By Amy Lukac
East Stroudsburg University police officer Matthew Brill, 42, has been arrested and charged with unlawfully obtaining 900 prescription pain pills.
As of Oct. 11, Brill was still listed as one of ESU’s police officers on the university’s website.
According to the Pocono Record, the Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation carried out the investigation.
When the Pocono Record reached out for a comment about the investigation, ESU officials said it is a personnel matter and they have no comment at this time.
The Stroud Courier reached out for a comments as well. ESU Public Safety neglected to comment,while Dr. Brenda Friday, Director of University Relations, said, “ESU is actively reviewing this matter with State and Local authorities and is unable to comment at this time.”
According to the Pocono Record and a criminal complaint, agents began their investigation in May after receiving information from an investigative analyst with Highmark, an insurance company.
From January 2014 through April 2015, Brill filled 107 prescriptions at 16 different pharmacies and visited at least 19 doctors over that 16-month period according to the analyst.
One of Brill’s doctors allegedly told investigators that Brill identified himself as a state police officer and said he needed Tramadol, a prescribed pain pill,
because he was “sore from the long hours of searching for suspected police killer Eric Frein.”
According to the police report, Brill has been charged with 13 counts of acquisition of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge.
He is also is charged with three counts of criminal attempts at acquisition of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge and two counts of possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered.
The Pocono Record stated that Brill’s bail was set at $50,000 unsecured at a preliminary arraignment on Oct 6. The hearing is scheduled for Oct. 19, and the office of Northampton County District Attorney will prosecute his case.
According to The Morning Call, Brill was charged with similar offenses in 2009 for allegedly filling 40 prescriptions of pain and anxiety medications and obtaining 2,834 pills. Apparently that specific case is no longer listed.
To add to the controversy, Brill was also in the middle of two lawsuits filed against ESU by former students alleging he illegally searched their dorms for drugs in March 2010. Both lawsuits had been dismissed.
In October 2013, The Stroud Courier published an article regarding an April 2013 narcotics investigation of Brill, again with strikingly similar allegations.
Email Amy at:
alukac@live.esu.edu