US man pleads guilty in stolen pharma, hair products cases

A US man pleaded guilty yesterday to his role in the theft and diversion of a shipment of Mylan prescription respiratory medicines that were taken whilst in transit from Texas to Florida in September 2009.

46-year-old Reynaldo Tapanes of Miami - also known as El Gordo (the fat one) - admitted to charges of conspiring to possess stolen interstate shipments, a crime which carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each count.

In addition to the Mylan incident, Tapanes also pleaded guilty to an additional count of conspiracy to receive and sell stolen L’Oreal hair care products worth around $330,000.

The Mylan shipment - with an estimated value of around $265,000 at wholesale acquisition costs (WAC) - included a range of generic pharmaceutical products including asthma drugs ipratropium bromide and albuterol sulfate inhalation solutions.

Two other Florida men - Rocke Lopez-Batista (also known as El Nino [the child]) and Ariel Garcia - have also been indicted in the Mylan case, while Ernesto Romero-Vidal - also known as Bemba - is also cited in the L'Oreal suit.

Romero-Vidal and Lopez-Batista have also been charged with conspiracy to receive and sell stolen Sandoz prescription respiratory medicine. As yet, the other three defendants have not registered pleas against any of the charges.

Eight other defendants have also been charges as part of the same long-term investigation by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into illegal trafficking of pharmaceuticals and other stolen goods.

Details of charges in that investigation - which also includes charges brought for theft and receipt and sale of goods belonging to Bayer and Perrigo - are available here.

According to court documents, the conspirators eventually sold on the Mylan shipment for around $140,000, while the L'Oreal hair care products fetched $40,000.

Sentencing of Tapanes is scheduled for April 25, 2013.