Doc in painkiller case out on bail

A Baldwin Harbor doctor arrested in the illegal sale of painkiller prescriptions from his front porch and his car was released Monday on $750,000 bond after his brother put up his own home as security.

Dr. Leonard Stambler, who did not have an office, was arrested Thursday by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents as part of an investigation into the illegal distribution of painkillers in Nassau County, according to court papers.

The papers said that Stambler "was prescribing large numbers of oxycodone pills to patients who were believed to be reselling and/or abusing this controlled substance."

At times, the papers said, DEA agents saw "Stambler leaving prescriptions on his front porch for patients to retrieve"; at other times, Stambler was seen meeting with patients in his car.

Stambler was charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

He was arrested the same day that DEA agents also raided the Great Neck office of Dr. Eric Jacobson and seized his records.

Jacobson had prescribed thousands of painkiller pills to David Laffer and his wife, Melinda Brady, in the months before Laffer killed four people while robbing a Medford pharmacy.

Jacobson has not been charged with any crime and has denied any wrongdoing.

The bond for Stambler was put up by his brother Paul Stambler, of Hewlett, at the federal court in Central Islip.

Conditions for Stambler's release, set by U.S. Magistrate E. Thomas Boyle, included his having to live at his brother's home, remain at the house under a curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and get a psychiatric evaluation and possible treatment.

After the hearing, Stambler's attorney, Gary Schoer, of Syosset, declined to comment, as did prosecutor Allen Bode.