Three people are facing drug charges in the investigation into Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death, but they all insist they had nothing to do with the actor’s apparent overdose. Four people were arrested yesterday after a tipster told police a Mott Street apartment may be the source of the heroin found in Hoffman’s home. Robert Vineberg, a 57-year-old jazz musician, was indicted Wednesday for felony possession of heroin with intent to sell after 300 packets of heroin and a bag of cocaine were found in his apartment. A law enforcement official tells The Wall Street Journal that Hoffman’s number was stored in Vineberg’s home, but his attorney said, “this case has absolutely nothing to do with the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman,” adding that he hopes the DA won’t “use Mr. Vineberg as a scapegoat in that unfortunate incident.”
Prosecutors did not explicitly link any of the suspects to the heroin found in Hoffman’s home, and there’s little to suggest the others had anything to do with the actor. Juliana Luchkiw and Max Rosenblum, both 22, were charged with single misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance after police found two bags of cocaine in their home. Luchkiw is a student at Parsons the New School for Design, and her attorney said, “She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Prosecutors decided not to charge the fourth person arrested on Tuesday.
All three were denied bail on Wednesday, and The Wall Street Journal reports Luchkiw “looked aghast” and “shouted out an expletive” after the judge’s decision. The couple’s attorneys criticized the unusual decision to deny bail on misdemeanor charges, and said they plan to push for their clients to be released on Thursday.
