Frank Augstein/AP
- A Connecticut doctor was arrested for distributing opioids in exchange for cash. Now, feds say he tried to sabotage the case with a murder-for-hire plot.
- "This guy's gotta go," Braylovsky said as he attempted to hire a hit man, the Washington Post reported.
- After spending five days in jail in his initial arrest, Braylovsky was "desperate to avoid going back to jail," the Post reported.
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A Connecticut doctor who was charged for illegally distributing opioids attempted to hire a hitman to silence a witness in his case, but he was met with a federal sting operation in his murder-for-hire plot.
Anatoly Braylovsky was arrested in June 2020 on charges of illegal distribution of prescriptions, according to a press release from the US Attorney's Office of the District of Connecticut.
For several years, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection's Drug Control Division received complaints of Braylovsky prescribing habits, and the agencies notified Braylovsky of the complaints, according to the press release.
The statement detailed that Braylovsky prescribed "medically unnecessary prescriptions" to patients who then sold the drugs or gave some of the pills back to Braylovsky. In other cases, Braylovsky was accused of selling prescriptions for thousands of dollars in cash.
After his arrest, Braylovsky was released on a $750,000 bond and was ordered to stay home with a monitoring device, the New Haven Register reported.
In a desperate attempt to avoid prison, Braylovsky tried to enlist a member of Hells Angels, a prominent motorcycle gang, to "intimidate or kill" a witness slated to speak against him in his trial in October, the Washington Post reported.
"This guy's gotta go," the Post reported Braylovsky said to an acquaintance who he believed could help him hire a hitman.
Braylovsky's acquaintance went to the police, initiating a chain of events that would lead to a government sting operation.
On August 24, Braylovsky got a call from a supposed hit man who offered to help him in his plot, saying Braylovsky's acquaintance had reached out "through a mutual friend." The man was actually an undercover officer, the Post reported from an FBI affidavit.
While Braylovsky had his suspicions about the man's identity, the undercover officer reassured him.
"I am a professional, alright?" the officer said to Braylovsky, according to the Post. The pair continued to discuss a plot to "target" a witness in Braylovsky's drug scheme case, and it was enough for investigators to implicate him.
"It did not seem as if Braylovsky had changed his mind regarding his plans," the affidavit said according to the Post. "Rather, it appeared as though Braylovsky was skeptical of the [undercover officer]."
Braylovsky was arrested and charged on August 27 with attempting to obstruct the due administration of justice, the Post said.