Federal jury convicts Commack man of distributing unapproved drugs, officials say
William Scully leaves through a rear exit of the Federal Courthouse in Central Islip on April 30, 2014. Credit: James Carbone
A Commack man has been convicted in federal court in Central Islip of distributing millions of dollars of unapproved drugs for treating illnesses such as cancer and Crohn's disease, according to officials.
William Scully, the president of Pharmalogical Inc. of Great Neck, was convicted of 66 felony counts late Thursday, after a six-week trial, officials said. His former company was also known as Medical Device King.
The drugs had been manufactured overseas and may have been approved for use in other countries. But they had not been cleared for use by the federal Food and Drug Administration and had not been labeled properly, officials said.
Some of the drugs had labels only in foreign languages without instructions for their proper use in English, officials said.
Scully also had originally been charged with selling counterfeit drugs, but a judge dismissed those charges before jury deliberations.
At trial, Scully argued that he believed he was acting legally based upon the advice of his attorneys.
Scully also was convicted of conspiracy, wire and mail fraud, and operating an unlicensed wholesale drug distribution business.
Shahrad Rodi Lameh, of Manhasset, the vice president of Pharmalogical, had been indicted on similar charges, but pleaded guilty before trial to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to distribute misbranded drugs, officials said. Lameh is awaiting sentencing.
Scully and Lameh were arrested in May 2014, following an investigation by agents of the Office of Criminal Investigation of the FDA.
Scully's attorney, Michael Rosensaft of Manhattan, said his client planned to appeal.
Rosensaft said his client was pleased the judge threw out the counterfeiting charges, but disappointed that jurors did not accept his argument that he believed his actions were legal.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kelly of the Eastern District of New York declined to comment after the verdict.
Bob Kessler covers federal law, including law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, DEA, IRS and ATF, as well as the federal courts.
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