Out-of-area men accept plea deals in forgery cases

ALBANY, N.Y. » A pair of men from out of the area pleaded guilty Tuesday in separate forgery cases that reached throughout Albany County.

The county’s District Attorney’s Office said Justin Lopez, 23, of the Bronx, admitted Tuesday in Albany County Court to using forged prescriptions to obtain cough syrup with promethazine and codeine from several pharmacies around the county in February and early March.

Lopez, whom the DA’s office said has a 2015 conviction in Vermont for drug conspiracy, pleaded guilty to a felony count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument under a plea deal in which he is expected to be sentenced Jan. 5 to three to six years in prison.

Meanwhile, Erich Ruiz, 35, of Davie, Florida, also took a plea deal Tuesday in a case where he was accused of using forged credit cards to purchase cartons of cigarettes from Mobil gas stations throughout the county.

Authorities said Ruiz used a total of seven forged credit cards to make the purchases between March 24 and 28, while investigators said they also found him in possession of more than 100 cartons of cigarettes, many of which did not have the necessary state tax stamps.

Ruiz, who, the DA’s office said, has previous convictions in Florida, as well as federal District Court, for felony conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to traffic illegal drugs, also pleaded guilty to a felony count of second-degree riminal possession of a forged instrument under a deal in which he is expected to be sentenced Dec. 5 to 2 ½ to five years in prison.