ONLINE DRUG RING SHUT DOWN

The arrest of a Wilmington man last year has led to the seizure of millions
of dollars worth of drugs, cash and assets, and shut down an online drug ring.

James David Hoffman, 38, was arrested in December after City-County Vice
and Narcotics agents said he was operating an illegal Internet pharmacy out
of his White Avenue home.

His arrest implicated two men in Pennsylvania and led narcotics agents to
$2.5 million in pills and about $870,000 in cash and assets last week.

Local agencies - in this case, the Wilmington Police Department and the New
Hanover County Sheriff's Department - are eligible to receive up to 80
percent of the cash and the money raised by the sale of the men's assets if
they are convicted.

The first step in breaking up the illegal drug ring was the interception of
a package sent to Mr. Hoffman about a year ago.

The package gave narcotics officers cause to search Mr. Hoffman's house
where they found about 15,000 pills - mostly tranquilizers such as the
generic types of codeine, Valium, and Xanax - along with five computers, a
.45-caliber handgun, a police scanner, a stack of credit cards, a copy of
The Pill Book, and scores of plastic, amber-colored prescription bottles,
ready to be filled.

The total value of all the pills found was set at $74,600, but there were
also dozens of empty bulk pill bottles, the type drug companies use to send
pills to pharmacies. Detectives estimate those bottles once contained
48,800 pills worth $244,000.

Mr. Hoffman remains in the New Hanover County jail, accused of selling the
pills over the Internet to people without prescriptions, Sheriff's Col. Sid
Causey said. Apparently, his Web site - the defunct www.pillsforyou.com -
did a land office business, as detectives also found mounds of mail
return-receipts with addresses from across the country.

A convicted felon with a $700-a-day intravenous cocaine habit, Mr. Hoffman
is believed to have made about $40,000 a month running the Internet
operation, Col. Causey said.

As a result of the search of Mr. Hoffman's home, agents uncovered
information about two men they believe were working with him to operate the
in-home pharmacy.

Narcotics Agent Donald Taft said Tuesday that Mr. Hoffman originally ran an
Internet service where, for a fee, he would refer people to doctors who
would give them prescriptions without asking questions. Then, looking to
make more money, Mr. Hoffman found Daniel C. Gebbia, a pharmacist in
Newcastle, Pa., who was willing to supply Mr. Hoffman with the pills
directly, Agent Taft said.

A third man, Fred Kohl, of Murraysville, Pa., found out about the operation
and wanted to get in on it. Agent Taft said Mr. Kohl befriended Mr.
Hoffman, then supplied him with more capital so he could expand his operation.

Mr. Kohl, who sells extended warranties on cars and recently purchased a
professional drag strip, has a bank account containing $4 million, but it
hasn't been seized yet, Col. Causey said. He added that the account had $69
million in it just a month ago.

From Mr. Kohl, law enforcement seized $98,000 in cash, $30,000 in jewelry,
and $5,000 worth of drugs.

A search of the pharmacist's home was even more lucrative. In Mr. Gebbia's
possession, agents found $2.5 million worth of pharmaceuticals, $298,300 in
cash and securities, two handguns worth about $300, and five cars: two 2002
Dodge Vipers, each worth about $83,000, a $35,000 Ford Mustang Cobra, a
2002 Ford Explorer valued at $28,000 and a $53,000 Ford Thunderbird.

His $150,000 home was also seized.

Interestingly, when agents went to search Mr. Gebbia's home, he wasn't
there. He was in jail in Pennsylvania for failing to pay $2,000 in child
support. He is a licensed pharmacist in Pennsylvania.

Neither Mr. Kohl nor Mr. Gebbia has been charged yet. The Drug Enforcement
Administration took over the case when it reached Pennsylvania, and in
federal matters, defendants' attorneys are often consulted before charges
are filed.

All three men are to be charged federally, Col. Causey said, and officers
expect more arrests and seizures. The state and federal investigation is
ongoing.