Miami Herald - June 12, 2003
Larry Lebowitz, llebowitz@herald.com

Federal officials said the vials of bogus Procrit that Eddy Gorrin created in his Pembroke Pines home and a Hialeah storage shed were actually filled with bacteria-tainted water.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration initially feared that some of the fake Procrit tainted with E. coli bacteria could have been injected by unsuspecting patients with deteriorating immune systems.

When E. coli is injected into patients' compromised immune systems, the consequences can be dire.

But FDA officials extinguished those fears Wednesday.

"I believe we got it all before any of it could get to the patients," said David Bourne, special agent in charge of the FDA's South Florida criminal investigation division.

Gorrin, 30, of Pembroke Pines, pleaded guilty to trafficking in counterfeit goods. His cousin, electrician Duviel Gonzalez, 31, of Miami, and salesman William O. Chavez, 39, of Miami, pleaded guilty to unlawful distribution of prescription drugs without a license.

All three could receive sentences of up to 10 years in prison when they are sentenced in late August. But prosecutor Wifredo Ferrer said that Gorrin will likely receive the stiffest sentence because of the massive potential health risk and that Chavez will get credit for immediately cooperating with the investigation.

Undercover agents purchased 1,800 vials filled with dirty water in January and February. In addition, 333 boxes with four vials each were recovered from others. FDA agents and Miami-Dade County detectives discovered a veritable assembly line of 5,000 printed boxes ready for filling.

EQUIPMENT USED

Gorrin, who previously ran a medical-billing business, used a "kind of ingenious" mix of store-bought and homemade machines to pull off the scam, Bourne said.

Stoppers, vials, caps and a machine used to crimp the caps were purchased on the open market. A commercial printer reproduced the manufacturers' inserts and labels for the vials and boxes. Gorrin created his own stamps to replicate the holographic safety seals and lot numbers.

"It was a very sophisticated operation," said U.S. Attorney Marcos Daniel Jimen z.

WIDELY USED DRUG

More than one million patients undergoing chemotherapy or suffering from AIDS or kidney disease have taken Procrit over the last decade, according to its manufacturer, Amgen Inc.

The drug has become a counterfeiters' darling because it is an easily replicated clear solution.

And the profit margins can be staggering. A legitimate one-month supply of four vials typically costs $1,800. Gorrin's crew was selling the dirty water labeled as Procrit for $800. Even with the sophisticated counterfeiting, packaging and printing, Bourne estimated that each dose cost Gorrin $1.50.

The case started in April 2002 when two associates of Chavez, a former medical equipment salesman, tipped off Amgen that he might be involved in the sale of counterfeit Procrit. Company officials immediately notified the FDA.

One of the informants introduced Chavez to an undercover FDA agent last June.

On Jan. 20, Chavez sold 20 boxes of bogus Procrit to the agent at the Dolphin Mall. Two days later, Chavez sold 10 more boxes to the agent at Shula's Steak 2 restaurant in Miami Lakes. On Feb. 27, Chavez sold 50 boxes at the Miami Airport Hilton.

FIRST ARREST

The undercover agent paid Chavez $36,500 in cash. Chavez was arrested and immediately cooperated with authorities. Later that day, a wired Chavez met Gorrin at a Hialeah gas station, telling the ringleader that the buyer had discovered that the drugs were bogus and was demanding a lower price.

Gorrin didn't deny that the Procrit was counterfeit. His first cover story: Chavez should tell the angry buyer that his supplier had been arrested and his wife was going to take over.

Then he changed his mind, telling Chavez to inform the buyer that the Procrit was coming straight from the manufacturer, but they were illegally relabeling drugs past their expiration date.

FDA agents and Miami-Dade police detectives arrested Gorrin later that day.

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