New York Doctor Drug Pusher Found Guilty; Could Spend Life in Prison

A New York City physician might well get to spend the rest of his wasted life in prison, all because a federal court jury in Brooklyn convicted him last Wednesday of selling powerful narcotics to numerous patients for fun and profit. At least one of those patients died.

Doctor Martin Tesher was found guilty on 10 felony charges of illegally prescribing fentanyl and oxycodone, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District.

Tesher, age 82, faces a minimum sentence of 20 years - and a maximum of life - in federal prison, when he is sentenced next month.

“Doctor Martin Tesher dispensed opioids to patients that he knew were abusing drugs, and the tragic result was an overdose death. The jury held Tesher responsible for the role he played in fueling the opioid epidemic, by abandoning his responsibilities as a medical professional, and for acting as a drug-dealer with a prescription pad." (U. S. Attorney Richard Donoghue)

According to prosecutors the case came to light with a tip from a confidential informant. The information was corroborated when investigators audited Tesher’s prescription records, which were on file with the New York State Department Health, His patients' medical records proved the doctor was running his office as a drug house.

At trial the prosecution revealed that from the summer of 2013 until January 2017, Tesher, a family practitioner, routinely prescribed narcotics to five patients with no medical need, knowing they were drug addicts.

As an example, Tesher continued issuing oxycodone and fentanyl to Nicholas Benedetto, a 27-year-old drug addict. Benedetto was found dead in Staten Island of a fatal combination of oxycodone and fentanyl on March 5, 2016, two days after he had been prescribed oxycodone and fentanyl by Tesher/

The investigation was directed by the Long Island Tactical Diversion which focuses on the illegal use of prescription pharmaceuticals on the east coast.