In this Friday, May 21, 2021, file photo, New York Attorney General Letitia James addresses a news conference at her office, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

NORWICH - Chenango County is likely to see financial perks of legal settlements against several giant drug companies over their roles in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic.

According to the county attorney, county legislators can expect to see settlement money hit Chenango as New York State reaches massive legal agreements in its ongoing opioid trial, currently underway in Suffolk County State Supreme Court.

In July, NYS Attorney General Letitia James announced the state reached a $1.1 billion agreement with three of the nation’s largest drug companies - McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., and Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation - to combat the opioid epidemic. The settlement resolves claims made by the state for the three companies’ role in helping to fuel the opioid epidemic and will remove the three distributors from New York’s pending opioid trial.

“They’re trying one of the big cases against the pharmaceutical companies,” said Chenango County Attorney Alan Gordon. “There are settlements on the horizon. We are going to get money out of it, it appears. How much is up in the air. I can tell you that all the negotiations will require that money to be spent on treatment. It won’t be free money.”