It's a major move in the war on drugs and it could soon have an effect here in Pennsylvania.
Two former executives of a pharmaceutical distributor now face criminal drug trafficking charges.
Federal officials say between 2012 and 2017 the Rochester Drug Co-Operative sold a staggering amount of oxycodone and fentanyl.
Of the company's nearly 1.5 million orders in a period starting in 2012, only four were flagged as suspicious.
Officials say at least 2,000 of those orders should have been flagged.
"Our office will do everything in its power to bring to justice anyone responsible for unlawfully fuelling this opioid epidemic and that includes executives who illegally distribute drugs from their board rooms," explained Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The Rochester Drug Co-Operative is based in New York State.
Now that the federal government has taken this historic step, it paves the way for other drug distributors to be charged, perhaps here in Pennsylvania and beyond.