A federal trial opens for the second Panhandle physician in two years charged with prescription fraud that caused deaths.
By Associated Press
Published June 4, 2004
PANAMA CITY, Fla. - A doctor who allegedly funneled thousands of pain pills to drug addicts, including two who died from oxycodone abuse, is "a drug dealer with a medical license," a federal prosecutor told a jury Wednesday.
An attorney for Dr. Freddie Williams denied the allegations and blamed patients for lying to the doctor to get prescriptions. "Simply because someone becomes dependent on a substance does not make the doctor who prescribed the substance a criminal," defense attorney Armando Garcia said.
Williams, 54, of Panama City, faces 94 charges and could receive life in federal prison if convicted. His trial is expected to last three weeks.
In his opening statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Kunz said evidence would show Williams put profit ahead of medical principles.
"This is about a doctor peddling controlled substances, highly addictive opiates, for cash money," the prosecutor said.
A search of Williams' office, home and storage unit a year ago turned up a variety of painkillers, Kunz said. He said the doctor's license allowed him only to prescribe drugs, not dispense them.
Investigators also found five business cards with Williams' name and "Dr. Feelgood" printed across a depiction of a dollar bill, the prosecutor said.
He said Williams prescribed the painkiller oxycodone to known addicts, and in two cases his prescriptions led to deaths.
Oxycodone is in OxyContin, linked to more than 100 deaths across the nation. A pill swallowed whole provides hours of pain relief, but it can be lethal if taken in excess, chewed, or pulverized and snorted or injected.
Another Panhandle physician, Dr. James Graves, of Pace, in 2002 became the first doctor in the nation convicted of manslaughter for OxyContin-related deaths. Graves was sentenced to 63 years in state prison on four manslaughter counts.
Williams is charged with conspiracy to commit mail, wire or health care fraud, committing health care fraud, conspiracy to distribute or possessing with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, gun possession by a convicted felon, three counts of attempting to distribute drugs, 57 counts of illegally dispensing drugs, 15 counts of mail fraud; and 15 counts of wire fraud.
