Matthew Leshinsky gets 4 years in prison for running 'Breaking Bad'-style meth lab in Ronkonkoma
Matthew Leshinsky, 23, of Farmingville, was sentenced to prison for unlawfully manufacturing methamphetamine at his Ronkonkoma lab. Credit: SCDA
A Farmingville scientist was sentenced Wednesday to 4 years in prison for running what authorities said was a “Breaking Bad”-style meth lab in Ronkonkoma.
Matthew Leshinsky, 23, who pleaded guilty last month in criminal court in Riverhead to nine felonies — six counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine and one count of unlawful disposal of methamphetamine laboratory material — was also sentenced to 5 years supervised release, according to Suffolk County prosecutors.
Prosecutors had asked for an 8-year sentence, saying the lab had parallels to the drug operation featured in the "Breaking Bad" television show.
Leshinsky also previously pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors, including criminal possession of methamphetamine manufacturing material, two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, and one count of reckless endangerment.
David Besso, Leshinsky’s Bay Shore-based defense attorney, said his client is a scientist who was researching drug addiction and never sold meth out of the lab. He previously studied chemistry at Hofstra University and had done research for multiple corporations, Besso said.
“Elon Musk is using ketamine. The U.S. Army is using hallucinogenic drugs and magic mushrooms for PTSD,” Besso said. “And the DA's office is looking to put scientists and entrepreneurs in jail for doing additional research on drugs to aid the public with whatever maladies they may have. From the inception of this case, they looked at Matt Leshinsky as a drug dealer when there was no evidence that he sold drugs to anybody.”
Leshinsky, Besso previously said, had applied for proper licensing from the state but was working without proper certification at the time of his arrest.
In the early morning hours of June 7, Leshinsky called 911 to report a burglary at his business, Quantitative Laboratories, which he identified as analyzing cannabis.
But when police arrived, they found broken glass, chemicals and evidence of a clandestine drug lab, officials said.
Police said they found evidence of the “manufacture, production, and preparation of methamphetamine and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a hallucinogenic substance, amongst other controlled substances,” prosecutors said.
After serving a search warrant, authorities found more than 100 pieces of laboratory equipment, chemicals and other substances resulting from the production of methamphetamine. Police also seized $40,000 in cash, MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, and more than 3 ounces of methamphetamine, prosecutors said.
Authorities also seized 625,000 milligrams of pure ketamine and more than 20 plastic 55-gallon drums containing Gamma butyrolactone, similar to the drug GHB, commonly known as the “date rape drug.”
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
