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NORRISTOWN, PA – Four doctors from Montgomery County have been arrested for illegally prescribing opioids to drug addicts and drug dealers in the area, the district attorney's office said Wednesday. The prescriptions led to many overdose deaths, the authorities said.
The investigation, which took place in southeastern Pennsylvania and in the south of the country, continued for seven months. DA Kevin Steele said such doctors "are fueling addictions and the epidemic of opioids".
Fifty-eight-year-old Lawrence Miller, a 48-year-old family practitioner who was practicing in Lansdale, Joseph Cipriano, a 56-year-old Norristown practitioner, was arrested by 51-year-old Brian Keeley, who was a 59-year-old practitioner in Ambler and Joseph Rybicki. Lower Moreland.
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The prosecutor said that nine of Miller's patients had died of overdoses. Miller, a Warminster native working at 1000 Walnut Street in Lansdale, has often prescribed doses up to 10 times higher than the maximum recommended by national and national guidelines, the authorities said.
In some cases, Miller would prescribe more than 500 tablets of opioid analgesics, according to the DA. Authorities have said little or no medical treatment accompanying the prescriptions.
Over time, the prosecutor said that his practice "has become a magnet for drug addicts and traffickers".
Cipriano, who practiced at Cipriano Family Practice at 905 Dekalb Street in Norristown, took a different tack. He prescribed many controlled substances to patients in exchange for nude photos, videos or sexual favors.
The patients told the police that they would request the drugs from Cipriano through SnapChat and that he would issue prescriptions electronically. According to the police, some of the medications included oxycodone, adderall, benzodiazepines and promethazine cough syrup.
At Ambler Family Practice, 10 Cavalier Drive in Ambler, Keeley provided cash on delivery drugs, the DA said. According to the authorities, confidential information has resulted in prescriptions for several controlled substances over a period of several months.
In addition, the practice was deemed both dangerous and non-sterile, with carpets stained with animal excrement, decaying animal feed and unhygienic supplies of medical supplies, the prosecutor added.
Rybicki, from Haddonfield, New Jersey, practiced at a home in Grasshopper Road, Lower Moreland. With his wife, Ann Rybicki, who was also charged, he provided opioids and benzodiazepines to patients without ever seeing them for an appointment. Patients had to pay a monthly fee.
"These doctors contributed to the heroin and opioid epidemic and worsened the situation," said DA Kevin Steele in a statement, stating that these doctors "feed the addiction".
Miller, arrested on September 12, faces 31 counts of unlawful orders and charges. His bond was set at $ 100,000 and he waved his preliminary hearing.
Cipriano, arrested on July 18, faces a corrupt organization, social fraud, insurance fraud, eight counts of illegal prescription, and so on. His bond was set at $ 200,000 and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 13.
Keeley, arrested on May 1, faces 48 counts of illegal prescription, insurance fraud and more. His bail was set at $ 50,000 and a trial date is coming.
Rybicki, arrested on February 6, is charged with acquiring fraud-controlled substances, 15 illegal orders and one smuggler. The bond was set at $ 50,000 and he is waiting for the date of the trial
Image via the Montgomery County Attorney's Office
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