The chairman of a company formed to redevelop the former Aaron's furniture building in Connellsville pleaded guilty in New Jersey last week to charges that he led an illegal, multimillion-dollar prescription painkiller ring.
Mohamed Hassanain, 43, of West Orange, N.J., faces as many as 18 years in prison when he's sentenced in October on charges of racketeering and money laundering, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.
A three-year investigation included the conviction of 18 defendants and the forfeiture of $2.3 million worth of assets, authorities said.
As part of Hassanain's plea, he will forfeit 12 properties valued at $1.5 million. He admitted that he orchestrated the selling of about 40,000 OxyContin and Percocet pills a week between July 2005 and January 2007.
Most of the pills went to a Bronx distribution ring that sold the drugs to a ring in the Boston area, authorities said.
"The sheer magnitude of this ring was astounding," New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram said in a news release. "In disbanding the ring, the New Jersey State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice have taken millions of dollars worth of illegal prescription drug pills off of the streets and out of the hands of criminals."
The New Jersey case does not involve the six-story Connellsville building, which 139 North Pittsburgh Street LLC bought for $20,000 through the Internet auction site eBay in August 2006.
The Aaron's building, which has been vacant since 1978, is listed by the Fayette County Tax Claim Bureau for a tax sale on Sept. 28.
As of Monday afternoon, the $4,500.66 upset price has not been satisfied by the property owner, an office spokeswoman said.
City officials initially were pleased that Hassanain, who bought the building under the alias Mohamed Aly, intended to create office and retail space on the first floor and loft apartments on the upper floors.
Connellsville Health Officer Tom Currey said the status of the building remains "up in the air," but described it as being in "bad shape" with numerous code violations.
Hassanain's brother has been in contact with city officials to meet about the building's status within the next few weeks, Currey said.
"It's a beautiful building, potentially, but we're in a situation where it can't keep sitting vacant," he said.
