03 February 2023 , 16:35
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A real-life Breaking Bad university professor has been caught allegedly selling crystal meth and pestering women for sex.
Sergey Macheret, 65, who taught at the Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics in West Lafayette, Indiana, US was arrested by police on February 1.
The arrest came after multiple complaints to police in neighbouring Lafayette from women who had been approached by the academic.
Police started to investigate Mr Macheret after they received various reports of a man approaching women.
They identified the academic as a suspect after a plainclothes officer gathered information from him.
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He was seized during a traffic stop following an investigation that began in December.
Mr Macheret, an expert in plasma science, was released from custody after paying a bail bond of $500 (£400).
The Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics in West Lafayette, Indiana, USHe is expected to be charged with making an unlawful proposition, dealing methamphetamine, and possession of methamphetamine.
There are similarities to Breaking Bad, a hit drama series which ran from 2008-2013, after a chemistry teacher named Walter White, played by actor Bryan Cranston, sells meth to his students in order to help pay off his debts.
Purdue University - where he has taught aeronautical and astronautical engineering since 2014 - has placed him on leave and banned him from campus.
The university said in a statement: "The university will cooperate fully with the investigation.
“The employee has been placed on leave pending further updates and legal proceedings and is barred from campus.
"The School of Aeronautics and Astronautics is working to ensure that undergraduate and graduate student needs are met regarding lectures and labs.”
Bill Crossley, head of the Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has urged any students with any concerns to contact the university.
Walter White in Breaking BadHe told WFLI: "Any AAE students, staff and faculty who have questions or concerns about this impact of this matter on their academic endeavours… to contact me directly.
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Purdue is widely ranked as among the best public universities in the US, with alumni including former astronauts Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan.
The award-winning academic and author has been a professor of aeronautics and astronautical engineering at the university since 2014.
He attended the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in Dolgoprudny, Zhukovsky, Russia between 1974 to 1980, where he earned his master’s degree in physics.
In addition, he has won multiple awards including Best Paper Award in Plasmadynamics and Lasers from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2008.
The professor also went to teach at a number of top universities.