NORMAN — The parents of three men already serving time on OxyContin-trafficking charges were sentenced to prison terms Monday in an Oklahoma City federal courtroom.

Steve and Deborah Compton, who ran Comptons Air Quality Experts in Norman for years before they and dozens of others were arrested Dec. 11, 2009, on OxyContin-trafficking charges, were both handed four-year sentences Monday by Judge Joe Heaton.

Last month, the couple’s three sons, Josh, Jeremy and Zacharry, were given prison sentences of 48 months, 44 months and 36 months, respectively.

Eldest son Josh, 25, was described in previous court proceedings as a leader of the drug ring that specialized in distributing OxyContin, a highly addictive and often-abused painkiller.

Josh Compton told authorities following his arrest last year that he handled about 1,000 tablets of OxyContin every month and that he sold an estimated $250,000 worth of the painkiller annually.

In fact, it was the eldest Compton brother who was named by a confidential informant as the “the primary OxyContin dealer in Norman,” setting off a multi-agency investigation dubbed “Operation Pill Box.”

But Heaton said Steve and Deborah Compton, as parents and as owners of a successful business, were just as complicit in the trafficking operations. He said that while their children may have started the drug ring in its earliest days, back in 2006, the parents “were leaders and organizers” by the time authorities arrested the entire family in December 2009.

Heaton said the Comptons’ failure as parents was hard to look past when it came time to sentence the couple.

“That is a breach of trust that is truly remarkable,” he said. “Both parents, ultimately, got involved in helping their kids do this [run a drug ring]. Mr. and Mrs. Compton were both playing management roles.”

Heaton said investigators discovered that Steve and Deborah had “fronted” their eldest son about $35,000 to purchase OxyContin during the investigation. He said Steve “managed the efforts of his kids” while Deborah “mainly dealt with the money.”

“It was clear enough, I think, that both of them knew what was going on,” he said.

In their words

Prior to sentencing, Steve and Deborah Compton thanked investigators for arresting them and their sons last year, something Andrew Farabow, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said was a pretty rare occurrence.

“It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s happened before,” Farabow said outside the courtroom Monday.

Deborah Compton, who made a brief statement through tears, said the arrests saved the lives of her husband and three sons, all of whom were addicted to OxyContin at some point prior to their arrests.

“I want to thank the court for stopping the madness that was going on in my family,” she said. “Thank you for stopping everything.”

Steve Compton also thanked investigators, some by name, for helping him to get his addiction to OxyContin under control. He also said he took “full responsibility” for all that had transpired.

“I’m an addict,” he said. “But I’m also a husband and father … and between all of those people, I couldn’t stop it.”

Charles Cox, who served as Steve Compton’s attorney during the proceedings, also took a moment to make a point that hadn’t come up during previous hearings.

Although he said his client took full responsibility for his actions, Cox said he felt like the doctors and pharmacies who supplied the prescriptions and tablets to the family were to blame, as well.

“A family’s broken up [and] the root cause is addiction,” he said. “The real culprits are the pain management specialists. They don’t make any attempt to see what their patients have become addicted to.”

Cox would go on to say that Steve Compton was “as addicted as anyone I’ve seen” in four decades of practicing law, but that he was “a good man who did a lot for the Norman community.”

Financial trouble

Since the couple were arrested in December 2009, several companies have filed suit against them and their company, Comptons Air Quality Experts, seeking payment for past due accounts.

Just days after the couple’s arrest, First American Bank in Norman began foreclosure proceedings against the family business at 5450 Huettner Drive.

According to court documents, the Comptons had stopped making payments on two notes connected to the property totaling about $504,495.

The shop was appraised at $397,000 in August, court records show.

In the following months, other companies filed civil suits against the couple and their business, including Locke Supply Co. for $26,834.86, Carrier for $157,837.41 and Wells Fargo for $116,224.03.

Andrew Knittle 366-3540 aknittle@normantranscript.com