Phillip Seymour Hoffman found dead

[Adub]

Giving it to the Lord is kind of a rehab thing. Lots of addicts find Jesus and rely on Him to help them make it thru the day. Good luck with that Midwest, glad it is working for you.

[Midwest Spy]

Giving it to the Lord is kind of a rehab thing. Lots of addicts find Jesus and rely on Him to help them make it thru the day. Good luck with that Midwest, glad it is working for you.

Appreciate that!

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't know how many people OD in NYC in any given week and how far those investigations normally extend, but the NYPD sure sprung into action quickly in tracking down the drug dealers in Hoffman's case.


Snip:
Police have made multiple arrests in connection with the investigation into the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

According to Lt. John Grimpel of the New York Police Department, officers executed a search warrant at an apartment building on the 300 block of Mott Street in lower Manhattan, recovered a "quantity of narcotics" and made four arrests.

The New York Times reports that police searched three apartments, arrested three men and one woman and found 350 bags of heroin.

The identities of the suspects have not been released.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/04..._ref=crime

[Blindgreed1]

For the record, I don't buy the "found with a needle in the arm" thing. Plus they said 70 bags of dope were found and are making that out to be an enormous ammount. I've known rich junkies (some still alive and some not). Been there when they slammed. There's plenty of time to remove the needle, and for someone with a vast ammount of money 70 bags could easily be a morning fix. No... This was a bad batch of heroin. That's why the cops moved on it so quickly. This was not an OD.

[crash]

Yeah I read something in the news somewhere about there being a batch out there that had been cut with some medical grade pain killer 10 times stronger than morpheme or some shit. It sounded like a speculative story to attract some attention, but probably a half truth.

[Blindgreed1]

Yeah I read something in the news somewhere about there being a batch out there that had been cut with some medical grade pain killer 10 times stronger than morpheme or some shit. It sounded like a speculative story to attract some attention, but probably a half truth.

Yep, and just to be clear, I'm not making excuses for the man, just saying that I don't buy what the media is feeding us.

[sally]

I don't know how much time there is to remove the needle, but when my dad was found the needle was in his hand with blood in it and not in his arm. Like maybe he knew immediately that is was either bad or maybe just too much and he tried to withdrawal it. I don't know, but the cops were there for six hours and treated it as a crime scene instead of just an accidental overdose.

[HairOfTheDog]

The autopsy was ruled inconclusive today; more testing underway.

But, preliminary tests on the heroin seized from Hoffman’s pad detected no fentanyl, a powerful pain reliever. Heroin cut with fentanyl has killed 22 people in Pennsylvania.

I don't know if the police officers who were quoted about the needle in the arm were lying when they spoke to the media; I guess it's possible if they wanted to rattle some cages. I think it's standard procedure to treat the site of death as a potential crime scene in a high profile case like this, initially.

Anyway, there's some new information about the investigation and the suspects in this updated article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/phil...-1.1603028

[Midwest Spy]

Anyone here ever seen the CBS show Blue Bloods?

A few weeks ago an episode aired where there was some bad heroin sold in NYC and there were multiple deaths.

I'm sure everyone who saw that was thinking about it when Hoffman turned up with a needle in his arm.

[Cynical Ninja]

Taking some “bad shit” is just one of the occupational hazards of taking illegal drugs.

At least I know I'm never gonna drink a “bad cocktail” or some “bad wine” that is going to make me want to climb a building and test out my new crazy theory that I can fly.

[HairOfTheDog]

Haven't heard of that show, MS.

It's looking to me like the push on Hoffman's dealers is the result of a new policy that holds dealers somewhat responsible for their customers' overdoses. LE can send a louder wider-reaching message to dealers with the OD of someone like Hoffman than an unknown user and that's just what LE is doing here.

Snip:

On Jan. 10, Coronato's office secured a 11-and-a-half year sentence for Kenneth Staunton, a 33-year-old who pleaded guilty to heroin possession and manslaughter in relation to the death of a 27-year-old man who overdosed on Stauton's product.

And just last week in Illinois, a 27-year-old woman was sentenced to four years in prison after she reportedly pleaded no contest to first degree reckless homicide for selling heroin to a man who died from overdose.

Kerry Harvey, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, is also cracking down on dealers in his state.

“We have had a truly horrific problem with prescription drug abuse,” Harvey told Crimesider. And while he says they’ve been able to restrict the supply of these drugs somewhat, the crackdown has “caused a comeback of heroin.”

Instead of specifically charging dealers with their customers’ overdose deaths, Harvey says his office has used sentencing enhancements that allow for as many as 20 years in prison if a death results from an illegal narcotic distributed by the suspect.

“It’s hard to deter someone acting out of an addiction, but you can deter people who are acting out of greed,” says Harvey. “We want them to know they’re risking their own life [when they deal], at least in terms of their freedom.”

Part of this new push has been to train first responders like police and EMTs to treat overdose scenes not as accidents, but as potential crime scenes. They’re taught to secure the scene, interview witnesses, and collect evidence, like pill bottles, needles and the all-important cell phone. Harvey pointed to one recent case where an overdose victim had called his dealer just hours before his death.

In addition, Harvey said that he’s conducted training at local coroner and medical examiner’s offices to make sure that overdose victims are autopsied so that a connection can be established between the death and the drugs.

“We’re trying to change the cost-benefit analysis for dealers,” says Harvey. “With every heroin transaction there is a significant risk of overdose death. We want them to know if their customer ODs, they will be held responsible.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/actor-philip...n-dealers/
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Crack down on the dealers for breaking the possession and distribution laws - I get that. If the dealer cut the drug with a fatal/toxic substance - they're liable there too.

But, blaming dealers for the overdoses of their customers? IDK - seems to me it's the customer's responsibility to manage his/her own intake if they choose to purchase/use a product that they know is dangerous and possibly deadly. JMO.

[Cynical Ninja]

I think if you choose to deal with criminals you are the one taking a risk and that risk is yours and yours alone. I think its a bit much to break the law by buying illegal drugs off criminals then crying foul when they sell you some “bad shit”!

You play with the sharks you risk getting bitten.

[Duchess]

But, blaming dealers for the overdoses of their customers? IDK - seems to me it's the customer's responsibility to manage his/her own intake if they choose to purchase/use a product that they know is dangerous and possibly deadly. JMO.

I agree with this.

I think it's kinda sucky too that if this were Joe Blow they probably wouldn't even be wasting man hours trying to find the dealer/s.

[Midwest Spy]

Now the Enquirer is reporting that Hoffman was having a homosexual relationship and struggling with his sexual identity.

That's why his ex had kicked him out of the house and I'm assuming, decided to be so reckless with his life.

Before anyone snickers at the Enquirer reference, they're the ones that caught John Edwards with the bimbo that may have cost him a shot at the presidency.

[Duchess]

Now the Enquirer is reporting that Hoffman was having a homosexual relationship and struggling with his sexual identity.

Lawsuit pending for making that statement. I saw the comment before I left this morning but I haven't had a chance to read the story yet.

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't believe that Katz, who was one of Hoffman's best friends, would have given the Enquirer an interview claiming that the two were gay lovers and that Katz had watched Hoffman do a bunch of drugs. And, given that interview right after he found Hoffman dead? Highly doubtful, IMO.

Why would Katz, a successful screenwriter for decades, do that? Even if the content of the article were true, it would be very disrespectful to Hoffman's family, Katz's friendship with Hoffman, Katz's own wife and 4 kids, and it would make Katz out to be an enabling dickhead who exploited his friend's death to make a few bucks from a rag mag.

Could it be true? Sure. But, I think the Enquirer is willing to cross the "sensational insinuation using paid unnamed sources" line into blatantly false claims regarding its source on this one in order to generate massive sales. Guess we'll see.

[Maggot]

He did play Capote well.

"The obvious answer is that eventually, I mean, I'll kill myself ... without meaning to" ..........Truman Capote

[Cynical Ninja]

I don't think he was a closet homosexual.

These days what difference does it make? If he had come out as gay or bi would it have affected his career or life? I doubt it.

He was an addict, and once an addict always an addict.

[Duchess]

His funereal was today -

[Cynical Ninja]

Look what he's done to his kids just to get a fix.