Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Logan pill mill doctor pleads guilty

A doctor who operated a pill mill in Logan County pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court.
U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says Dr. Fernando Gonzales-Ramos, 47, admitted he wrote prescriptions without a medical reason.
Authorities broke up the weekend pill mill during a March 2 raid.
“Dr. Gonzales-Ramos wasn’t operating a doctor’s office, he was running a drug den,” said U.S. Attorney Goodwin in a news release. “His so-called office had no exam table, no running water, and not even so much as a stethoscope. For thousands of dollars in cash, he was pumping out prescriptions for thousands of units of powerful narcotics.”
Gonzales-Ramos would travel from El Paso, Texas to Logan every three months. He ran the cash-only business for about a year and a half.
Gonzales-Ramos could be sentenced to nearly seven years in prison. Sentencing is set for Aug. 14.