Sheriff: Man used false ID to get OxyContin

By TIMES STAFF WRITER
Published April 20, 2006

TREASURE ISLAND - Pinellas County sheriff's investigators arrested a financial planner on charges alleging he assumed the identities of clients to pass forged prescriptions for painkillers.

Christopher David Solomon, 41, of 750 116th Ave. in Treasure Island, was arrested for obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and trafficking in a controlled substance, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Also arrested was Erin Michelle Mendez, 26, Solomon's live-in housekeeper, on charges of possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

An investigation revealed that Solomon assumed the identities of two of his employees and eight current and former clients to obtain more than 1,100 grams of OxyContin, a strong painkiller, in the past year, the report states.

Solomon also used one of the victim's insurance coverage several times to obtain prescription drugs, according to the report.

Sheriff's detectives executed a search warrant at Solomon's home on Monday and seized more than 250 packages of restricted pharmaceutical samples along with 10 blank prescriptions and several forged prescriptions, the report states.

Solomon was arrested this year on a retail theft charge, according to jail records. Earlier this month, sheriff's deputies arrested him on charges of possession of cocaine, Phentermine (an appetite suppressant), and drug paraphernalia and for having a blank prescription.