AKRON, Ohio — Nine years after his son, 37-year-old Tom Rauh, died from acetyl fentanyl, Jim Rauh still fights.
After years of battling an opioid addiction, Tom died in 2015 when he unknowingly injected acetyl fentanyl into his body.
Since 2015, News 5 has continued to cover the high-profile case involving Rauh.
What happened to Rauh's son may be the most complete case, with federal investigators tracing the fentanyl found in his room to a manufacturing operation in Shanghai, China, led by a father and son known as the Zhang family.
RELATED: Akron couple who lost son to fentanyl is surprised Chinese citizens may be to blame
The DEA and the State Department are even offering up to $5 million/each reward for information leading to an arrest of the Zhangs.
Last year, a judge in Summit County ordered the Chinese-based organized crime group to pay Rauh $18 million.
RELATED: Judge orders Chinese drug cartel pay Akron family $18 million for son's death
"We intend to hold those accountable," Rauh said.
In July, a federal judgment added another $30 million that the Zhangs must pay Rauh, not one penny Rauh told News 5 he’s seen so far.
"I don’t know if I ever will see any of it," Rauh explained. "If I ever collect any money, every bit will go toward fighting this fight; I will use it solely for stopping this kind of evil from infiltrating the United States."
With the nonprofit Families Against Fentanyl, Rauh continues his push for the government to declare fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction.
Families Against Fentanyl founder Jim Rauh had the opportunity to meet with @SpeakerJohnson as a guest of former Ohio State Senator @KevinCoughlin. They discussed the U.S. drug crisis and the need to designate illicit fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction. pic.twitter.com/Tx3UndNX8F
— Families Against Fentanyl (@FafFentanyl) August 30, 2024
RELATED: Akron man hopes to get fentanyl declared as a weapon of mass destruction
With a background in chemistry and physics, Rauh worries it will only get easier for fentanyl to harm others.
"In the wrong hands, it's going to go from the slow motion weapon of mass destruction that's infiltrated the illicit drug supply, to the general public in the air, food or water supply," he said. "This can be dispersed in the most simple ways. There's an unlimited amount of material here."
RELATED: Weapon of Mass Destruction:’ NEO families call for action to stop fentanyl-related overdoses
In 2022, 18 attorneys general urged the White House and Department of Homeland Security for fentanyl to be classified as a weapon of mass destruction.
Despite these calls from Rauh, there has been no nationwide move to redesignate the powerful synthetic opioid.
"There's nothing is that's been here that's this dangerous besides our own nuclear weapons," Rauh said.
Nationwide, data from the Ohio Department of Health shows the number of Ohioans dying from unintentional overdoses dropped 5% in 2022, while the nation saw a 1% increase.
Aug. 31 marks International Overdose Awareness Day.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
