Last month, a Roxbury NJ dentist pleaded guilty to a second degree charge of illegally dispensing Percocet.
62-year-old Ronald Jupiter had been accused of offering to prescribe the painkiller Percocet in exchange for sex.
Appearing in the Morris County Superior Court in Morristown NJ, Mr. Jupiter admitted that when he prescribed Percocet to two (2) people on April 24, he did not do so for medical purposes. It turned out that the individuals were undercover police officers.
According to a statement issued by the NJ Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Jupiter did not accept financial payment for the prescriptions, but instead solicited the female officers for sex.
Mr. Jupiter came to a hotel to meet the undercover officers. After offering to write the prescriptions, Mr. Jupiter was arrested by Roxbury police.
Under the terms of the plea agreement reached by Mr. Jupiter and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, the prosecutor dismissed a charge of engaging in prostitution.
The plea agreement calls for Mr. Jupiter to be sentenced to three (3) years in New Jersey State Prison.
Had he gone to trial, Mr. Jupiter could have faced up to ten (10) years in state prison. In New Jersey, distribution of Percocet is addressed by N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10.5. According to the statute, second degree distribution of Percocet is punishable by a term of imprisonment of between five (5) and ten (10) years and a $300,000.00 fine.
After his arrest, Mr. Jupiter had his dentistry license suspended. It is possible that he will lose his license permanently.
For more information, see the NJ.com article entitled “Roxbury Dentist Admits Prescribing Painkiller for Reasons That Were ‘Not Medical.’“