NEW YORK – Shutting down a major drug operation, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced five arrests including Michael Mancusi, a major narcotics trafficker in Staten Island who illegally obtained and sold thousands of pills of prescription narcotics, including oxycodone. Mancusi supplied his drug-dealing operation by fraudulently claiming serious and permanent injuries related to motor vehicle accidents, and then applying for Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicaid and Medicare benefits to unlawfully obtain prescription drugs, including oxycodone, alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax) and fentanyl patches. Together with his girlfriend, co-defendant Shannon Daniell, and other co-conspirators, the Mancusi Organization then illegally sold the drugs to buyers throughout New York City and Long Island.

“We have shut down a dangerous scheme that dealt illegal prescription drugs at the taxpayers’ expense. The arrest of this major drug trafficker and his associates will make our streets safer, and sends a message to would-be criminals to think twice before dealing drugs in New York State,” said Schneiderman. “The epidemic of prescription drug abuse has plagued our communities for too long, and we are aggressively fighting to crack down on this crisis with every tool at our disposal. Illegally profiting off the addiction and suffering of others is a crime, and these defendants will be held accountable.”

If convicted, defendants Mancusi and Daniell each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Defendant Leuchau faces a maximum sentence of 9 years in prison, and defendant Rivera-Daniell faces a maximum sentence of 1 1/2 years in prison.