Killer in a White Coat

The True Story of New York's Deadliest Pill Pusher and the Team that Brought Him to Justice

By: Charlotte Bismuth

Narrated by: Samantha Desz

“A taut exploration of America’s deadly battle with opioid addiction—an unnerving and inspirational firecracker of a book.” —Karen Abbott, New York Times bestselling author

For fans of Dopesick and Bad Blood, the shocking story of New York’s most infamous pill-pushing doctor, written by the prosecutor who brought him down.

In 2010, a brave whistleblower alerted the police to Dr. Stan Li’s corrupt pain management clinic in Queens, New York. Li spent years supplying more than seventy patients a day with oxycodone and Xanax, trading prescriptions for cash. Emergency room doctors, psychiatrists, and desperate family members warned him that his patients were at risk of death but he would not stop.

In Killer in a White Coat, former prosecutor Charlotte Bismuth meticulously recounts the jaw-dropping details of this criminal case that would span four years, culminating in a landmark trial. As a new assistant district attorney and single mother, Bismuth worked tirelessly with her team to bring Dr. Li to justice. Killer in a White Coat is a chilling story of corruption and greed and an important look at the role individual doctors play in America’s opioid epidemic.

Thought it would be a good listen!!

Author had a pretty selfish point of view on everything. Too much personal info, do not care much for her personal insight in comparison to the main topic of the book.

A review from a recovering drug addict

This book was incredible, and it meant a lot to me. In 2012, I had been addicted to prescription opioids for nearly a decade, I was the father of a 2-year-old son, my life was a mess, and I had a 10% chance of living. I've been clean for over 8 years, but I've met thousands of addicts trying to get clean, and I've known nearly 100 people who have died from overdoses. Due to my personal experience, I'm an advocate against the pushing of pills by doctors and pharmaceutical companies, and sometimes it feels like this problem isn't addressed, but this book from Charlotte Bismuth gives me hope. 

Charlotte was a prosecutor who helped bring down Dr. Stan Li, a man who ran a pill mill that took the lives of multiple people due to his negligence. We often downplay or forget the role that trusted doctors play in the opioid epidemic, but through Charlotte's masterful writing, we get a full view of how this happens and the families it affects. While reading this book, I was pleasantly surprised at how amazing of a storyteller and writer Charlotte is. Not only do you learn about the opioid epidemic and this specific case, but she does a great job explaining the law while also sharing her personal journey during this chapter of her life. I can't put into words how great this book was, and I really hope it gets the credit and recognition that it deserves.

Author's Narcissim Ovrrshadows Victims

I got into this audiobook because I work in pharmacy. I came to it expecting a very straight forward and descriptive recollection of the events around the specific scenario with details as to what happened and conversation about the victims, their recovery, and the fallout. What I have found instead is a disillusioned narcissist hung up on their own life to the point that they improperly associate their comparatively mild life problems with being on par or greater than the victims. The style not writing the author employs suggests a focus not on facts but on editorializing events and drumming up sympathies for her own failures and misplaced priorities inadvertently denigrating or detracting from the real suffering that the victims experienced.

This is a narcisist's therapy journal and little else. I'm skeptical of the details given the authors inability to synthesize coherent structure without evoking their personal emotional state and editorialization of events. I'll finish reading it though.

Parts Not Accurate

Cybill Stern “gf”(I know not real name) is delusional n also drug addict & in my opinion she’s complicit in Michael C. death...(u need to file charges on her) u made it sound all he did was look for drugs ...the cocaine found in his system she buys n uses with him. U put a known lair on the stand...also he had a life n home in Hawaii n is survived by two beautiful very well adjusted now teenage boys. He was a great father n loving partner (me) Feb 2010 he left Hawaii November 2010 he’s dead, u do the math!!!! She kept him drugged up to keep him there with her sick fantasies. I flew back when his mom n dad notified tht they were taking him off life support...I immediately took a red eye out (but it was too late) I attended the funeral I had security (his family n my brother) protect me so she can’t approach me (which she tried with no success) thts the TRUE story regarding Michael

Terrible

The timeline jumps around to the point that following the developments is impossible. The authors personal life struggles added nothing to this important story and were distracting.