For members: Former ER doc sentenced to 18 months for drug conspiracy, false statement convictions

Michael Lapaglia

Michael LaPaglia (File photo)

KNOXVILLE—A former emergency room doctor and ambulance medical director in Oak Ridge and Anderson County was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Thursday more than two years after he pleaded guilty in federal court to drug conspiracy and false statement charges.

U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer granted a request from Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne-Marie Svolto to lengthen the sentence for Michael A. LaPaglia to 18 months. The guideline range had been six to 12 months. Svolto said even 18 months might be considered too lenient. When he is released from prison, LaPaglia will be on supervised released for three years. He also has to pay restitution of about $5,000.

LaPaglia, who has been a doctor for almost 20 years, pleaded guilty to the two federal charges in an information in November 2018, meaning before he had been indicted by a grand jury.

His plea agreement said he had obtained pre-signed prescriptions from another doctor, and the other doctor also give LaPaglia blank prescriptions that LaPaglia filled out, forging the other doctor’s signature. Drug patients would pay LaPaglia and the other doctor $300 cash per month in exchange for the controlled-substance prescriptions. The prescriptions included diazepam; buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone; clonazepam, also known as Klonopin; and pregabalin, also known as Lyrica. The doctors distributed and dispensed the Schedule III, IV, and V drugs between March and September 2018, according to the plea agreement.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:

Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Michael Lapaglia
Michael LaPaglia (File photo)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—A former emergency room doctor and ambulance medical director in Oak Ridge and Anderson County was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Thursday more than two years after he pleaded guilty in federal court to drug conspiracy and false statement charges.

Michael Lapaglia

Michael LaPaglia (File photo)

KNOXVILLE—A former emergency room doctor and ambulance medical director in Oak Ridge and Anderson County was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Thursday more than two years after he pleaded guilty in federal court to drug conspiracy and false statement charges.

U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer granted a request from Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne-Marie Svolto to lengthen the sentence for Michael A. LaPaglia to 18 months. The guideline range had been six to 12 months. Svolto said even 18 months might be considered too lenient. When he is released from prison, LaPaglia will be on supervised released for three years. He also has to pay restitution of about $5,000.

LaPaglia, who has been a doctor for almost 20 years, pleaded guilty to the two federal charges in an information in November 2018, meaning before he had been indicted by a grand jury.

His plea agreement said he had obtained pre-signed prescriptions from another doctor, and the other doctor also give LaPaglia blank prescriptions that LaPaglia filled out, forging the other doctor’s signature. Drug patients would pay LaPaglia and the other doctor $300 cash per month in exchange for the controlled-substance prescriptions. The prescriptions included diazepam; buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone; clonazepam, also known as Klonopin; and pregabalin, also known as Lyrica. The doctors distributed and dispensed the Schedule III, IV, and V drugs between March and September 2018, according to the plea agreement.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:

Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

CTF finds about 10 grams of suspected heroin in second search of home

James William Donald

James William Donald

  Law enforcement officers found about 10 grams of suspected heroin in their second search of a home on West Outer Drive in less than two years. The defendant, James William Donald, 71, told Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force Agent Kenneth Woods that he would “take money from other individuals for the purchase of heroin as well as provide heroin to friends that would visit his residence,” according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge in December. The home on West Outer Drive is within about 75 feet of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, according to the warrants. The most recent search by the Crime Task Force occurred on Thursday, December 20. The CTF had a search warrant to seize all controlled substances, the warrants said. [Read more…]

Defendant apprehended overseas after drug, money laundering indictment

Moshin Agha

Moshin Agha

 

A defendant was apprehended overseas in Dubai after being indicted on drug and money laundering charges in Anderson County, according to court records.

Moshin Agha, 30, was picked up by authorities in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and then brought to the United States, according to a motion to increase bond and set bond conditions that was filed in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on July 18. After being brought to the United States, Agha was turned over to state authorities in New York.

Agha, who has an address listed in India, waived extradition and is now in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, according to court and jail records. It’s not clear when he was apprehended in Dubai and brought to New York.

A writ of criminal capias that had been issued November 2, 2016, ordered Agha to be detained and brought to Anderson County. It was executed with Agha’s arrest by Simon Byrne, acting director of the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County, on Wednesday, July 18. [Read more…]

Police: Man found with suspected meth residue, $29K; charged with money laundering

James Phillip Chase

James Phillip Chase

Police said they found large vacuum seal bags that contained suspected crystal methamphetamine residue and $29,000 in a pickup truck pulled over for speeding in Oliver Springs on Tuesday.

Also found in the vehicle were tracking numbers, numerous shipping envelopes and rubber bands, addresses, documents related to the sale of controlled substances, deposit slips, and packing tape, said Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Wilson, an investigator with the Seventh Judicial Crime Task Force in Anderson County.

The defendant, James Phillip Chase, 53, of Dutch Valley Road, has been charged with money laundering, simple possession of a Schedule II drug (methamphetamine), and speeding. He remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton early Saturday morning. [Read more…]

Four students found with drugs, hatchet, ski mask, ORPD says

Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

A 14-year-old male who refused to go to school on Wednesday possessed a tactical load bearing vest, and four students detained Thursday, including one adult student, were found near Oak Ridge High School in a car that contained drugs, a ski mask, and a hatchet, authorities said.

The news comes less than one day after the Oak Ridge Police Department announced it seized a stolen, loaded gun from the car of a student who had allegedly caused a disturbance at Oak Ridge High School and said a knife had been seized from a student during an altercation on a school bus.

In a Thursday morning press release, the ORPD said officers responded to a report of an unruly juvenile at a home on Baypath Drive at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“When officers arrived, they met with the mother and older sibling of a 14 year-old juvenile male who had refused to go to school,” the press release said. “Officers interviewed the juvenile and noted he was in possession of a tactical load bearing vest. Officers ultimately assisted in transporting the juvenile to the Methodist Medical Center emergency room for an evaluation, as well as coordinating with Juvenile Court authorities and referring the incident to DCS for follow-up. No criminal charges were filed. However, the investigation remains ongoing, and no further details will be released at this time.” [Read more…]

Bullet holes found in door, teen confesses to shooting, police say

Rayshawn Lee Freeman

Rayshawn Lee Freeman

Note: This story was updated at 8 p.m.

An Oak Ridge teenager already in jail after a search of a Utica Circle home allegedly found narcotics and a semi-automatic pistol has confessed to a shooting at a home on Bethune Circle where residents reported multiple bullet holes in their front door early Thursday morning, authorities said Tuesday.

The incident began just before 3 a.m. Thursday when the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a “shots fired” call in the Scarboro neighborhood. Police saturated the neighborhood with patrol units and interviewed potential witnesses, but no evidence of a shooting was found, the ORPD said in a press release. [Read more…]

AC EMS doesn’t carry most medications found during search of doctor’s home, director says

Michael Lapaglia

Michael A. Lapaglia

Its former medical director was arrested Tuesday on drug and gun charges, and Anderson County Emergency Medical Services issued a statement on Wednesday that said most of the medications allegedly found in the home of Dr. Michael A. LaPaglia are not carried by the ambulance service.

The statement also said that the Anderson County EMS medical director is never allowed or provided access to any controlled equipment, supplies, or medications.

“Anderson County EMS has a very solid and concise procedure for controlled substances, with many levels of reporting and accountability,” Director Nathan Sweet said. [Read more…]