Former Hudson Valley Cop Convicted For Selling Date Rape Drug

A former Hudson Valley police officer was convicted of selling the date rape drug on the internet for over 5 years.

In Southern District of New York Court 52-year-old Robert Smutek, of Sleepy Hollow was found guilty of four counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

According to evidence from the trial, Smutek, a former police officer and member of a drug task force, operated Online Coral Calcium, an Internet website that sold patent medicines.

Starting in 2009, Smutek sold “Potion 9” as a “mood enhancer” that made users feel euphoric. According to the label, Potion 9 contained yohimbe, an origin of a tree root found in South Africa, as well as other natural ingredients. But, according to the evidence at trial, Potion 9 actually contained 1,4 butanediol, an industrial solvent that converted to GHB in the body when ingested.

“Robert Smutek was a modern-day drug dealer, dealing a date rape drug over the Internet out of his suburban home,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.
“Despite his bucolic surroundings, Smutek was as much a drug dealer as those who sell on street corners, and he will now face the consequences of running a narcotics enterprise for more than five years.”

At the trial, Smutek said he sold more than 200,000 one-ounce bottles of Potion 9 in a five-year period, earning well over $1.2 million in revenue.

Smutek faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each count. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 8.