01x08 - The People vs. Purdue Pharma

[bunniefuu]

I brought you here
tonight to sign a petition

so we can try to bring
an end to this nightmare.

[APPLAUSE]

I think a lot about
being a doctor again.

SISTER BETH: A way to
make amends for the pain

that we have caused
others is to give back.

You need to get to a
hospital immediately.

f*ck off.

Come to New Orleans. I'll
be the regional manager.

We'll make a fortune there.

A black box label indicates the drug is

much more dangerous.

Absolutely not.

I don't believe you will
find support at Main Justice

for felony charges
against these individuals.

JOHN: Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen.

After careful consideration,

I have decided to
indict Michael Friedman,

Paul Goldenheim, and Howard
Udell on felony charges.

I'm starting Suboxone tomorrow.

Give me one hell of a send-off.

DEALER: Got it.

DIANE: Beth is in heaven now.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

NAN: Shame on Sackler!

ALL: Shame on Sackler!

- NAN: Shame on Sackler!
- ALL: Shame on Sackler!

NAN: Take down their name!

ALL: Take down their name!

- NAN: Take down their name!
- ALL: Take down their name!

PROTESTER: No longer!

ALL: No longer!

- PROTESTER: No longer.
- ALL: No longer!

PROTESTER: No longer!

ALL: No longer!

, dead, , dead, , ...

Sacklers lie, people die!
Sacklers lie, people die!

[POLICE SIREN WAILING]

Sacklers lie, people die!

[INDISTINCT CHANTING]

Shame on Sackler!

NAN: Shame on Sackler!

ALL: Shame on Sackler!

NAN: Shame on Sackler!

ALL: Shame on Sackler!

NAN: Shame on Sackler!

ALL: Shame on Sackler!

NAN: Shame on Sackler!

ALL: Shame on Sackler! Shame on Sackler!

Your record since the
plea deal continues

to be clean, which is good.

You also continue to pass
your drug tests, also good.

You're on path to
complete your probation

in three months' time.

Have you thought about
what you'll do then?

Well, I really want to get
my medical license back,

but I can't do that as
long as I'm on Suboxone.

How long do you think
you'll be on the MAT for?

I don't know. Um...

I'm afraid I'll relapse if I stop.

If you choose to stay on the MAT,

you need to consider a profession

that doesn't require a medical license.

Yeah, okay.

[SOFT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Hey, Elizabeth Ann.

How you doing? What...

what are you doing here?

Same as you, Doc.

You had enough to eat, enough sleep?

- You don't...
- Can you just leave me alone?

♪ ♪

Hey, you.

What if I wait outside for you?

When you're done in here,
I'll take you to lunch.

We'll visit a little bit and catch up.

You know, I'll buy
you anything you want.

If you don't eat it,
you can take it home.

♪ ♪

How was your meeting?

Not great.

I got two years left,
and she keeps telling me

I'll probably end up back in jail.

Yeah, they all think
we're just a bunch of,

you know, worthless junkies.

They don't get it.

They don't know that if
we don't have this stuff,

it feels like we can't breathe.

If I stop, I'll die.

And if I don't stop, I'll die.

So I guess I'm gonna die.

So that's kind of why
I wanted to talk to you.

Okay? I'm seeing this doctor.

And I'm on this new medication,
and it's really helped me.

I haven't relapsed in a year,
and my mind is coming back

like it used to be before all this.

- Really?
- Yeah, really.

Hey.

Elizabeth Ann, you're young.

You got an entire future
that you could do anything.

You could go to college if
you wanted to go to college.

You could if you wanted to.

You could.

Listen to me.

I will personally drive you

to this doctor I've been seeing.

I'll drive you there,
and I'll you drive back.

And I'll take you to
therapy twice a week,

and I'll pay for all of it.

What's in it for you?

I delivered you, girl.

Ain't no one thing in this world

I wouldn't do to help you get better

when you're sick, nothing.

I'll try it.

I'll try it.

But no promises I'll keep going.

Okay, okay, fair enough.

Today, we are here to celebrate
the promotion of Amber Collins.

Look, all I have to say is,
New Orleans better watch out

because they got a b*tch
tiger coming their way!

[ALL CHEERING]

- Cheers!
- ALL: Cheers!

Sayonara, you m*therf*ckers.

[ALL LAUGHING]

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Hi.

BILLY: Hey.

Someone hasn't put in
their transfer to Nola yet.

♪ ♪

I was giving it some
space between you leaving,

so they're not suspicious.

Are you not coming?

Of course I'm still coming.

'Cause I'm a big girl.

If you changed your
mind, you can tell me.

I haven't changed my mind.

Good, I wanna make this work.

Me too.

You better.

MARTIN: Hey, Billy.

Um, I gotta run a few things past you.

Can you swing by my office in say, ten?

BILLY: Sure.

Okay.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Shut the door for me, Billy.

Sure.

MARTIN: Have a seat.

Yeah.

How's it going?

These are two lawyers from headquarters.

I have some concern
over three training tapes

that went missing from my office.

And you were in here alone last week.

Right. Um...

I didn't take... if that's...

I don't know anything
about any missing tapes.

If Purdue property were
to show up in the media

or in the hands of law enforcement,

and those tapes were traced back to you,

we would sue you for stolen property,

breach of contract,

and misappropriation of trade secrets.

We'll bankrupt you with litigation
for the rest of your life.

But I didn't... I
didn't... I didn't take 'em.

I didn't take the tapes.

♪ ♪

Several people, including myself,

have noticed a very negative attitude

towards your work of late.

We think it's best to
terminate your contract.

♪ ♪

Um...

♪ ♪

Okay.

♪ ♪

This is a nondisclosure agreement.

If you sign it,

you'll get a severance
package of $ , .

♪ ♪

I would need to show this
to my lawyer first, but I...

No, you need to sign it
right now, right here.

If you don't, you get nothing,

and you make yourself vulnerable

to future litigation.

♪ ♪

Billy, come on. This
doesn't have to get ugly.

If you did take the tapes,
this will smooth it all out,

as long as you destroy
those tapes right away.

You are not gonna get
a better deal than this.

♪ ♪

And the flip side,

flip side could get really bad.

♪ ♪

Do what you do best,

and take the money.

♪ ♪

SECURITY: Clear the way, Clear the way!

♪ ♪

Are you friends with him?

No.

I always thought he was kind of a tool.

♪ ♪

SAMUEL: All right?

I remember you were one of my smartest.

You were probably the
smartest patient I had.

Always reading a book, you know.

I'm looking for something new.

You got any favorites?

How'd it go?

ART: She did very well.

She took her first dose,

and she needs to wait
here an hour to make sure

she doesn't have an adverse
reaction to the medication.

All right, okay.

Well then, we'll just
stay put for a minute.

I'll see you in a week, young lady.

SAMUEL: Thanks, Doc.

He's a good guy.

You okay?

[SOFT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Vanity Fair.

What?

You should read Vanity Fair

by William Makepeace Thackeray.

It's one of my favorites.

People think it's a girls' book,

but it's really more than that.

What's it about?

It's about this poor girl, Becky,

who's smart, and cunning, and determined

to make her way into London society.

But, of course, it's not easy,

'cause all those snobs care
about is status and class.

SAMUEL: Sounds about right.

♪ ♪

PAUL: Neither Purdue, nor the FDA,

nor the DEA, nor the medical community

anticipated the extent of this problem.

Purdue's marketing practices
have not played a role

in the criminal activities of doctors

who illegally prescribe
OxyContin for cash

and have not encouraged robberies

from pharmacies or patients.

From Dr. Goldenheim's personal emails,

we can prove that he knew his testimony

before Congress was false.

He was aware the reports of
patient abuse are not rare,

as they were described

in countless newspaper articles,

some of which were emailed
directly to Dr. Goldenheim.

This testimony was taken in D.C.,

so it's not admissible in
the state of Virginia case.

Well, the state of
Virginia is a Commonwealth,

and we thought you might bring that up.

We uncovered that transcripts
from Goldenheim's, Udell's,

and Friedman's false
Congressional testimony

were faxed to sales
reps all over the country

to show them top executives,
quote, "had their backs."

And one of the places that it
was faxed to was here in Virginia,

which makes it not only admissible,

but we'll now also be charging
wire fraud and conspiracy

to commit wire fraud
based on the use of wires

to transmit this false testimony.

[TENSE MUSIC]

You really think a
judge will go for that?

You really think they won't?

My client will not move forward

with any settlement that
involves felony charges

against individual executives.

However, I am authorized to
offer a financial settlement

to resolve this matter.

How much?

$ million.

The Commonwealth of Virginia
counters at . billion.

Is that a joke?

JOHN: No, and since we have
Michael Friedman, Howard Udell,

and Paul Goldenheim all dead to rights

on lying to Congress and
conspiracy to defraud,

there will be no deal
until they plead guilty

to felony charges as well.

♪ ♪

Thank you, gentlemen.

Thank you for coming by.

JOHN: These assholes really do think

they're just gonna barrel right over us.

I mean, million? f*ck those guys.

How long before they
find out Main Justice

doesn't want to pursue felony
charges against individuals?

Well, they probably already
know through Giuliani,

but it doesn't really make a difference.

We're just gonna keep moving
ahead like it's happening.

We don't indict, we lose any shot

of getting 'em to flip on the Sacklers.

Yeah, I get that, but look.

If we're gonna move Main
Justice on indictments,

it's going to take something significant

to change their mind.

I mean, it's gonna take
something emotional.

It's gonna take something
egregious that might

publicly blow up in their
face if they don't indict.

Of course. We'll keep looking.

Thank you, sir.

Anything with breakthrough pain?

Covered it.

♪ ♪

Maybe new way into blood charts?

Maybe a direct link to Richard Sackler

ordering the graph manipulation?

If it was there, we'd have it.

[SIGHS]

We never did anything
substantial with Toppers Contest.

♪ ♪

You think a drug-selling competition

with a powerful narcotic
might move Main Justice?

♪ ♪

Hey, Jerry.

You mind if I come in?

Sure.

Diane.

I haven't really been able to sleep

since I heard about Betsy.

And...

I'm sorry I didn't come to the funeral.

We didn't want you there.

Well, that's why I didn't come.

If I could change places with her,

I would.

♪ ♪

JERRY: I heard you got off that stuff.

Is that true?

You know, one day at a time.

Good for you.

♪ ♪

Hey, man.

♪ ♪

I sure am sorry, Jerry.

♪ ♪

Look, ain't nothing either one of us

can say gonna change anything.

♪ ♪

Or make us feel any different, really.

♪ ♪

So just go on and live your life, Doc.

♪ ♪

Yeah.

Well...

♪ ♪

All right.

♪ ♪

You take care.

JERRY: You too now.

♪ ♪

ELIZABETH ANN: "I never
wanted to tell anyone

my dream was to be a famous
writer living in Paris

'cause I knew they'd all laugh at me.

But I wrote almost every
day till the dr*gs took over.

I liked how they made the fear

I had of not being successful go away.

But the shame I feel
outweighs any of that."

Hey, wait, I'm stopping you.

I don't want to hear about shame.

I want to hear about Paris.

That was great, wasn't it, Doc?

Heck yeah, it was, really
great, really great.

You know what I want you guys to do?

Write about your favorite
memory, all right?

Write something about
your favorite memory,

and you can make it fun.

It's okay to have fun with it.

Hey, Doc. I mean, Sam.

It's real nice of you to
keep driving us like this,

but you live an hour east,
and this takes up a whole day.

Why don't you move back to Finch Creek?

Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

No, don't think that's a good idea.

I don't think...

I don't think anybody wants
me back in Finch Creek.

So? Nobody wants me there.

You should come back.

[SOFT MUSIC]

Nah.

No, I don't think I could ever go back.

♪ ♪

MARTIN: Purdue Pharma.

Ever since I left that place,

I've been trying to
put it out of my mind.

So what are you guys looking for?

RICK: We'd like to
discuss a sales competition

known as Toppers Contest.

- Right.
- Was it effective?

Yeah, oh, yeah, it
was, like gangbusters.

You've got every rep in the country

selling as hard as they can for,

you know, a free trip to
Bermuda or Palm Springs.

You ever seen any other pharma company

do something like that before?

You guys mind taking a walk?

All right, look, to
answer your question, no.

The bonus structure was unbelievable.

The more milligrams you
sold, the more money you made.

No one else does that.

Did it bother you that sales reps

were financially motivated
to sell higher doses?

Not at first.

I mean, look, they tricked the managers

the same way they played the reps.

They would give us all this
data from pain societies

that made everything seem so legit.

So why'd you finally leave?

Yeah, so hold on.

[TENSE MUSIC]

So I kept having to appear in court

for all these lawsuits
that were coming in.

I show up one day to a deposition,

and Purdue doesn't have a lawyer for me.

They left me on my own,
and I knew right then

I have got to get out,

or I'm gonna end up
in some serious shit.

So why didn't they
have a lawyer for you?

They were pissed.

One of my sales reps stole
some training session tapes

out of my office, and they were scared

that they were gonna
leak them to the press.

RANDY: Well, Billy, thanks for
seeing us on such short notice.

Sure grateful to you.

BILLY: Oh, that's,
uh... that's all right.

I kind of knew this day was coming.

I figured I'd have to account
for my sins eventually.

So, uh, what would you
like me to do, testify or...

You didn't sign an NDA?

No, um, I couldn't.

I just couldn't keep
taking their money anymore,

so I didn't sign.

I can tell you whatever
you want to know.

What we want are those videotapes.

♪ ♪

- Tapes?
- Mm-hmm.

♪ ♪

I, uh... I don't have any tapes.

We think you do.

I'm sorry. I don't.

RICKY: Listen.

[CLEARS THROAT]

♪ ♪

You know, we all done
things in our lives

that we aren't proud of.

But we make amends by trying

by trying to make the future
a better place for others.

And, hey,

you have a real opportunity here.

You could help millions of people

avoid the pain

brought to so many.

I did not take those tapes.

And if I did,

they were destroyed a long time ago.

KAITLYN: Unless you have a subpoena,

this interview's over.

And if you do, we won't continue

without an attorney present.

BILLY: This is my wife, Kaitlyn.

We're at law school together.

RANDY: Oh.

Is it a boy or girl?

Boy.

Okay. Well, good luck in law school.

What... what field are you thinking of?

Consumer protection.

That's perfect.

You can protect the public
from people like yourself.

Y'all have a nice day.

RANDY: We'll let ourselves out.

♪ ♪

MICHAEL: Sir.

HOWARD: Dr. Richard,

th-there's a petition
going around Virginia.

MICHAEL: I thought it was West Virginia.

HOWARD: No, it was Virginia.

RICHARD: Like there's a difference.

HOWARD: Exactly.

So I guess a nun and a country doctor

formed a community coalition.

I'm sorry, a... a nun
and a country doc...

did they walk into a bar?

Richard, they collected
, signatures

on a petition to recall
OC, pull it from the market,

and reformulate it to make it safer.

And sent the petition to the FDA,

where it has not gone unnoticed.

Okay.

Go to West Virginia and
resolve the situation.

Um, how would you like it resolved?

What did we spend in Florida?

HOWARD: A little over two million.

No, just take care of this.

Yes, sir.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

HOWARD: Oh, Dr. Van Zee, Sister Beth.

How're you doing? Howard
Udell, Purdue Pharma.

Nice to meet you. A real pleasure.

ART: This is my wife, Sue Ella.

Oh.

Thank you for meeting us.

It was a real surprise to hear from you.

Of course, we were very concerned

when we saw your petition.

Sister Beth, I've actually
known quite a few nuns.

I'm still good friends
with a Sister Julie, so...

That's wonderful that
you know other nuns.

It makes me feel a closeness to you

I have never before experienced.

[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]

ART: Before we discuss our petition,

we wanted you to hear a personal story

from a parent who lost
their child to addiction,

so you could get an understanding

of how your drug has
affected the community.

DIANE: Hello.

My daughter Betsy was a
quiet, hardworking girl.

After she hurt her back on her job,

she started taking
OxyContin, and within a year,

she was a liar, a thief,
and a heroin addict.

No matter what she
did, she couldn't stop.

And she tried.

When she died from an overdose,

there was a part of me that was relieved

that she was finally out of her pain.

But that pain lives in
me now and in her father.

OxyContin destroyed our family
like it has so many others.

And we hope you can find
a way to make it safer.

Thank you.

- That's Betsy.
- Yeah.

MICHAEL: Thank you for this story.

And, um, we're so sorry for your loss.

Our coalition has gathered a
petition with , signatures

requesting you reformulate OxyContin.

We know this is
possible because in ,

Sterling-Winthrop pulled
their painkiller Talwin

and added a narcotic blocker,

which immediately reduced abuse.

Thank you, Dr. Van Zee.

We have carefully looked into this,

and one of the reasons
we came down here was

to pay you the respect
of giving you a preview

of an open letter to your community

that we are going to publish.

And I'd like to read it
for you now, if I may.

"Dear Lee County, at Purdue Pharma,

we are aware there has been
an issue in your community

with drug diversion involving
our painkiller OxyContin.

We take very seriously these issues,

and we want you to
know we have heard you.

We understand there is a request

to reformulate the drug,

but unfortunately, at this time,

it is not easy to do,

and we do not plan
on taking that action.

Our main issue... "

You don't care.

♪ ♪

You don't care that it's k*lling people.

You know it's dangerous.

You just wanna make as
much money as possible.

That is absolutely untrue, ma'am.

You've done more to hurt
the people of Appalachia

than the coal industry
ever thought about doing.

Yeah, ma'am, I resent that accusation.

My family goes back
here for generations.

This whole meeting is
a setup, it's a setup!

Let's all calm down please.

Ma'am, I'm sorry to
interrupt. It is not a setup.

The main reason we came here was

to make a donation to your coalition,

which we know is doing tremendous work.

What kind of donation?

Oh, Howard...

Purdue Pharma just wants to help.

So in that spirit, we'd
like to donate $ ,

to your group as a gesture of goodwill

to help the community.

That's... that's very generous.

We'll need to discuss it.

Of course.

ART: The number of new patients

I could give free care
to would be significant.

That money would make a
huge difference around here.

If we can get something
out of these people,

I think we should.

One bad month, and you
could be shut down for good.

What do you think, Diane?

Well, I don't know much
about these matters,

but if it would help people down here,

then I think it might be
a good idea to take it.

You might be right.

Sister Beth?

Well...

You know, I'm not from
this region originally,

but I have been living
here for over years,

and I've seen a lot of things.

I've seen coal executives
fly in for generations

and use their money to shut down unions

and manipulate this region
into lower labor costs.

That's just what wealthy people do.

They take advantage of the folks

that don't have money to fight back.

[SOFT MUSIC]

That's what Purdue is
doing in this very moment.

♪ ♪

So you wanna take their
payoff to shut us all up,

you go ahead.

♪ ♪

But if you do that, I
will quit this coalition

right here and now because
I would rather burn in hell

than take a penny of their blood money.

♪ ♪

Hey, Karen?

♪ ♪

You know what this is?
There's no return address.

No, but it was marked urgent,

so I just left it on your desk.

♪ ♪

Do you think it's dangerous?

RICK: I don't hear ticking.

KAREN: Oh, stop it.

RANDY: What's going on?

KAREN: Somebody sent Rick a b*mb.

RANDY: Uh-oh.

Well, we only got a thousand
potential suspects, so...

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

What is it?

♪ ♪

Purdue Pharma training tapes.

RANDY: [CHUCKLES] I'll be.

Looks like Billy found his soul.

♪ ♪

MARTIN: Emphasize the
time release coding.

It makes our drug less addictive,

less prone to abuse.

It makes it almost impossible

to extract oxycodone from the drug

in order to snort or inject.

If the...

There's hours of tape just like this

showing Purdue sales reps being
trained to lie, manipulate,

and aggressively sell
addictive narcotics

as nonaddictive.

It is absolutely outrageous.

And we now have an open-
and-shut case of misbranding,

mail fraud, wire fraud,

and because the company
profited from illegal activity,

we've got money laundering as well.

We need to discuss this with our client.

JOHN: Of course.

♪ ♪

I think we can get at least
million out of 'em.

Oh, I think so, too.

RICK: What does Main Justice say?

Any new indications on
individual indictments?

No, not yet.

But, you know, the quiet tells me

that we've got 'em thinking.

Now you really gotta hit 'em in the gut

with your prosecution memo.

Lay it all out for Main Justice
so that when they read it,

they know they've got no
choice but to indict these guys.

Yes, sir.

Proposed indictment of Purdue Pharma,

Michael Friedman, Howard R. Udell,

and Paul D. Goldenheim.

Perhaps no case in our history rivals

the burden placed on
public health and safety

as that in the Western
District of Virginia.

It is our recommendation to charge
the defendants with conspiracy,

mail fraud, wire fraud,

interstate distribution
of misbranded drug

with intent to defraud,

conspiracy to commit money laundering,

and money laundering.

♪ ♪

OxyContin abuse has
significantly impacted

the lives of millions of Americans.

And the fraudulent scheme
and conduct articulated

in this matter has a direct correlation

to the health of this region

and to the entire nation as a whole.

♪ ♪

RICHARD: Hello, Father.

♪ ♪

Well, I see you've decided

to ruin a perfectly good evening.

STEPHEN: Good to see you too, Richard.

RICHARD: Let me guess.

Mortimer's kids want more disbursements?

RAYMOND: I've asked Stephen to join us

because we have a very serious issue.

This is John Brownlee,

U.S. Attorney for the
Western District of Virginia.

I've taken care of West Virginia.

Brownlee is the U.S. attorney
that covers Appalachia.

That's the region where that nun

and that country doctor
rejected your offer.

I said, it's taken care of.

The FDA isn't going to
respond to their petition.

But this problem goes
deeper than a petition.

John Brownlee is former army,

spent four years in the infantry,

left the military to go to law school

with the intention to be a prosecutor.

His father is currently
the secretary of the army.

Now, I'm telling you
this because he has opened

a secret grand jury into Purdue Pharma.

[UNEASY MUSIC]

Since when?

We think maybe four or five months ago,

but we're not exactly sure.

Call the governor or a senator.

STEPHEN: They have no
authority over a U.S. attorney.

Now, these are the assistant
U.S. attorneys running the case,

Rick Mountcastle and Randy Ramseyer.

Both men are top prosecutors

and are driven by a
strong sense of justice.

Ramseyer... he referees
local high school sports

and has a deep connection to the region.

Mountcastle used to prosecute mobsters

and converted to
Christianity at the age of .

Why are you telling me all this?

So that you understand
they cannot be bought.

They cannot be pushed off the case.

They will not be seeking our employment

when they leave office like
the U.S. attorney in Maine.

And it is very likely

that they will soon subpoena
Purdue's internal documents

to make a major case against us.

RAYMOND: The damage
a U.S. attorney can do

for a company like us is staggering.

They can fine us to death.

And they can bring criminal
charges against individuals.

You think that's possible?

It's not possible. It's likely.

These people in
Appalachia are very angry,

and now their U.S.
attorney is coming for us.

STEPHEN: We're gonna hire Rudy Giuliani,

and he'll be able to lobby high up

in the chain of the Justice Department

and the White House,

but eventually there
will be a price to pay.

From this point on,

you need to do everything you can

to reduce personal liability.

RAYMOND: It's very possible
people are going to prison,

and I don't want that to be you.

♪ ♪

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Elizabeth Ann?

♪ ♪

[PHONE RINGS]

Hello?

SALLY: This is Sally Washington

from the Virginia Health Department

returning for Samuel Finnix.

Yeah, yeah. Thanks for calling me.

Uh, listen, I will... I...

f*ck off, I know you
f*cking took it from me!

SALLY: Excuse me? What was that?

Sorry, I was calling about the,
uh, MAT clinics in Virginia.

SALLY: What about them?

Well, I've seen people
have really good results

with Suboxone and methadone,

and seems to me the problem is
that there are so few clinics

that people just can't
get access to the dr*gs.

SALLY: I understand the problem,

but people don't want treatments
centers in their community.

It's just a political nonstarter,

I'm sorry to say.

Yeah, I understand.

Well, okay.

Well, thanks for your time.

♪ ♪

Hey, Elizabeth Ann!

Hey, wake up!

♪ ♪

Hey!

ELIZABETH ANN: What are you doing?

I brought you coffee.

Oh, thanks.

Come on.

I gotta get you out of this place.

["BLACK IS THE COLOR
OF MY TRUE LOVE'S HAIR"]

♪ ♪

♪ But black is the color
of my true love's hair ♪

♪ His face so soft and wondrous fair ♪

♪ The prettiest eyes
and the neatest hands ♪

♪ I love the ground ♪

♪ Whereon he stands ♪

♪ I love my love and well he knows ♪

♪ I love the ground whereon he goes ♪

♪ If you on Earth no more I see ♪

♪ I can't serve you ♪

ELIZABETH ANN: Did
you work in the mines?

Yes, I did.

I was in that protest.

♪ I love the ground ♪

You are doing very well.

No relapses or craving for opiates.

If you want, we can
try and taper you down.

You think one day I can
just be completely off it?

Like I said, it can be hard to
get off the medication permanently,

but some do.

We won't know until we try.

So what do you think, Sam?

[TENSE MUSIC]

I just really wanna be a doctor again.

♪ ♪

[PHONE RINGS]

- JOHN: What's up?
- CALLER: No good.

Fraud unit agreed with
your prosecution memo,

but unfortunately, it didn't
sway the criminal division.

Shit.

CALLER: Look, the
career guys are with you,

but I think you'll
ultimately get blocked

by the political appointees.

JOHN: This is so f*cked.

CALLER: I know, but there
may be a compromise here.

Purdue's hinting they'd go for
misdemeanors against the execs.

JOHN: Misdemeanors.

CALLER: And the company
will plead guilty to felonies

and pay a substantial fine.

You'd end up with a big win.

Those executives belong in jail.

CALLER: But what happens if
you indict and lose in court?

♪ ♪

I get nothing.

CALLER: There's a lot
of risk with indicting.

Personally, I think you
should take the misdemeanors

before Main Justice shuts it all down.

♪ ♪

- Randy.
- Hm?

♪ ♪

RICK: Sir.

We would have been happy
to have come out to Roanoke.

It's a hell of a case.

A couple of AUSAs in a strip mall

taking on one of the wealthiest
families in the country.

Did the memo get Main Justice

over the finish line on felony charges?

I don't think it did.

But there's also a chance we
go to court and lose everything.

That's why I made a deal.

It's finished then.

It is. All right, have a seat.

So the three executives
will plead to misdemeanors.

Significant consequences, and
there's three years' probation.

It's hours of community
service, and their careers

in pharmaceuticals are effectively over.

Misdemeanors.

But without felonies, we got no shot

at any of them ever
flipping on the Sacklers.

Yeah, but at the end of the day,

we're not sure they would have.

Right.

JOHN: And look, I'll be
honest with you guys. I, uh...

I think that this is about
as far as Main Justice

was going to let us go.

I'm sorry, sir.

I tried to build the case
in a way that Main Justice

couldn't just brush it under the rug.

No, don't apologize. You
did an incredible job.

All right, we got a hell of a lot here,

but the company is going to
plead guilty to misbranding.

We're also gonna have a public
sentencing of the executives,

so we can shame the
ever-living shit out of them,

create a lot of negative media
attention around OxyContin.

Now, on the financial
settlement with Purdue,

they came at me again with million,

and I countered with million

and told them I wouldn't budge.

So where'd you land?

JOHN: million.

[LAUGHS]

Congratulations, guys. It's...

it's one of the highest
settlements ever paid

by a pharmaceutical company
in the history of the country.

Look, it's not everything we
wanted, but it's a big win.

Oh, congratulations, sir.

JOHN: Well done. Randy, congrats.

♪ ♪

RICHARD: Have a seat.

I know that sometimes I have a bad habit

of ignoring people's feelings.

I've always been an
outsider in this family.

And my...

my personal life took a... a path

I... I didn't expect.

I held a great deal of resentment

that I unfairly took out
on the people around me,

pressures of launching the drug.

But now that it's doing so well,

it's time I... I focus on my family

and... and mend some of those fences.

I, uh, think that's a great idea.

RICHARD: I do as well.

So I'm going to step down as president,

and I couldn't think of a better person

to take over than you.

Are you serious, sir?

RICHARD: Very serious.

As you know, what's most
important to the board

is your loyalty to the family.

Of course, of course.

And, um, you shall have it, sir.

♪ ♪

Congratulations.

You're the new president
of Purdue Pharma.

[LAUGHS] Thank you, sir.

♪ ♪

JOHN: Hey, uh-uh, whoa! No splashing.

[PHONE RINGING]

Yeah?

CALLER: I have the chief of staff

to the deputy attorney general.

Okay.

MIKE: Hey, John. Sorry to call so late.

No, that's fine, Mr. Elston.

MIKE: Mike, call me Mike.

Okay, Mike.

MIKE: Look, I know
you're supposed to sign

the deal tomorrow with Purdue,
but Mary Jo White called.

Howard Udell's attorney.

MIKE: Correct, and she'd like to delay

finalizing the plea agreement.

She wants more time to discuss it.

No, no, no, no, I'm sorry.

The time for discussion is over.

I have a deal.

MIKE: It's not signed yet.

No reason why you can't
keep talking with her.

Sorry, is this request from you

or from the deputy attorney general?

MIKE: It's not coming from
the deputy attorney general.

♪ ♪

Then you can go f*ck yourself.

Purdue signs tomorrow,
or we go to court.

♪ ♪

I've been getting a lot of
tips on other pharma cases.

I'm thinking maybe we ought to
find another Purdue to go after.

What's the point?

To get the bad guys again.

RICK: Did we get 'em?

Purdue's just gonna keep on selling.

The field's just so
compromised with the government.

Well, gentlemen, here you have it,

a signed guilty plea deal
from your friends and neighbors

at Purdue Pharma.

♪ ♪

What were they like when they signed?

Quiet, solemn.

How brave.

I still can't believe Main Justice tried

to shut it down the last second.

I can.

Thank you for pushing back.

I mean, I had to.

Needed to stop, or who
knows what could've happened?

Um, sir, can I speak to you?

There's an urgent issue.

Uh, go ahead.

You can tell me in front of these guys.

Okay.

A memo leaked from the
attorney general's office

of a list of U.S. attorneys to be fired.

There's gonna be a wave of firings.

Am I on the list?

I'm afraid so, sir, yes.

♪ ♪

I'm sorry, sir.

♪ ♪

ALL: Reject the plea! Reject the plea!

Reject the plea!

REPORTER: We are live at
the Abingdon courthouse

for the sentencing hearing

of three Purdue pharma
executives for their role

in criminally misbranding
their drug OxyContin.

Now, there are a number
of protesters here

who want the plea deal rejected,

enraged none of the
executives would go to prison.

ALL: Reject the plea! Reject the plea!

Reject the plea!

[BOOING AND SHOUTING]

[SOFT MUSIC]

REPORTER: Do you feel your
placement on the U.S. Attorney

firing list is because of
your involvement on this case?

You know, I don't know.

I don't know why I was on the list.

Do you feel vindicated

since you weren't ultimately fired?

Well, today... today is not about me.

It's about the people here

and having their voices be heard.

MARIANNE: My grandson Brian is here

in the courtroom with me today.

He lost his mother to your horrible drug

when he was only six years old.

And I wanted him here

so he could see that bad
things do happen to bad people.

You are sheer evil.

The first time that I
heard the word OxyContin,

my -year-old honor
student son was dead from it

after taking it at a party.

♪ ♪

You are nothing more
than corporate drug lords.

You have k*lled and continue
to k*ll our future of tomorrow.

And you k*lled my son
and so many others.

I know you don't care

about what happened to our children.

But what if it was your son or daughter

you saw in the morgue?

Would you care then?

LEE: On May st, the year ,

my husband and I lost our only son,

an -year-old son named Randall,

to an accidental overdose of OxyContin.

Right before this happened,

he was getting ready to go to college.

We ended up using his prepaid college

to pay for his funeral.

♪ ♪

These are his ashes.

This is from your drug.

This is what you did to him.

Now he's here in the courtroom.

♪ ♪

- Reject the plea deal!
- [ONLOOKERS CHEER]

Money means nothing to them!

Let the punishment fit the crime.

Reject the plea.

BETH: Reject the plea.

Reject the plea!

JUDGE: Order, order in the court!

Order, order!

The lack of incarceration
in this case, to me,

is the most difficult aspect
of the plea agreements.

And I must confess it bothers me.

And I have studied this
case for many months.

However, I have concluded

that the plea agreements
should be accepted.

[AUDIENCE BOOS]

While I understand this may
not be a popular decision,

it is my job to follow the law.

We're adjourned.

RICHARD: The first thing
you tell your doctors

is that the settlement
was grossly unfair.

These execs didn't have anything to do

with what they were charged with.

It was a few bad apples
we fired years ago.

What's most important is, you keep
selling aggressively as possible.

This isn't a time for caution.

I'm going to fly down there next week.

I will personally
visit doctors with you.

You need to push higher doses
for longer periods of time.

You have to get these
doctors to keep prescribing.

Sell, sell, sell.

♪ ♪

RANDY: Well, thank you very much.

We're going to look into
that. I appreciate it, buh-bye.

Hey, so...

You okay, boss?

What's up?

Well, I know you're not
gonna be over the Moon

at the prospect of another pharma case,

but I just got some interesting
intel on Abbott Labs.

They got a drug called Depakote.

It's an antiepileptic medication,

and supposedly they have
been targeting nursing homes.

Why don't you give it
to the Eastern District?

We don't need to go down
that rabbit hole again.

You think maybe you ought to
take a couple of weeks off?

You know, recharge a bit.

Randy, I'm okay.

[KNOCKING]

You guys have a visitor.

I brought sparkling cider.

I remembered you guys
were a couple pussies

that don't drink.

I know you were hoping
to never see me again,

but I really wanted to toast to you guys

for staying the course.

Nothing's gonna change.

They'll just keep selling
as hard as they can.

Yes, but you dealt the first blow,

and now there's convictions

and a legal record of their crimes.

It's an important achievement

that people will be able to
use to build future cases on.

I worked in D.C. for years,

and I always knew it
could go down this way,

but given the facts... I
don't know, I had to try.

Cheers to that.

Here's to the ones
who fight the battles,

even if they don't win the w*r.

- RICK: Okay.
- RANDY: Hear, hear.

♪ ♪

So what are you guys up to next?

♪ ♪

We have another pharma
case we're looking into.

♪ ♪

I... I really can't

thank you enough for bringing this case.

I mean it.

♪ ♪

I don't know if I'd ever sleep

if the Sacklers hadn't
been publicly exposed.

♪ ♪

And they will someday go down.

I know this in my heart.

I don't know.

♪ If you have friends ♪

- NAN: , deaths!
- ALL: , deaths!

REPORTER: Under pressure from
protests led by artist Nan Goldin,

major museums are refusing
to accept future donations

from the Sackler family.

Louvre Museum in Paris

has become the first major institution

to remove the Sackler
family name from plaques.

I lost my sister in
this epidemic, and...

so this is like a
really great win for us.

REPORTER: Members of the Sackler family

are moving out of New York City

after being publicly shamed

as a family that originated
the opioid crisis.

This morning, my office filed a lawsuit

in Massachusetts State Court
against Purdue Pharma...

For fueling the nation's
opioid epidemic...

By knowingly deceiving
doctors and the public.

REPORTER: Attorney
generals in over states

have brought class action
suits against Purdue Pharma.

David Sackler and Dr. Kathe Sackler

recently went public to
defend the family's actions,

testifying remotely at
a Congressional hearing.

You knew that it was too potent,

and you did nothing
about it as a family.

You have created a nationwide epidemic.

You and your family
are addicted to money.

I'm not sure that I'm
aware of any family

in America that's more evil than yours.

There is nothing that I can find

that I would have done differently.

Late today, a federal bankruptcy judge

gave conditional approval to
a multi-billion dollar plan

to settle lawsuits
against Purdue Pharma.

REPORTER: The Sackler
family will forfeit ownership

of Purdue Pharma, turn
over million documents,

and pay $ . billion.

In return, the Sacklers cannot be sued.

This process was stacked from beginning.

They knew that the Sacklers were betting

on a broken bankruptcy
system that would allow them

to use the bankruptcy of the company

of Purdue Pharma to shield themselves.

Let's be clear, the
Sacklers are not bankrupt.

As far as I can tell,

no Sackler will have to sell a boat,

or a house, or a piece of art.

- LEAH: Dr. Finnix.
- SAMUEL: Yeah.

LEAH: I need you to sign these
prescriptions for Suboxone.

SAMUEL: Yes, ma'am.

LEAH: And you've got
group in ten minutes.

SAMUEL: All right.

LEAH: After group,

you've got individual
patients until : p.m.,

and then you have to attend
that fundraiser at : p.m.

SAMUEL: Oh, I hate those.

I hate asking people for money.

LEAH: You want to keep
the lights on, don't you?

SAMUEL: Yeah, you're
right. You're always right.

You know, what's so important
about these group sessions is

the chance to connect.

Addiction does the exact opposite

of what connection does, right?

Addiction tears apart.

It tears apart friendships.
It tears apart marriages.

It'll tear apart a family,
tear apart a whole community.

Part of the reason we
relapse is because of pain.

[SOFT MUSIC]

There's some kind of pain
that's in a lot of us,

or all of us,

we just don't want to feel anymore.

And further we fall into addiction,

pain says to us, hell,

we'd better off just
feeling nothing at all.

♪ ♪

So we go numb.

And our souls go numb.

Now we've got a real problem.

You know, pain is just pain.

Not good, not bad,

just part of being a human being.

And sometimes, good can come out of it.

And if we're brave enough

and willing to go a little deeper,

work our way through it,

and try to overcome it,

well,

we just might find our better selves.

♪ ♪