Connecticut Attorney General William Tong decried an agreement Wednesday between the U.S. Department of Justice and Stamford-based Purdue Pharma that puts an end to sweeping criminal and civil investigations into practices by the drugmaker that flooded the market with the addictive opioid Oxycontin.
“This settlement provides a mere mirage of justice for the victims of Purdue’s callous misconduct. The federal government had the power here to put the Sacklers in jail, and they didn’t. Instead, they took fines and penalties that Purdue likely will never fully pay,” Tong said in a written statement after the DOJ announcement. “Every dollar paid here is one dollar less for states like Connecticut trying to maximize money from Purdue and the Sacklers to abate the opioid epidemic.