A jury in Seattle has found a respected high school drug counselor guilty of selling drugs. Robert Smith, 60, was arrested in December of 2009 and faced a federal indictment on allegations he and another man sold oxycodone pills to a police informant. Smith was convicted on six counts related to a series of painkiller sales.
The prosecuting attorney made a point of highlighting Smith's position as a drug counselor to young people.
"He was a
drug and alcohol counselor whose job was to make sure kids were getting help for their addictions," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisca Borichewski, in her closing argument. "Instead, he was feeding other people's addictions."
Court documents indicated that Smith had been dealing oxycodone. During the trial, one of Smith's former customers testified under oath that Smith had sold $10,000 worth of
oxycodone pills to another drug distributor at one time. There was testimony that Smith sold the pills to many other people.
Smith's attorney pleaded with the court for leniency, but federal prosecutors were adamant that Smith should serve two and a half years in prison.
"He is a drug addict," said defense attorney James L. Vonasch. "He is 60 years old and has no criminal history. He has been convicted of delivering small amounts of
oxycontin to fellow addicts. We have a decent human being who has made a serious error which would not have been made had he not been addicted to opiates."
