Rep. Dan Donovan of Staten Island, who has touted his tough stance on fighting the opioid epidemic, has taken nearly $10,000 in campaign cash from two execs tied to the drugmaker blamed for starting the crisis.
Michael Friedman, the former head of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, donated $1,500 to the Republican in April as he faced a primary challenge from former Rep. Michael Grimm.
Philip Strassburger, a former general counsel and now senior VP at Purdue, kicked in $2,700 in March. He also donated $5,400 to Donovan in 2016.
Donovan, who was Staten Island’s DA for 11 years, represents the borough and part of Brooklyn, a district hard hit by opioid abuse. He faces Democrat Max Rose in the November election.
In June, Donovan voted for 35 bills on drug-abuse prevention and treatment.
“There isn’t a day that passes where one doesn’t hear the tragic story of a life seized by the grasps of an opioid overdose,” he said at the time.
OxyContin, a highly addictive painkiller the Connecticut-based Purdue began selling in 1996, has been blamed for igniting the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Purdue has faced numerous suits over the drug, including a claim filed last month by state Attorney General Barbara Underwood, who accused the company of “deliberately exploiting our communities.”
In 2007, Friedman and two other Purdue execs pleaded guilty in federal court to a misdemeanor count of misbranding OxyContin. They were required to complete community service and pay $34.5 million in fines. Purdue paid $600 million in fines.
Friedman resigned after reaching the plea deal. Documents filed with the Federal Election Commission show he listed himself as “retired.”
A Donovan spokeswoman said the campaign was unaware of the donors’ ties but would now donate the funds to non-profits YMCA Counseling Services and the Camelot drug-counseling center on Staten Island.