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Teacher accused of doctor shopping

By DEMORRIS A. LEE
Published April 10, 2007

A veteran Pinellas County schoolteacher was arrested Monday and is accused of doctor-shopping and trafficking in a controlled substance.

Gerald Stadler, 51, of Clearwater was arrested at Osceola Fundamental High School in Seminole.

Pinellas County sheriff's officials said Stadler tried to obtain an illegal duplicate prescription for Adderall, a highly addictive stimulant.

An investigation began after a local doctor's office tried to verify that Stadler's prescription had been lost or stolen.

Osceola's school resource officer had completed a sheriff's report at Stadler's request on March 16 to document what the teacher described as the loss or theft of two prescriptions, authorities said.

But authorities grew suspicious after noting discrepancies in Stadler's account of what happened, officials said.

Narcotics detectives said their monthlong investigation revealed that Stadler had obtained prescriptions for the same controlled substance from at least two different doctors. A charge of filing a false police report will be referred to the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office.

Stadler, who was being held in lieu of $55,000 bail, has been a school system employee since 1987 and at Osceola since July 2002, said school district spokeswoman Andrea Zahn. Before teaching social studies at Osceola, Stadler was a library information specialist at Countryside High School.

"He has received satisfactory evaluations," Zahn said.

While in jail, Stadler is on a no-pay status. Afterward, he would be placed on administrative leave, Zahn said.

[Last modified April 10, 2007, 06:32:11]