North Tonawanda Man Sentenced in Pharmacy Burglary

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Timothy J. Lichtenburger, 30, of North Tonawanda, N.Y., who was convicted of burglarizing a pharmacy and possession with intent to distribute the various controlled substances taken in the burglary, was sentenced to 70 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz, who handled the case, stated that on May 15, 2011, the defendant broke into the Rite Aid Pharmacy at 1381 Nash Road, in the City of Tonawanda, on two separate occasions and stole in excess of $26,000 worth of various Schedule II, III and IV controlled substances. Lichtenburger then distributed the narcotic prescription pain pills between the date of the burglary and his arrest on May 21, 2011. The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution to Rite Aid in the amount of $27,197.37.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the North Tonawanda Police Department Detective Bureau, under the direction of Police Chief Randy Szukala, and Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division.