I recently got an offer from a federal (FAA, Federal Aviation Administration) contractor. The contractor has completed the background check (by HireRight). After this background check, I have been submitted to the FAA for Public Trust.
In Feb. 2017, I was arrested for a drug (Tramadol)! This drug is NOT narcotic. My Offense was “Manufacture/Etc Controlled Substance” and “Possession Of Controlled Substance”. I have always used this drug (medicine) through my doctors prescriptions for my headache. But this time was different! This is the story:
One day in Feb. 2017, accidentally, I saw an online pharmacy that claimed they prescribe medications online much cheaper than other pharmacies! So, I called them! A lady who claimed she is a doctor, asked me a lot of questions for about 15 minutes! Finally, she said they can prescribe the medication (Tramadol). The price was cheap, and enough for a long time. For me it was a great cost saving! I never thought this might be an illegal/fake online pharmacy since she behaved like a professional doctor!
After police investigation and sending the medication to the laboratory they approved that it is the Tramadol and is same with what I have used from my doctors.
After a year my case was DISMISSED and I never recognized as a convicted (the first 6 month I was on probation and 20 hours community service).
My QUESTION is how this affects on my public trust? This case was dismissed in Sep. 2018. I was not convicted at all! Will my public trust be denied or it doesn’t affect it at all?
I will be very thankful if you share your knowledge!
Please respond!
While I suspect that you will be fine your story raises a few questions. Why were you charged at all? Was this a “Canadian” pharmacy? It seems like the only crime was fraud and you were the victim. Did they determine that you should have known that the pharmacy was fake? How?
I appreciated Ed for your response! Basically I was charged because my company’s security person sent my package to the police for clarification (the package was 180 pills of Tramadol). As I said this is my medicine I have always had it from doctors.
When the police arrested me said this is unprescribed drug!
The police told me this is a fraud pharmacy and even showed me a photo of the person who has sent me de medicine! He was like a gangester! I was shocked!
I was really victim!
Do you think my public trust will be affected?
I wouls say I have completely explained the whole story in an email and sent it to the employer and asked them to forward it to the FAA.
The government is shout down now and don’t know when they will process my case!
I am very concern about this case! I am a phd holder and never had any involment with police in my life!
This is still my question and never knew!!! I believe the Judge made a decision ONLY based on the charge title! My attorney didn’t let me to talk to the judge and explain my story! She did everything for me and only at the last court meeting for just one minute she showed the court officer my explanations and docs!
This is killing me and still cannot believe that this happened to me! I am a REAL victim!!!
I don’t know what should I do to remove this from my background!!!
Do you still think this has a negative effect on my public trust?
The very first thing that I said in my first post here was that I think that you will be fine. I just wasn’t sure that there wasn’t more to the story.
Parts of your story don’t make sense . . . You case was “dismissed”? But, you were on probation AND were required to preform community service? These statements don’t seem right. If you were on probation, you either plead guilty or no lo. Perhaps is wasn’t probation?
You need to figure out what actually happened to you.
Dude quit making excuses. Unless you have been living under a rock you knew. Tramadol is used to help relieve moderate to moderately severe pain. is similar to [opioid] It works in the [brain] to change how your body feels and responds to pain. You said this was Prescribed to you. Then WHY did you seek out an online Doctor/Pharmacy to secure this medication? It is a Schedule IV Drug according to DEA. Which means it is a CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE. I might not have much of a problem with the drug purchase issue but you seem to raise possible Integrity and Honesty questions to me. OH by the way. I served on a number of Federal and State Drug Task Forces and you don’t get Community Service and Probation because some Judge woke up one morning and pulled your name out of a hat. This entire episode will be investigated in your Public Trust Investigation. That is right. We look at the courts, the police any drug treatment facilities you were ordered to attend. etc etc etc.
Thank you for your response!
If you see my first message, I mentioned I was looking for the advantages and side effects of this medication as I have heard this could negatively effect on your kidneys!! Just wanted to know more about it! I never searching for online pharmacy to order this medicine! I saw an online pharmacy that claimed they have doctors and can prescribe medication cheaper than everywhere! Ince I called them they said if I am approved by their doctor the can give me whatever they approve! After convention with the doctor she said they can send me 180 tramadol with low price!
I don’t know anybody in this website and there is NO ANY reason to not being honest! I always hate drugs and still cannot believe that police has arrested me for such this issue!!! All of my life have only studied and never ever seen any kind of drugs! You never can imagine how I was feeling that time!!!
I want this to be removed from my history for ever!
Still you think I will be rejected? I have explaind the truth story to the employer and FAA. I swear this is 100% true.
How many Tramadol do you normally get from a real doctor? 180 sounds like a lot. And did you ship it to your company address? One can stumble into all kinds of half legal stuff on the web. Personally I would really question on line medicine as it could be anything. Super strong, poison or nothing at all isn’t unheard of. I would say if you have the documentation, show the existing prescription at time of on line order…you may very well not have an issue. But I think the excessive amount of Tramadol sounds like you could have ordered it to sell it. That…is another can of worms entirely. I have two strictly controlled meds , and I can only get 30 at a time. It requires several calls to and from my doctor, a visit for checkup within the past 12 months, and a written paper RX to be hand delivered to pharmacy. If there is any piece of info not correct or the amount isn’t indicated…I am refused service. Would I think 180 of the pills for less than 30 is a great deal? I would think it is a scam. So the underlying questions on judgement come into play more so than an explainable story regarding how you ordered them online. If the charge was dismissed…as opposed to being removed from records if you had good behavior…you have a better chance. It means your story likely checked out as more correct than what could be easily be proved in a case.
I am a PhD holder, electrical engineer and never I need to get that amount of med for selling!!!
I have had 15, 30, 60, and one time 120 pills from my doctors during that past years. Always 50mg not more!
I ordered it to my company’s address; thats why my company sent the package to the police office since there was no name on it! I just went to the office for my medication…
Just today after these conversations with you folks I called to my attorney and asked her why I was on probation while I was not convicted! She said “I DON’t KNOW!”.
I have plan to just walk in to the court personally and talk to the judge and explain him my story! I believe my attorney never explained to judge that what happened to me! She told me that I don’t talk to the judge!!!
I was not family with anything related to the court! When she told me I should be on probation I even didn’t know what is probation! I thought this is very normal for everybody who is charged for something!
I think the best thing is going to the court and talk to the judge! I don’t want to have this in my record even it was dismissed!!!
I have two great more non federal offers but I want to work for federal related companies that’s why it is important for me to be approved!
Just shortly could you please let me know what do you think about my public trust? I will be approved or reject?
How can we tell you how this will affect your clearance application when you have no idea what it was that happened to you? Your LAWYER doesn’t know what happened? You didn’t talk in front of the judge at all? That’s very difficult to believe. Did you enter a plea? If you pled no lo or even guilty, you are supposed to tell the judge what it is that you did and that you understand the consequences.
Ultimately, this is YOUR responsibility and you need to find out what happened. The place you might want to start is your lawyer’s office and then the court clerk who can pull the records from you trial.
Thanks Ed!
It might be really difficult to believe that once this happened to me I was like a kid! I had NO ANY information and knowledge that how I can handle this! The court suggested me to hire an attorney!
Definitely I want to go to court and seriously follow up that why I have been in probation and completed a community service!!! I have heard that USA has the best judge systems but I am 100% sure that I was victimed in this case!!! The judge never ever asked me to explain and my attorney told me to not speaking since she knows how to handle it! She is a good lady but I feel she wasn’t perfect for me!
The thing which is killing me is my attorney showd my documentation (I mean the records that I have prepared from that fake pharmacy) to a person in the last minute of my last court date ( I didn’t know what was the title of this person but he was officer). AND I saw her once she was showing him my records dics!! He didn’t even open the docs and only shaked his hand!!!
I am family with the process now and this is killing me how they didn’t see my documentations and my explanations!!!
At this time the employer ONLY knows about my charge. When they pull up my background check They only see I have been dismissed for a misdemeanor offense! What will be their decision then???
Last time and I’m out . . . Your case wasn’t dismissed. You were on probation and did community service. You either entered some sort of guilty plea OR you were entered into some sort of diversionary problem in which caser you were not on probation.
Nobody can answer your question until YOU get the answers about what actually happened to you. You need to stop repeating the same information and asking us to tell you what’s going to happen and get to the court and find out what has already happened.
Seems more likely his charge did not require his presence, the lawyer represented him, and agreed to the situation and tried explaining but it didn’t compute. English as a second language may also play into his misunderstanding.