Page 14 - David Ackerman News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

CHARLESTON — Fingers were pointed and blame was thrown all around a federal courtroom as a retired Drug Enforcement Administration official and attorneys for three drug distributors butted heads for a second full day of testimony. Joe Rannazzisi, the former director of the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control, was under cross-examination for the entirety of June 9’s testimony by attorneys for AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. Huntington and Cabell County sued the nation's three largest pharmaceutical distribution companies in 2017 seeking to hold the companies accountable fo...

CHARLESTON — Fingers were pointed and blame was thrown all around a federal courtroom as a retired Drug Enforcement Administration official and attorneys for three drug distributors butted heads for a second full day of testimony.

CHARLESTON – A key former Drug Enforcement Administration official spent the day on the witness stand giving testimony between objections, legal limitations and frustrations.

Cabell County Sheriff Chuck Zerkle CHARLESTON – At the landmark federal opioid trial, Cabell County Sherriff Chuck Zerkle testified being directly involved in Huntington, once deemed “epicenter of the opioid crisis,” has evolved.  During his testimony May 27, Zerkle said he wanted to make a difference and to help combat issues he believes are harming the community. “One of the reasons I ran for sheriff was I felt I could make a difference in our community,” said Zerkle, who has been a Cabell County resident since 1985 working various positions in law enforce...

CHARLESTON – As the landmark federal opioid trial concluded its fourth week, attorneys for Cardinal Health probed an addiction science professor from Marshall University about recovery programs and estimated costs.  The City of Huntington and the Cabell County Commission sued three of the nation’s top pharmaceutical distribution companies – AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson – in 2017 seeking compensation over claims the companies helped fuel the opioid epidemic by sending more than 81 million controlled substances to the county between 2006 and 2014.  Before the start ...