Bellport man sentenced to 46 months in prison for conspiring to distribute pain pills, feds say

A Bellport man who officials said was part of a ring that stole blank prescription pads and forged them to illegally purchase oxycodone pills was sentenced to 46 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute the narcotic.

Terrance Belford, 36, also had bragged on the internet that had he not been arrested he would have made several thousand dollars selling the drugs acquired from forged prescriptions, officials said.

In imposing the maximum sentence under Belford’s plea deal, U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert in Central Islip noted the “death and misery we see every day” because of the illegal use of oxycodone.

But Seybert said she hoped Belford, who was a self-described drug addict, would use the prison time to benefit from a rehabilitation program, and prepare for a regular job when he is released. Seybert said despite his age, Belford did not appear to have much of a history of legitimate employment.

Belford’s attorney, federal public defender Tracey Gaffey, had asked for a lesser sentence because, she said, her client was the father of a number of children and because he was ready to turn his life around.

The ring Belford was involved with operated in 2016 and early 2017 and stole prescription blanks from an unidentified New York doctor’s office, federal prosecutors said. The ring then forged the blanks to obtain the oxycodone in New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama, officials said. The investigation was conducted by the DEA’s Long Island Tactical Diversion Squads, which includes agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Nassau and Suffolk police, and other local police forces.

Belford was arrested in December 2016 when using a fake driver’s license under a fake name — he attempted to use one stolen prescription form to purchase 120 30-milligram oxycodone pills at a pharmacy in Alabama, officials said. Employees of the pharmacy declined to fill the prescription and called police.

Belford boasted on Facebook that he could not only illegally obtain oxycodone, but also powder and crack cocaine, officials said. He also said that if he had not been arrested, he would have made $10,000 selling oxycodone with the prescription blanks he had.

“Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of Belford’s crime, using stolen prescription forms to feed the opioid epidemic and enrich himself, and then blatantly discussing the price and availability of his illegal drugs on Facebook," Eastern District U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said in a statement.

After the sentencing, both defense attorney Gaffey and Eastern District Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Treinis Gatz declined to comment.

By Robert E. Kessler

Robert.Kessler@newsday.com

Bob Kessler covers federal law, including law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, DEA, IRS and ATF, as well as the federal courts.