Man pleads guilty to shipping fake Xanax pills

A 34-year-old man has admitted in federal court to manufacturing hundreds of thousands of knockoff Xanax pills in the basement of his parents’ Sparks home, and selling them for millions of dollars on a dark corner of the internet. He called himself “Xanaxman.” Ryan Farace, of Sparks and Reisterstown, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal drug charges and money laundering. His co- defendant, Robert Swain, 34, of Freeland, pleaded guilty to money laundering. With his plea, Farace admitted to operating an elaborate manufacturing lab in his parents’ basement, with a pill press the size of a vending machine, pill molds stamped with “Xanax,” pill dye and mixing equipment he bought on eBay. Between November 2013 and June 2017, he ordered packages of Alprazolam — the generic form of Xanax, a sedative to treat anxiety and panic disorders — pressed the powder into pills, stamped them with the “Xanax” brand name, and shipped them as far as Memphis, Tenn. He admitted to taking orders for, or shipping, about 420,000 pills between December 2013 and November 2014 alone. He faces 25 years in federal prison and is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 30. Swain, his co-defendant, faces 20 years for money laundering. He is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 25. — bate Republican Al Redmer Jr. at the North Point Government Center in Dundalk. Olszewski said “an unexpected family event has required my time and attention on Friday.” The debate had been scheduled several weeks earlier by the 7th District Civic Council of Baltimore County. In a statement issued Monday night, the civic council apologized to voters and Redmer for having to cancel the debate. Redmer and Olszewski have several more candidate forums and debates planned leading up to the November general election. On Tuesday morning, they debated before about 100 business owners and leaders in Towson, and they’re both scheduled to appear before real estate agents and builders on Thursday. They also are scheduled to record a televised debate on WBFF Fox 45 and hold radio debates on WYPR-FM and WOLB-FM this month.