A plea bargain for a guilty plea to drug trafficking and second-degree murder ends with a 20-day sentence for a man who allegedly ran pill mills in Palm Beach County and Broward County. The man, along with his twin brother, allegedly headed pain clinics that dished out prescriptions for pain killers to their clients, via licensed physicians they employed. On Feb. 28, 2009, a 24-year-old man from West Palm Beach overdosed on Dilaudid and Xanax — prescriptions which he had obtained a day before from one of their Palm Beach County clinics.
The physician at the clinic, who prescribed the narcotics, underwent prosecution for charges of first-degree murder and drug trafficking this past August. He was acquitted of those charges, but convicted of one count of prescribing an anti-anxiety drug to another patient in 2009. The owner of the clinic testified against the doctor on the witness stand bearing all. He claimed that the physician was aware when he went to work at the clinic of what it was all about. However, he also admitted to coaching clients on how to exaggerate their pain and use fake MRIs, to which the physician was unaware. The doctor is currently out on bail awaiting sentencing.
As per his own case, the owner was very cooperative and appeared remorseful. He apologized to the victim’s family telling them that he was “truly sorry.” The 35-year-old man claims he is trying to better himself and wants to help people in the community when he is released from prison. His attorney claims he has been rehabilitated in prison.
There were 30 others also arrested from the clinics owned by the twin brothers, which are now closed. The clinic’s business manager was included in the owner’s plea bargain is also waiting to be sentenced. No information was provided regarding the twin brother or others facing charges. An estimated 20 million oxycodone pills are alleged to have been distributed through the clinics.
People often do things they are later remorseful for. Unfortunately, victims are the result. But those who have a wake-up call and are truly trying to change their lives deserve to have a second chance to do some good in their life. A good defense team can help their client make the best of their mistakes and portray a better picture to the court.
Source: Sun Sentinel, “Former pill mill king gets 20 years in overdose death of West Palm man,” Marc Freeman, Dec. 02, 2015