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Colonie Doctor Arrested for Drug Trafficking

(posted: March 4th, 7:45pm) A Utica Area doctor is in the Albany County Jail after being charged with running an international drug trafficking operation over the internet.

Investigators were in the house of Dr. David Stephenson in Rome Friday, confiscating materials used in his illegal drug operation. All kinds of prescription drugs as well as steroids and the computers he used to sell them to customers without a prescription for the last four years, were among the things taken. 

Police say Stephenson is in fact a drug trafficker, he had no valid patient-physician relationship with any of his patients.

State Department of Health investigators caught on to his 500,000 dollar a year operation during a routine check of what legit pharmaceutical wholesalers were selling to people in New York.

"The majority of them are legitimate drugs sold by legitimate pharmaceutical wholesalers," said Michael Moffett of the New York State Department of Health, "Anything from painkillers to anti-depressants to sexual enhancement drugs to GHB, growth hormone drugs...steroids are very popular."

The Health Department contacted Colonie Police, who has expertise in internet stings. Investigators spent a month buying from Stephenson, who allegedly called them to make sure they had gotten their packages, but never asked them any medical questions. They got enough evidence to get an indictment, and picked up Stephenson Thursday morning.

"Drugs is a very large for profit game and that game and that game is played by a number of people and too often it's just associated with the inner city," said Chief Steven Heider of Colonie Police. "Too often it's not given attention to people who deal in this type of drug which causes just as much problem to the American family."

More charges are pending against Stephenson, and the people who may have bought drugs from him. Stephenson was a resident at Albany Medical Center for a couple of months in late 1992, but did not finish up, the hospital says it has no record he ever worked there.