Leader of addiction treatment service arrested in drug bust

Michael Rowe is among the 39 people charged by Berks County prosecutors in the multi-million dollar operation.

For the past seven years, Michael D. Rowe has publicly made it his mission to help others like him.

A recovering addict, he has been president of Addiction Prevention Strategies in Spring Township since 2010, also serving there as a recovery coach and interventionist, according to his LinkedIn page.

The company provides help to the families of addicts, including a free service that helps them find the right treatment program for their struggling loved one.

It's a place where people can start on the path to healing, much like Rowe had done himself, he said in a video from 2012 posted on the company's Facebook page.

That message is a stark contrast to news that arose last week.

Rowe, 54, of Spring Township was one of 39 people charged as being part of a multimillion-dollar drug ring. He is in Berks County Prison on $50,000 bail, charged with conspiracy, intending to deliver and possessing a controlled substance.

Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams said Monday that investigators know about Rowe's work with addicts.

“And we are aware of his activities that are quite contrary to recovery,” he said.

Calls to Addiction Prevention Strategies — the company advertises a number where someone can be reached “seven days a week, 24 hours a day” — went unanswered Monday, as did a message sent through Facebook. A website for the company is no longer active.

Court documents do not list an attorney for Rowe.

The drug ring — busted in an operation titled “Last Hurrah” — has been described by investigators as major, smuggling large quantities of illegal drugs into the county from as far away as Puerto Rico and Los Angeles.

Confiscated as part of the investigation were 4 kilograms of cocaine, 20 pounds of methamphetamine, 4 pounds of high-grade marijuana and 200 grams of fentynal.

Over the course of six months, Adams said at a press conference Thursday, the ring did about $10 million in business.

Based on charges and bail amounts, Rowe appears to be accused of being one of the smaller fish caught in the “Last Hurrah's” nets. Several others charged, and identified by investigators as large-scale distributors, received multimillion-dollar bail amounts.

It was not immediately clear what role authorities believe Rowe played in the drug ring. But Adams said investigators at this point have no evidence that Rowe's work with addicts and participation in the drug ring had any intersection.

In the video of Rowe posted on the company's Facebook page, he describes himself as having struggled with drug addiction for 25 years.

“Today, I can tell you I'm free,” he says. “I haven't had a drug in six years.”

Rowe is scheduled for a hearing this month in front of District Judge Stuart D. Kennedy.

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