A doctor who operated an office in Bristol Township’s Levittown section was found guilty Tuesday of a number of charges related to the operation of an illegal “pill mill” in cooperation with a motorcycle gang.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice confirmed to LevittownNow.com that Dr. William J. O’Brien III, a 51-year-old doctor of osteopathic medicine, was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; one count of distribution of controlled substances resulting in death; 117 counts of distribution of controlled substances, that is, oxycodone, methadone, and amphetamines; money laundering conspiracy; conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud; and making false statements under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding. The defendant was acquitted of four counts of distribution of controlled substances.
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The doctor is said to have worked with the Pagan Motorcycle Club to provide scripts for oxycodone and methadone like they were candy.
O’Brien operated an office at 49 Rolling Lane in Bristol Township’s Levittown section and on Bustleton Avenue in Philadelphia.
Federal investigators said that O’Brien, who represented himself in court, wrote prescriptions for oxycodone, methadone and cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxer, to Joseph Ennis, 36, whose family is from Bristol, after a December 2013 car crash. The drugs were prescribed by O’Brien “without a legitimate medical purpose, which combined with the cyclobenzaprine, led to Mr. Ennis’ death” days after the crash.
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“The illegal prescribing of opioid pain medications has led to an epidemic of overdose deaths and heroin addiction throughout the country,” said U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger. We are pleased that the jury saw through Dr. O’Brien’s clown act at trial and concluded that for the sake of profit he distributed opioid painkillers for no legitimate medical purpose, and that he caused the death of a patient through his illegal prescribing practices.”
Added FBI Special Agent-in-Charge William Sweeney: “Our communities are facing a crisis involving prescription and opioid abuse which is only made worse by insiders, like the defendant, who used his degree and position of trust to benefit himself by victimizing vulnerable individuals. He was an integral player in this drug distribution conspiracy. Amid an unprecedented opioid epidemic, the defendant deliberately breached his solemn oath to ‘do no harm,’ and instead dispensed oxycodone and methadone like candy – which he knew would end up on the street – even contributing to a death.
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Federal authorities said that O’Brien and members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club worked together to illegally obtain and resell approximately 378,914 pills. The street value of the drugs were roughly $5 million with O’Brien himself generating $2 million in cash.
Evidence displayed at trial showed O’Brien was able to earn $20,000 per week in cash from the sale of the drugs he illegally dealt. Receipts of the cash were not kept or recorded into the books of his company. Prosecutors said O’Brien told employees to shred business cash slips at the end of each day. The doctor reportedly transported thousands in cash in a briefcase to the home he shared with his wife, Elizabeth Hibbs.
The couple divorced in October 2012 and cited “irretrievable breakdown” as the cause of the break-up in court papers filed with the Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County. Despite the divorce, federal authorities the two “lived together, worked together, and by all outward appearances, appeared to continue to act as husband and wife.”
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Hibbs, who was charged and already has pleaded guilty, deposited the drug money into various bank accounts and into safety deposit boxes, including one in Newtown. Prosecutors said the “elaborate mechanism concealed the fact that the source of the cash was O’Brien’s illegal drug distribution operation.”
The couple also was found to have made false statements under oath during bankruptcy proceedings for WJO Inc., which the couple led.
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O’Brien is scheduled to be sentenced on October 5, according to a Department of Justice spokesperson. As of Wednesday, he was being held by federal authorities.
