Philip Seymour Hoffman Death and Drug Overdose: Four Arrested in Connection to Heroin Star Used
The death of Philip Seymour Hoffman sent the industry into a tailspin, and now, four people have been arrested in connection to the heroin that the star used to ultimately kill himself at the age of 46.
According to The Chicago Tribune, the four people arrested in NYC -- Robert Vineberg, 57, Thomas Cushman, 48, Max Rosenblum and Juliana Luchkiw, both 22 -- will be charged with felony drug possession (in the case of the two older ones) and misdemeanor drug possession (for the two younger ones). They were arrested by the NYPD after a raid on their houses uncovered bags of heroin that came from the same stash that the late actor used in his overdose.
In addition, according to CNN, Vineberg was found to have the late actor's phone number stored in his cell phone... which was the penultimate reason for the "gang" being charged in connection with his death.
However, through his attorney Edward Kratt, Vineberg proclaimed his innocence and insisted he had nothing to do with Hoffman's death. "These charges have absolutely nothing to do with Philip Seymour Hoffman's unfortunate death," Kratt said. Luchkiw's attorney, Stephen Turano, expressed a similar sentiment, claiming that his client had no connection to Hoffman outside of seeing his films, and that she was simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Philip Seymour Hoffman was an American actor and director. Hoffman began his acting career in 1991, and the following year he began to appear in films. He gained recognition for his supporting work in a series of notable films, including Scent of a Woman (1992), Twister (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), Patch Adams (1998), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Almost Famous (2000), Red Dragon (2002), 25th Hour (2002), Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and Cold Mountain (2003). In 2005, Hoffman played the title role in Capote, for which he won multiple acting awards including the Oscar for best actor. Hoffman was an accomplished theater actor and director. In his front-page obituary, The New York Times referred to Hoffman as "perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation."