care to would be significant.
That money would make a huge difference around here.
If we can get something out of these people, I think we should.
One bad month, and you could be shut down for good.
What do you think, Diane? Well, I don't know much about these matters, but if it would help people down here, then I think it might be a good idea to take it.
You might be right.
Sister Beth? Well You know, I'm not from this region originally, but I have been living here for over 30 years, and I've seen a lot of things.
I've seen coal executives fly in for generations and use their money to shut down unions and manipulate this region into lower labor costs.
That's just what wealthy people do.
They take advantage of the folks that don't have money to fight back.
That's what Purdue is doing in this very moment.
So you wanna take their payoff to shut us all up, you go ahead.
But if you do that, I will quit this coalition right here and now because I would rather burn in hell than take a penny of their blood money.
Hey, Karen? You know what this is? There's no return address.
No, but it was marked urgent, so I just left it on your desk.
Do you think it's dangerous? I don't hear ticking.
Oh, stop it.
What's going on? Somebody sent Rick a bomb.
Uhâoh.
Well, we only got a thousand potential suspects, so What is it? Purdue Pharma training tapes.
I'll be.
Looks like Billy found his soul.
Emphasize the time release coding.
It makes our drug less addictive, less prone to abuse.
It makes it almost impossible to extract oxycodone from the drug in order to snort or inject.
If theââ There's hours of tape just like this showing Purdue sales reps being trained to lie, manipulate, and aggressively sell addictive narcotics as nonaddictive.
It is absolutely outrageous.
And we now have an openâ andâshut case of misbranding, mail fraud, wire fraud, and because the company profited from illegal activity, we've got money laundering as well.
We need to discuss this with our client.
Of course.
I think we can get at least 100 million out of 'em.
Oh, I think so, too.
What does Main Justice say? Any new indications on individual indictments? No, not yet.
But, you know, the quiet tells me that we've got 'em thinking.
Now you really gotta hit 'em in the gut with your prosecution memo.
Lay it all out for Main Justice so that when they read it, they know they've got no choice but to indict these guys.
Yes, sir.
Proposed indictment of Purdue Pharma, Michael Friedman, Howard R.
Udell, and Paul D.
Goldenheim.
Perhaps no case in our history rivals the burden placed on public health and safety as that in the Western District of Virginia.
It is our recommendation to charge the defendants with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, interstate distribution of misbranded drug with intent to defraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
OxyContin abuse has significantly impacted the lives of millions of Americans.
And the fraudulent scheme and conduct articulated in this matter has a direct correlation to the health of this region and to the entire nation as a whole.
Hello, Father.
Well, I see you've decided to ruin a perfectly good evening.
Good to see you too, Richard.
Let me guess.
Mortimer's kids want more disbursements? I've asked Stephen to join us because we have a very serious issue.
This is John Brownlee, U.
S.
Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.
I've taken care of West Virginia.
Brownlee is the U.
S.
attorney that covers Appalachia.
That's the region where that nun and that country doctor rejected your offer.
I said, it's taken care of.
The FDA isn't going to respond to their petition.
But this problem goes deeper than a petition.
John Brownlee is former army, spent four years in the infantry, left the military to go to law school with the intention to be a prosecutor.
His father is currently the secretary of the army.
Now, I'm telling you this because he has opened a secret grand jury into Purdue Pharma.
Since when? We think maybe four or five months ago, but we're not exactly sure.
Call the governor or a senator.
They have no authority over a U.
S.
attorney.
Now, these are the assistant U.
S.
attorneys running the case, Rick Mountcastle and Randy Ramseyer.
Both men are top prosecutors and are driven by a strong sense of justice.
Ramseyerââhe referees local high school sports and has a deep connection to the region.
Mountcastle used to prosecute mobsters and converted to Christianity at the age of 40.
Why are you telling me all this? So that you understand they cannot be bought.
They cannot be pushed off the case.
They will not be seeking our employment when they leave office like the U.
S.
attorney in Maine.
And it is very likely that they will soon subpoena Purdue's internal documents to make a major case against us.
The damage a U.
S.
attorney can do for a company like us is staggering.
They can fine us to death.
And they can bring criminal charges against individuals.
You think that's possible? It's not possible.
It's likely.
These people in Appalachia are very angry, and now their U.
S.
attorney is coming for us.
We're gonna hire Rudy Giuliani, and he'll be able to lobby high up in the chain of the Justice Department and the White House, but eventually there will be a price to pay.
From this point on, you need to do everything you can to reduce personal liability.
It's very possible people are going to prison, and I don't want that to be you.
Elizabeth Ann? Hello? This is Sally Washington from the Virginia Health Department returning for Samuel Finnix.
Yeah, yeah.
Thanks for calling me.
Uh, listen, I willââIââ Fuck off, I know you fucking took it from me! Excuse me? What was that? Sorry, I was calling about the, uh, MAT clinics in Virginia.
What about them? Well, I've seen people have really good results with Suboxone and methadone, and seems to me the problem is that there are so few clinics that people just can't get access to the drugs.
I understand the problem, but people don't want treatments centers in their community.
It's just a political nonstarter, I'm sorry to say.
Yeah, I understand.
Well, okay.
Well, thanks for your time.
Hey, Elizabeth Ann! Hey, wake up! Hey! What are you doing? I brought you coffee.
Oh, thanks.
Come on.
I gotta get you out of this place.
But black is the color of my true love's hair His face so soft and wondrous fair The prettiest eyes and the neatest hands I love the ground Whereon he stands I love my love and well he knows I love the ground whereon he goes If you on Earth no more I see I can't serve you Did you work in the mines? Yes, I did.
I was in that protest.
I love the ground You are doing very well.
No relapses or craving for opiates.
If you want, we can try and taper you down.
You think one day I can just be completely off it? Like I said, it can be hard to get off the medication permanently, but some do.
We won't know until we try.
So what do you think, Sam? I just really wanna be a doctor again.
What's up? No good.
Fraud unit agreed with your prosecution memo, but unfortunately, it didn't sway the criminal division.
Shit.
Look, the career guys are with you, but I think you'll ultimately get blocked by the political appointees.
This is so fucked.
I know, but there may be a compromise here.
Purdue's hinting they'd go for misdemeanors against the execs.
Misdemeanors.
And the company will plead guilty to felonies and pay a substantial fine.
You'd end up with a big win.
Those executives belong in jail.
But what happens if you indict and lose in court? I get nothing.
There's a lot of risk with indicting.
Personally, I think you should take the misdemeanors before Main Justice shuts it all down.
Randy.
Hm? Sir.
We would have been happy to have come out to Roanoke.
It's a hell of a case.
A couple of AUSAs in a strip mall taking on one of the wealthiest families in the country.
Did the memo get Main Justice over the finish line on felony charges? I don't think it did.
But there's also a chance we go to court and lose everything.
That's why I made a deal.
It's finished then.
It is.
All right, have a seat.
So the three executives will plead to misdemeanors.
Significant consequences, and there's three years' probation.
It's 400 hours of community service, and their careers in pharmaceuticals are effectively over.
Misdemeanors.
But without felonies, we got no shot at any of them ever flipping on the Sacklers.
Yeah, but at the end of the day, we're not sure they would have.
Right.
And look, I'll be honest with you guys.
I, uh I think that this is about as far as Main Justice was going to let us go.
I'm sorry, sir.
I tried to build the case in a way that Main Justice couldn't just brush it under the rug.
No, don't apologize.
You did an incredible job.
All right, we got a hell of a lot here, but the company is going to plead guilty to misbranding.
We're also gonna have a public sentencing of the executives, so we can shame the everâliving shit out of them, create a lot of negative media attention around OxyContin.
Now, on the financial settlement with Purdue, they came at me again with 10 million, and I countered with 600 million and told them I wouldn't budge.
So where'd you land? 600 million.
Congratulations, guys.
It'sââ it's one of the highest settlements ever paid by a pharmaceutical company in the history of the country.
Look, it's not everything we wanted, but it's a big win.
Oh, congratulations, sir.
Well done.
Randy, congrats.
Have a seat.
I know that sometimes I have a bad habit of ignoring people's feelings.
I've always been an outsider in this family.
And my my personal life took aââa path IââI didn't expect.
I held a great deal of resentment that I unfairly took out on the people around me, pressures of launching the drug.
But now that it's doing so well, it's time IââI focus on my family andââand mend some of those fences.
I, uh, think that's a great idea.
I do as well.
So I'm going to step down as president, and I couldn't think of a better person to take over than you.
Are you serious, sir? Very serious.
As you know, what's most important to the board is your loyalty to the family.
Of course, of course.
And, um, you shall have it, sir.
Congratulations.
You're the new president of Purdue Pharma.
Thank you, sir.
Hey, uhâuh, whoa! No splashing.
Yeah? I have the chief of staff to the deputy attorney general.
Okay.
Hey, John.
Sorry to call so late.
No, that's fine, Mr.
Elston.
Mike, call me Mike.
Okay, Mike.
Look, I know you're supposed to sign the deal tomorrow with Purdue, but Mary Jo White called.
Howard Udell's attorney.
Correct, and she'd like to delay finalizing the plea agreement.
She wants more time to discuss it.
No, no, no, no, I'm sorry.
The time for discussion is over.
I have a deal.
It's not signed yet.
No reason why you can't keep talking with her.
Sorry, is this request from you or from the deputy attorney general? It's not coming from the deputy attorney general.
Then you can go fuck yourself.
Purdue signs tomorrow, or we go to court.
I've been getting a lot of tips on other pharma cases.
I'm thinking maybe we ought to find another Purdue to go after.
What's the point? To get the bad guys again.
Did we get 'em? Purdue's just gonna keep on selling.
The field's just so compromised with the government.
Well, gentlemen, here you have it, a signed guilty plea deal from your friends and neighbors at Purdue Pharma.
What were they like when they signed? Quiet, solemn.
How brave.
I still can't believe Main Justice tried to shut it down the last second.
I can.
Thank you for pushing back.
I mean, I had to.
Needed to stop, or who knows what could've happened? Um, sir, can I speak to you? There's an urgent issue.
Uh, go ahead.
You can tell me in front of these guys.
Okay.
A memo leaked from the attorney general's office of a list of U.
S.
attorneys to be fired.
There's gonna be a wave of firings.
Am I on the list? I'm afraid so, sir, yes.
I'm sorry, sir.
Reject the plea! Reject the plea! Reject the plea! We are live at the Abingdon courthouse for the sentencing hearing of three Purdue pharma executives for their role in criminally misbranding their drug OxyContin.
Now, there are a number of protesters here who want the plea deal rejected, enraged none of the executives would go to prison.
Reject the plea! Reject the plea! Reject the plea! Do you feel your placement on the U.
S.
Attorney firing list is because of your involvement on this case? You know, I don't know.
I don't know why I was on the list.
Do you feel vindicated since you weren't ultimately fired? Well, todayââ today is not about me.
It's about the people here and having their voices be heard.
My grandson Brian is here in the courtroom with me today.
He lost his mother to your horrible drug when he was only six years old.
And I wanted him here so he could see that bad things do happen to bad people.
You are sheer evil.
The first time that I heard the word OxyContin, my 18âyearâold honor student son was dead from it after taking it at a party.
You are nothing more than corporate drug lords.
You have killed and continue to kill our future of tomorrow.
And you killed my son and so many others.
I know you don't care about what happened to our children.
But what if it was your son or daughter you saw in the morgue? Would you care then? On May 1st, the year 2003, my husband and I lost our only son, an 18âyearâold son named Randall, to an accidental overdose of OxyContin.
Right before this happened, he was getting ready to go to college.
We ended up using his prepaid college to pay for his funeral.
These are his ashes.
This is from your drug.
This is what you did to him.
Now he's here in the courtroom.
Reject the plea deal! Money means nothing to them! Let the punishment fit the crime.
Reject the plea.
Reject the plea.
Reject the plea! Order, order in the court! Order, order! The lack of incarceration in this case, to me, is the most difficult aspect of the plea agreements.
And I must confess it bothers me.
And I have studied this case for many months.
However, I have concluded that the plea agreements should be accepted.
While I understand this may not be a popular decision, it is my job to follow the law.
We're adjourned.
The first thing you tell your doctors is that the settlement was grossly unfair.
These execs didn't have anything to do with what they were charged with.
It was a few bad apples we fired years ago.
What's most important is, you keep selling aggressively as possible.
This isn't a time for caution.
I'm going to fly down there next week.
I will personally visit doctors with you.
You need to push higher doses for longer periods of time.
You have to get these doctors to keep prescribing.
Sell, sell, sell.
Well, thank you very much.
We're going to look into that.
I appreciate it, buhâbye.
Hey, so You okay, boss? What's up? Well, I know you're not gonna be over the Moon at the prospect of another pharma case, but I just got some interesting intel on Abbott Labs.
They got a drug called Depakote.
It's an antiepileptic medication, and supposedly they have been targeting nursing homes.
Why don't you give it to the Eastern District? We don't need to go down that rabbit hole again.
You think maybe you ought to take a couple of weeks off? You know, recharge a bit.
Randy, I'm okay.
You guys have a visitor.
I brought sparkling cider.
I remembered you guys were a couple pussies that don't drink.
I know you were hoping to never see me again, but I really wanted to toast to you guys for staying the course.
Nothing's gonna change.
They'll just keep selling as hard as they can.
Yes, but you dealt the first blow, and now there's convictions and a legal record of their crimes.
It's an important achievement that people will be able to use to build future cases on.
I worked in D.
C.
for years, and I always knew it could go down this way, but given the factsââ I don't know, I had to try.
Cheers to that.
Here's to the ones who fight the battles, even if they don't win the war.
Okay.
Hear, hear.
So what are you guys up to next? We have another pharma case we're looking into.
I I really can't thank you enough for bringing this case.
I mean it.
I don't know if I'd ever sleep if the Sacklers hadn't been publicly exposed.
And they will someday go down.
I know this in my heart.
I don't know.
If you have friends 400,000 deaths! 400,000 deaths! Under pressure from protests led by artist Nan Goldin, major museums are refusing to accept future donations from the Sackler family.
Louvre Museum in Paris has become the first major institution to remove the Sackler family name from plaques.
I lost my sister in this epidemic, andââ so this is like a really great win for us.
Members of the Sackler family are moving out of New York City after being publicly shamed as a family that originated the opioid crisis.
This morning, my office filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts State Court against Purdue Pharma For fueling the nation's opioid epidemic By knowingly deceiving doctors and the public.
Attorney generals in over 25 states have brought class action suits against Purdue Pharma.
David Sackler and Dr.
Kathe Sackler recently went public to defend the family's actions, testifying remotely at a Congressional hearing.
You knew that it was too potent, and you did nothing about it as a family.
You have created a nationwide epidemic.
You and your family are addicted to money.
I'm not sure that I'm aware of any family in America that's more evil than yours.
There is nothing that I can find that I would have done differently.
Late today, a federal bankruptcy judge gave conditional approval to a multiâbillion dollar plan to settle lawsuits against Purdue Pharma.
The Sackler family will forfeit ownership of Purdue Pharma, turn over 30 million documents, and pay $4.
5 billion.
In return, the Sacklers cannot be sued.
This process was stacked from beginning.
They knew that the Sacklers were betting on a broken bankruptcy system that would allow them to use the bankruptcy of the company of Purdue Pharma to shield themselves.
Let's be clear, the Sacklers are not bankrupt.
As far as I can tell, no Sackler will have to sell a boat, or a house, or a piece of art.
Dr.
Finnix.
Yeah.
I need you to sign these prescriptions for Suboxone.
Yes, ma'am.
And you've got group in ten minutes.
All right.
After group, you've got individual patients until 6:00 p.
m.
, and then you have to attend that fundraiser at 8:00 p.
m.
Oh, I hate those.
I hate asking people for money.
You want to keep the lights on, don't you? Yeah, you're right.
You're always right.
You know, what's so important about these group sessions is the chance to connect.
Addiction does the exact opposite of what connection does, right? Addiction tears apart.
It tears apart friendships.
It tears apart marriages.
It'll tear apart a family, tear apart a whole community.
Part of the reason we relapse is because of pain.
There's some kind of pain that's in a lot of us, or all of us, we just don't want to feel anymore.
And further we fall into addiction, pain says to us, hell, we'd better off just feeling nothing at all.
So we go numb.
And our souls go numb.
Now we've got a real problem.
You know, pain is just pain.
Not good, not bad, just part of being a human being.
And sometimes, good can come out of it.
And if we're brave enough and willing to go a little deeper, work our way through it, and try to overcome it, well, we just might find our better selves.