A Park Ridge doctor plead guilty Friday at the Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, New Jersey to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and now faces up to five (5) years in state prison. The podiatrist was arrested in 2011 and charged with distribution of oxycodone after an investigation undercovered he was prescribing large doses of pain killers to several local individuals. The sting also led to the arrest of a dozen other defendants.

“His attorney, Albert Wunsch, later said the defendant had fallen into depression after his marriage fell apart a few years ago and was in a weak state of mind when a patient approached him and persuaded him that he could ‘maximize his profits’ by illegally prescribing medication. The defendant ‘foolishly’ took the bait, the attorney said.”

The doctor’s license has been suspended since October 2011 and his plea agreement with the State requires that he cannot attempt to reinstate his license for five (5) years.