Who is Matthew Leshinsky? All about the Long Island scientist who pleads guilty to running a Breaking Bad-style meth lab

Matthew Leshinsky, a Long Island scientist, pleaded guilty on Thursday, February 16, 2024, to 13 charges in connection with running a meth lab. Police have compared his lab to the famous AMC series Breaking Bad.

According to CBS, his crime was first discovered last year in 2023 when he reported a break-in. The 23-year-old Chief Scientific Officer of his business, Quantitative Laboratories, LLC., inadvertently turned himself in when he called 911 on June 7, 2023, to report a burglary in progress.

The authorities found that his company was involved in secretly manufacturing and pumping out methamphetamine and other controlled substances, as per The Suffolk County district attorney's office.

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Matthew Leshinsky pleads guilty to running ‘Breaking Bad’-style meth lab

Matthew Leshinsky is a 23-year-old scientist from Farmingville, Long Island, New York, who pleaded guilty to unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine and other related charges on Thursday.

He was secretly running a meth lab that authorities compared to the iconic show Breaking Bad at his place of work. According to his LinkedIn profile, Matthew Leshinsky was studying for his Bachelor's degree in Chemistry at Hofstra University. He worked as a Research Assistant and Advanced Repair agent between 2018 and 2023 before venturing into a sole proprietorship called Quantitative Laboratories LLC.

As per Fox News, Matthew Leshinsky was the Chief Scientific Officer at his purported business establishment. On June 7, 2023, he called authorities to report a burglary and inadvertently got caught for manufacturing drugs.

The Suffolk County police soon responded to the call and reached the scene. They found broken glass at the entrance of the lab and soon realized it was a facility; as per CBS, the place was a front for secretly manufacturing and pumping out methamphetamine dimethyltryptamine, a hallucinogenic substance. There were also reportedly several other controlled substances.

The County got a search warrant for Matthew Leshinsky's property and found more than 100 items of laboratory equipment, chemicals, and solvents used to make, produce, or prepare methamphetamine and other substances. The police also seized $40,000 from the establishment.

According to The New York Post, officers from Suffolk County, while searching, also located ecstasy, more than three ounces of meth, and about 625,000 milligrams of pure ketamine. The lab also had over 20 plastic 55-gallon drums of Gamma-butyrolactone. The substance is similar to Gamma hydroxybutyric acid, often referred to as the "date r*pe drug," as per Fox News.

The authorities dubbed the case "Breaking Bad," comparing it to the AMC show where Walter White, a chemistry teacher, discovers that he has cancer and decides to get into the meth-making business to repay his medical debts, as per People. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney stated in a press release,

"This defendant was operating a Breaking Bad-style drug lab and tried to conceal it under the guise of a legitimate business. He then inadvertently turned himself in when he reported that a burglary occurred at that same business."

Matthew Leshinsky had claimed on his LinkedIn page that the LLC was created to analyze cannabis, as per The New York Post. His attorney, David Besso, tried to defend his client, telling Newsday that he is a “brilliant” scientist who was examining drug addiction “for the public good.” He added,

"Unfortunately, he went about it the wrong way."

The attorney has denied he sold meth out of the lab. However, Matthew has pleaded guilty to 13 charges tied to the case, including multiple counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

The scientist is due back in court for sentencing on March 20, as per CBS.