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Published Thursday, June 17, 2004

Panhandle doctor convicted of writing illegal prescriptions

The Associated Press
PANAMA CITY, Fla.
A doctor has been convicted of writing improper prescriptions for the painkiller oxycodone and other medications including drugs that led to two overdose deaths.

A federal court jury deliberated for three hours Wednesday before finding Dr. Freddie Williams, 54, of Panama City guilty of all 94 charges against him including conspiracy, fraud and 57 counts of illegally dispensing drugs.

The latter included drugs blamed for the deaths of Brian Sanders in October 2002, and Bonnie Ramos in December 2000.

The maximum sentence possible is life in prison.

Williams wrote prescriptions for anyone willing to pay up to $80 for an office visit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Kunz said in his closing argument.

"He wasn't trying to treat anybody," Kunz said. "He was selling those prescriptions."

The prosecutor presented evidence Williams wrote thousands of prescriptions over three years including nearly a million doses of oxycodone.

Oxycodone is the active ingredient in OxyContin, linked to more than 100 deaths across the nation. When swallowed whole it provides 12 hours of pain relief but can produce a quick and potentially lethal high if chewed, snorted or injected.

Williams' files often showed little or no justification for the drugs and in several cases that patients were abusing or selling them, Kunz said. He said FBI agents also found 142 people who had been prescribed oxycodone although Williams had no files on them.

The doctor took the witness stand to deny the allegations but acknowledged he prescribed oxycodone for his two daughters without having complete medical files and with the knowledge one had a history of abusing crack cocaine.

Defense lawyer Armando Garcia told jurors Williams was "sloppy, lazy and negligent" but not a criminal. He said Williams lost files and kept poor records but that didn't mean he was irresponsible and unprofessional.

Garcia said Williams was deceived by addicts who lied about symptoms to get drugs.

"Maybe he's just a little too naive," Garcia said. "Maybe he believed people he shouldn't have believed."

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