{"id":54142,"date":"2023-09-21T13:33:20","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T20:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=54142"},"modified":"2023-09-21T13:34:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T20:34:24","slug":"doctor-convicted-for-distributing-opioids-from-his-clinic-prescribed-more-than-137000-pills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=54142","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Convicted of Distributing Opioids from His Clinic, Prescribed More Than 137,000 Pills"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14523 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Courtroom-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" \/>A federal jury in Ohio convicted an Ohio physician on Wednesday for unlawfully distributing opioids from his clinic, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Thomas Romano, 73, of Wheeling, West Virginia, owned and operated a self-named pain management clinic in Martin\u2019s Ferry to which individuals traveled hundreds of miles to obtain prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Romano charged $750 for an initial visit and $120 for subsequent monthly visits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The prescriptions Romano issued for opioids and other controlled substances greatly exceeded recommended dosages and were in dangerous, life-threatening combinations that fueled the addiction of the individuals to whom he prescribed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16894 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Health-and-Human-Services-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Health-and-Human-Services-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Health-and-Human-Services-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Health-and-Human-Services.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Between October 2014 and September 2019, Romano prescribed over 137,000 pills, including opioids, benzodiazepines, and muscle relaxants, to nine individuals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The jury convicted Romano of 24 counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose to nine individuals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each charge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The DEA, FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Service &#8211; Office of the Inspector General, as well as the Ohio Bureau of Worker\u2019s Compensation and Ohio Board of Pharmacy, investigated this case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Assistant Chief Alexis Gregorian and Trial Attorneys Devon Helfmeyer and Danielle Sakowski of the Criminal Division\u2019s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">More information can be found at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/criminal-fraud\/health-care-fraud-unit\">www.justice.gov\/criminal-fraud\/health-care-fraud-unit<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal jury in Ohio convicted an Ohio physician on Wednesday for unlawfully distributing opioids from his clinic, officials stated. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Thomas Romano, 73,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Doctor Convicted of Distributing Opioids from His Clinic, Prescribed More Than 137,000 Pills<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A federal jury in Ohio convicted an Ohio physician on Wednesday for unlawfully distributing opioids from his clinic, officials stated. 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