Before entering a guilty plea, a Maryland gynecologist was facing drug charges for sending illegally prescribed drugs through the mail, including painkillers and other controlled substances. He reportedly wrote fraudulent prescriptions for two other patients, in addition to drugs mailed to his girlfriend. The doctor recently pleaded guilty to one count of the drug charges, specifically for intent to distribute narcotics. He is now awaiting sentencing for that specific charge.
The doctor has more than 30 years of experience practicing medicine in Maryland. One of the patients who received an alleged fraudulent prescription apparently obtained the drugs by using Medicaid. It is not clear if law enforcement believes that the doctor was actually using any illegal drugs himself or how he was actually connected to this particular patient.
The authorities say that, upon his arrest, the doctor was in possession of cocaine. They also claim to have found inappropriate photos of female patients on his cell phone. It is not indicated how he supposedly came into possession of these photos, but he was not formally charged with any wrongdoing connected to them. The terms of his plea agreement were not immediately available, but he will now have the opportunity to present mitigating evidence to the court before sentencing. This effort will likely be geared toward convincing the court to impose a sentence toward the lower range of the applicable federal sentencing guidelines.
When facing serious criminal charges, such as these federal drug charges, it is best to evaluate all possible approaches in a criminal defense. If a plea agreement is the best option for a person facing a serious legal charges, it should only be accepted after careful consideration and evaluation of all other available options. In some cases, these agreements can secure lower penalties. Even after a guilty plea, the defense team will continue to fight for the best possible outcome under all of the relevant facts and circumstances.
Source: wbal.com, "Gynecologist pleads guilty to drug charge", , May 29, 2014