District court judge a heroin addict

August 27, 2:17 PMDetroit Substance Abuse ExaminerMichael Velardo

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  Dickerson lockup, Detroit MI, not a place you'd like to go, or visit

The sentence of this court is that you serve a period of 2 years supervised probation with the first 10 months in the county jail. In addition, the court assesses a $500 fine, $250 in court costs, and you are to pay $60 to the Crime Victims Rights Fund, and $60 for DNA testing.

 If you have ever been on the receiving end of justice like this, you know the sinking feeling that overcame you when it happened. If not, don’t think it can’t happen. The prospect of serving the next 10 months in jail, possibly more, weighs one down like trying to wade through 40 miles of rough sea weather with concrete flippers on. Even family members of the convicted, present in the courtroom at the time of sentencing, appear to be drowning with the defendant.

How did it come to that? Whether you’re a housewife, husband, business owner, or whatever, if you think you are above committing criminal acts to get money to feed your addiction, and immune from prosecution, think again. And just because your addiction arose due to some previous, and/or chronic medical condition calling for narcotic pain relievers prescribed by a physician, sorry, that doesn’t matter either.

For many, drug addiction, and subsequent criminal activity brought the person to that point in the court example above. Even if you’ve never committed an illegal act in your life, addiction will quickly modify belief, and value systems that find one involved in all sorts of illegal activity. From a young Vicodin addict to a 65 year old crack-head, not much behavior is ruled out if you’re chasin’ Jason, or have that intimate love affair going on with heroin, or some other addictive drug. It can happen to anyone, and it does, often to very respectable, and famous people.

Gigi Sullivan, former district court judge in the city of Springdale, Pensylvannia, knows all to well what narcotics can do to your life. Using prescription painkillers initially, Gig’s addiction swiftly grew to heroin. While dispensing justice to criminals, she was under the influence of narcotics on the bench. Climbing to a $500.00 per day habit, Gigi had even stolen her son’s tip money that he earned at a restaurant during summer vacation. She was eventually caught when police had her heroin supplier under surveillance. Gigi had warned her supplier of the police investigation in exchange for heroin and cocaine, and it blossomed from there.

After the bust, she ended up getting indicted on 19 counts encompassing drug trafficking, operating a corrupt organization, and conspiracy in 1999. By 2000, Sullivan, 39, had pled guilty to charges of criminal conspiracy, running a corrupt organization, obstruction of justice, and accepting a bribe.

Other than the charges brought for this criminal behavior, Gigi had also been arrested for, and charged with shoplifting in 2000. She had stolen $76 worth of merchandise from a military store. Her behavior kept sinking further into the abyss. She had also been charged less than a month earlier for shopligting.

In 2001, Gigi was sentenced to 5 years probation, and a very long drug treatment stay, (23 months), for the crimes related to the investigation of her pusher. She had faced 60 years in prison, and a $50,000 fine. Today, she devotes her time to helping other drug addicts overcome their addiction, and has been clean for 6 years. She is now a forensic drug interdiction specialist, and runs a behavioral health company where she trains Pittsburgh police officers in crisis intervention.

Gigi shares

There are a few things here. Addiction can happen to anyone as many well know. Crime usually rides with addiction whether you are a street urchin or a respected judge, hockey moms, and dad of the year included. Another thing, there is hope, but you must want the help, want it worse than anything else. And you can redefine your life once you overcome your drug addiction. If you do overcome, it will make you that much stronger inside.

With the prescription drug abuse problem at epidemic proportions, especially narcotics, and more and more teens turning to heroin, (it is much cheaper than prescription drugs that is why people switch), we had better start doing a better job at drug education, and providing better opportunities for treatment, or these kids will end up in the criminal justice system where they are often lost forever.

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Heroin rules lives