Paragraph 7 reads: "Steinberg also said he had been under a doctor's care since summer 2006 and is on the anti-anxiety drug Lexapro ."

Paragraph 3 reads: "According to the indictment, Steinberg, who received a license to practice in Connecticut in 2006, sold the drugs from his Great Neck apartment between April 2007 and last November, making about $400,000."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/crime/ny-lidoc1612772150may15,0,7179055.story

Doctor pleads guilty to illegal hydrocodone sales

BY DEBORAH S. MORRIS | deborah.morris@newsday.com

10:23 PM EDT, May 15, 2009

A Great Neck doctor who is not licensed to practice in New York pleaded guilty Friday to a felony charge of selling hydrocodone to people without prescriptions through online pharmacies.

In federal court in Central Islip, Jordan Steinberg, 32, chatted with his attorney, Douglas Burns of Westbury, before facing the judge and entering his plea. Under an agreement with the U.S. attorney's office, Steinberg avoids a trial and will not be able to appeal his sentence.

According to the indictment, Steinberg, who received a license to practice in Connecticut in 2006, sold the drugs from his Great Neck apartment between April 2007 and last November, making about $400,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Burton Ryan said raids and search warrants for computers led them to pinpoint Steinberg's involvement.

Dressed in a black suit and blue shirt, Steinberg fidgeted and tapped the microphone in front of him as U.S. District Judge Thomas Platt reviewed his plea agreement. When asked if he sold the drugs, he answered, "Yes, your honor."

In admitting his guilt, Steinberg said he had not examined those to whom he sold the drugs so the prescriptions were filled "outside the usual practice of medicine and without legitimate purpose."

Steinberg also said he had been under a doctor's care since summer 2006 and is on the anti-anxiety drug Lexapro.

After the proceeding, Ryan said Steinberg was released on $50,000 bail.

Steinberg is due back in court in a few weeks. He could face jail time, fines of $250,000 and the revocation of his medical license.

Steinberg declined to comment.

Burns said he was pleased that a plea agreement had been reached, "but there is work to be done on the sentencing."