HUNTINGTON, WV—A Huntington man who assisted in the distribution of prescription pills on multiple occasions in July 2014 was given five years of probation announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Eric Lawrence Silverstein, 39, previously pleaded guilty in federal court in Huntington January of 2015 to distributing oxymorphone before Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.

On July 25, 2014, Silverstein participated in a drug transaction with a confidential informant working at the direction of the Huntington Police Department. Silverstein drove the informant to the 1400 block of 4th Avenue in Huntington where he arranged for the informant to receive 10 oxymorphone pills in exchange for $600. Silverstein was paid $100 for setting up the drug deal. Silverstein also arranged the sale of 8 oxymorphone pills with an informant on July 28, 2014, in Huntington.

The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force and Huntington Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.