Deal For Dealer Whose Wares Caused Fatal OD In Copaigue Angers DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A Suffolk County drug dealer whose wares caused three overdoses, one of them fatal, has been granted admission into a judicial diversion program over the objections of prosecutors.

“Placing a drug dealer who provided poison leading to a fatal overdose into Judicial Diversion is dangerous to the community and a travesty of justice,” District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said Wednesday. “The defendant sold what was represented to be cocaine to three unsuspecting victims. All three victims overdosed and one victim, Igor Piaskowski, died because the substance they ingested contained not cocaine, but rather a lethal mixture of Fentanyl and Tramadol."

Tierney said not holding drug dealers responsible for the more than 100,000 victims who die from opioid overdoses each year was a failure of the justice system.

A letter written by the sister of the victim who died as a result of Aitcheson’s drug sale was presented by the District Attorney’s Office to the court for consideration. Also opposed to Omar Aitcheson's admission into the diversion program, she interpreted a quote he used to describe himself on social media as demonstrating his “greed and lack of regard for human life.”

The DA said the quote read: “I am the punishment of God ... If you had not committed great sins, God would not have a punishment like me upon you.”

Aitcheson, 31, pleaded guilty to criminal sale of a controlled substance and other related charges.

According to court documents, the North Amityville resident sold a fentanyl-tramadol mixture marketed as cocaine to three Copiague men in Suffolk County on Oct. 8, 2023.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug that is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin, and ingesting just two milligrams can be lethal. Tramadol is a strong opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to severe pain with side effects that can slow or stop breathing.

Believing that they had purchased cocaine, the three men snorted the substance that Aitcheson sold them, and all three immediately experienced symptoms of an opioid overdose. Two of the victims survived while 32-year-old Igor Piaskowski was pronounced dead upon his arrival at the hospital. The incident prompted law enforcement to commence an investigation.

Meanwhile, Aitcheson continued to sell narcotics, the DA said. In Later that month, Aitcheson sold cocaine to undercover detectives on two separate dates. Aitcheson was arrested on Oct. 24, 2023, for the overdose sale as well as the undercover purchases.

On Tuesday, Aitcheson pleaded guilty before County Court Judge Philip Goglas to three counts of Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, Class B felonies, and three counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, Class B felonies.

Judge Goglas promised Aitcheson admittance into the Court’s Judicial Diversion Program.

If he successfully completes the program after 18 months, followed by one year probation, Aitcheson will be able to withdraw his guilty plea and have his felony charged dismissed. If he fails, he will be sent to prison for three years followed by two years of post-release supervision — which, the DA pointed out, is still five years fewer than the eight-year sentence originally offered by prosecutors.

The District Attorney’s Office vehemently opposed Aitcheson’s admission into the diversion program and requested a hearing on the merits of Aitcheson’s eligibility and appropriateness for the program. The Court held a hearing to determine his eligibility and appropriateness for JDP.

The District Attorney’s Office argued Aitcheson was a drug dealer who not only caused the overdose of three men with one resulting in death by selling a fentanyl-tramadol mixture as cocaine, but also continued selling drugs afterward.

The District Attorney’s Office also pointed out at the hearing, and at the time of his admission into JDP, that Aitcheson was not suffering from a substance use disorder at the time he sold the fatal dose, nor was he driven to commit his crimes due to a substance use disorder.

Aitcheson told the judge he had stopped taking narcotics in September 2023, the DA said.

Passed by the New York State legislature in 2009, JDP addresses defendants’ drug or alcohol dependency by providing treatment in lieu of incarceration. In order to be eligible for the program, the defendant must be suffering from substance abuse during the commission of a crime for which they are charged, and it must be demonstrated that the defendant does not pose a safety risk to the community. It is within the discretion of the court to admit or deny a defendant admission to a JDP even if they qualify for the program.

"In this case, we requested that the Judge not place a drug dealer who caused a fatal overdose into a diversion program where he will ultimately receive a misdemeanor," Tierney said.

Aitcheson is due back in court on Aug. 20. He is being represented by Eric Besso, Esq. Patch reached out to Besso for comment.