A pill mill doctor who operated an office in Bristol Township’s Levittown section has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
Dr. William J. O’Brien III, a 51-year-old doctor of osteopathic medicine, was sentenced Wednesday by Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro for illegal distribution of controlled substances resulting in death and additional charges arising from O’Brien’s operation of a pill mill. In addition to the prison time, Alejandro ordered O’Brien to serve five years of supervised release upon release from prison; pay restitution of $342,504 to the bankruptcy trustee in connection with his conviction for conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud; and pay a special assessment of $12,300.
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In summer, O’Brien was found guilty of working with the Pagan Motorcycle Club to provide scripts for oxycodone and methadone like they were candy. He also prescribed the drugs that killed a man in 2013, according to federal prosecutors. During the six-day trial, O’Brien represented himself in court.
“We are pleased with the substantial sentence imposed on the defendant in this case,” United States Attorney Zane David Memeger said in a statement. “Those doctors who distribute dangerous prescription drugs for no legitimate medical purpose need to be held fully accountable when their irresponsible conduct leads to death and addiction among patients.”
“It’s called ‘a practice, not ‘a perfect.’ I did the best I could as a doctor,” the disgraced doctor said in court, according to Philly.com.
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O’Brien operated an office at 49 Rolling Lane in Bristol Township’s Levittown section and on Bustleton Avenue in Philadelphia.
From federal prosecutors:
The evidence at trial showed that O’Brien worked together with Pagans and their associates to operate a “pill mill” out of O’Brien’s medical offices. O’Brien wrote fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone and other drugs, while the Pagans and their associates recruited “pseudo-patients” to buy the fraudulent prescriptions. O’Brien charged $250 cash for the first appointment to obtain prescriptions for controlled substances and $200 cash for each subsequent visit. Oxycodone (30 mg) was in high demand by drug dealers who could sell each pill on the street for $25 to $30. O’Brien sold prescriptions for these dangerous and addictive drugs to hundreds of “pseudo-patients.” After filling the prescriptions, the Pagans and their associates resold the pills on the street. The trial evidence showed that from March 2012 to January 2015, more than 700,000 pills containing oxycodone and other Schedule II controlled substances were distributed by O’Brien in furtherance of the conspiracy. O’Brien generated for himself an estimated $2 million in cash proceeds from the drug trafficking conspiracy.
In connection with his operation of the pill mill, and as proven at trial, O’Brien intentionally distributed, for no legitimate medical purpose, oxycodone, methadone, and cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxer, to Joseph Ennis, 38, of Bucks County. Mr. Ennis had initially sought treatment from O’Brien following a car accident. On December 17, 2013, O’Brien prescribed oxycodone and methadone without a legitimate medical purpose, which combined with the cyclobenzaprine, led to Mr. Ennis’ death. Mr. Ennis died five days later on December 22, 2013 from the combination of these substances. At sentencing, Mrs. Bridget Shaw, Mr. Ennis’ sister, asked the Court to consider “the countless victims [O’Brien] fooled who are not here to represent themselves. The patients he turned into addicts for his profit and their families who are now left swimming in hospital bills or worse, wondering how this hell came to be . . . Rather than save lives, according to the oath he took, he chose to ruin them.”
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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.
O’Brien has been in federal custody since his arrest last year.
