The former CEO of a major pharmaceutical distributor was hauled into court in handcuffs Tuesday — and faces life behind bars — on charges he illegally supplied shady pharmacies with deadly opioids.

Laurence Doud III, 75, is accused of using the Rochester Drug Co-operative to provide pharmacies with highly addictive narcotics despite numerous warnings that they were being dispensed “for other than legitimate purposes.”

Before Doud was fired in November 2017, RDC went from distributing 63,497 dosages of fentanyl patches or spray in 2012 to 1.3 million in 2016, a rate of increase that the feds called “exponential.”

RDC’s distribution of oxycodone tablets also surged from 4.7 million in 2012 to 42.2 million in 2016, according to court papers.

During that same period of time, Doud’s annual compensation more than doubled, to $1.5 million, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said.

“As Doud himself is aware, this country is in the midst of a prescription drug abuse epidemic, as addiction, overdoses and deaths associated with non-medical drug use has risen dramatically,” Berman told reporters during an afternoon news conference.

“This epidemic has been driven by greed. As alleged, Doud cared more about profits than the laws intended to protect human life.”

An indictment unsealed Tuesday charged Doud with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to defraud the US by failing to report suspicious orders from RDC’s customers to the Drug Enforcement Agency, as required by law.

If convicted, he would face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Also Tuesday, the feds revealed that RDC’s former chief compliance officer, William Pietruszewski, 53, is cooperating against his ex-boss and pleaded guilty on Friday to the same charges pending against Doud, as well as a count of willfully failing to file suspicious order reports with the DEA.

In addition, RDC — one of the 10 largest drug wholesalers in the country — struck a five-year, deferred prosecution deal under which it will pay a $20 million fine, reform its business practices and submit to supervision by an independent monitor.

In a prepared statement, an RDC spokesman admitted that the company “made mistakes” but “understands that these mistakes, directed by former management, have serious consequences.”

Doud, who lives in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., voluntarily surrendered at the DEA’s headquarters in Chelsea and was released on $500,000 bond after pleading not guilty in Manhattan federal court.

Defense lawyer Robert Gottlieb said Doud was “being framed.”

“The government has it all wrong and is being used by others to cover up their wrongdoing,” Gottlieb said. “Mr. Doud will fight these false charges to his last breath and he will be vindicated.”