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Montreal-born Robert Aaron Vineberg, 58, was arrested after
police traced what they believed to have been the source of the
heroin suspected of killing the Oscar-winning actor. Vineberg
was charged with intent to sell heroin.
The charges were dropped on Thursday because of "evidentiary
issues that have come to light", the Times quoted assistant
district attorney Jon Veiga as saying.
The district attorney said in an Aug. 14 letter that two police
officers who first interrogated Vineberg after his arrest had
not read him his Miranda rights -- which include the right to
remain silent and the right to an attorney -- , rendering his
statements to them unusable in court, the newspaper said.
Vineberg pleaded guilty on Thursday to possession of heroin, a
lesser felony. He agreed to serve five years' probation, perform
community service, continue drug addiction treatment and to
forfeit money confiscated during his arrest, the New York Times
reported.
Hoffman, who won a Best Actor Oscar in 2005 for his role as
Truman Capote in "Capote", was found unresponsive on the
bathroom floor of his Manhattan apartment by police responding
to an emergency 911 call.
The cause of death was acute drug intoxication, including
heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamine, the New York
City Chief Medical Examiner found.
Vineberg painted himself a scapegoat who people blamed because
of his connection to Hoffman and denied ever selling the actor
drugs.
"At some level, it's like the Salem witch trials," Vineberg told
the Times this year. "You can't have a witch hunt without a
witch. I'm just unlucky enough to be the guy."
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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