Levittown Doctor & Receptionist Accused Of Running ‘Pill Mill’

A doctor and his receptionist are accused of running a “pill mill” out of medical offices in Bristol Township and Philadelphia.

Dr. William J. O’Brien III, 49, and Angela Rongione, 29, both of Philadelphia, were both indicted by federal authorities this week on one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.  “O’Brien, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, is also charged with 26 counts of illegally distributing oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, and Xanax, a Schedule IV controlled substance, outside the usual course of professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose,” according to United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

Federal authorities said O’Brien operated an office at 49 Rolling Lane in Bristol Township’s Levittown section and on Bustleton Avenue in Philadelphia.

The indictment states O’Brien usually charged customers $250 in cash for the first appointment to buy prescriptions and $200 for refill appointments. In one instance, federal authorities alleged O’Brien offered to exchange prescription drugs for a sex act.

“O’Brien allegedly falsified ‘medical’ records to make it look as though customers had received physical examinations and medical treatment from him when they had not,” authorities said.

Click here to read a copy of the indictment

Rongione screened customers at the offices, scheduled appointments, collected “co-pays” for the drugs and kept records of the prescriptions sold by O’Brien, the indictment says.

Authorities alleged that O’Brien sold scripts for thousands of drugs to an informant and an undercover FBI agent during the course of the investigation.

“If convicted, defendant O’Brien faces 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charge and five years for each of the distribution counts and substantial fines and criminal forfeiture. Defendant Rongione faces 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charge,” federal officials said in a press release.

O’Brien was part of a group of about 100 doctors who offered to purchase Lower Bucks County Hospital for $20 million several years back, according to an article from the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Records also show O’Brien’s several medical offices and related businesses filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

A 2011 report from the Burlington County Times details how records show an office O’Brien operated in Middletown was raided by the FBI and a 10-person hyperbaric chamber was confiscated along with documents. The chamber was reported used at Lower Bucks Hospital for several years prior.

Federal officials from several agencies investigated the “pill mill” operation, Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Beth Leahy is handling the prosecution.