The arrest of Norristown lawyer Gregory R. Noonan brought to light certain facts that seem out of the ordinary for an attorney arrested for drug dealing. While Noonan was arrested last week for dealing in a controlled substance, at the same time he was representing a Souderton doctor accused of similar activities. And while Noonan himself is a bankruptcy lawyer, records show that he filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for at least four times to keep his house from being auctioned off.
What surprises other members of the bar is that Noonan appeared to have a sound practice and the acute need for money, leading him to go bankrupt multiple times and even going to the extent of dealing in drugs is difficult to explain.
The police complaint against Noonan mentions he told law enforcement that the pills he was selling came from "the wife of a former law client" who owed him. Noonan said, "I didn't want to represent her husband for free, and I've got bills to pay, overheads, so I knew where I could unload them. I wouldn't change anything I did. I did what I had to do to pay my staff."
Noonan was apprehended by an undercover police officer who posed as a purchaser. Police say, the county detectives started the operation after they received a tip that Noonan was involved in illegally distributing narcotics. On November 23, Noonan called the cell phone of the undercover police officer and asked him to come over to his office. The officer called Noonan back and agreed to meet at his office in the evening.
When the undercover officer showed up, Noonan handed him a prescription bottle with partially removed labels. He demanded $15 per pill for about 175 Oxycodone pills. He accepted $2000 on the spot and agreed to receive $625 later. When the officer showed up next time for paying the balance, Noonan was arrested after he received the money, and also received money for a new order of 180 pills.
