Scrpino, at podium, called drugs #1 public health issue in the
country
VALHALLA – Westchester County law enforcement and District Attorney
Anthony Scarpino, Jr.’s office are joining forces to establish an
opioid/heroin task force to combat the increasing number of overdose deaths.
The task force will investigate and go after drug dealers, not those buying
the narcotics. Anyone who sells drugs that lead to a person’s death
will be charged with homicide, County Executive Robert Astorino said on
Thursday.
“Our message to all the dirt bags out there who are pushing drugs
at our kids and our community is that we are coming after you with a vengeance,”
he said.
Scarpino called the drug epidemic the number one public health threat
in the country.
In Westchester County alone, he said there has been a 61 percent increase
in drug overdose deaths from 2009 to 2014.
He warned that the drugs being peddled are even stronger than they used
to be because many are being laced with the deadly drug fentanyl.
