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For members: Three plead guilty, one sentenced to 10 years in drug conspiracy after overdose death

Posted at 7:16 pm July 7, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Three people have pleaded guilty in federal court to drug and conspiracy charges related at least in part to an overdose death in Oak Ridge in 2017. One of the defendants, a 28-year-old Knoxville woman, was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison on Thursday. The drug conspiracy involved the distribution of fentanyl and heroin.

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Three people have pleaded guilty in federal court to drug and conspiracy charges related at least in part to an overdose death in Oak Ridge in 2017. One of the defendants, a 28-year-old Knoxville woman, was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison on Thursday. The drug conspiracy involved the distribution of fentanyl and heroin.

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Filed Under: Courts, Courts, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Premium Content, Slider, United States Tagged With: Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and heroin, drug conspiracy, Drug Enforcement Administration, Drug Related Death Task Force, fentanyl, heroin, Jaleen G. Allen, Katarina S. Carinci, Knox County Regional Forensics Center, Knoxville Police Department, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Police Department, Samuel Hammond, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Thomas Varlan, U.S. Attorneys' Office, U.S. District Court

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

Posted at 9:32 am May 28, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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.

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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.

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Filed Under: Courts, Front Page News, Health, Premium Content, Top Stories, United States Tagged With: Anne-Marie Svolto, conspiring to distribute pills and sublingual strips, controlled substances, drug conspiracy, emergency room doctor, false statement, Francis L. Lloyd Jr., Katherine A. Crytzer, making a false or fraudulent statement, Michael A. Lapaglia, plea agreement, sentencing, U.S. District Court

Roane sheriff plays role in indictment, conviction of Chattanooga pain clinic owner

Posted at 10:15 pm January 28, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Jack Stockton

Jack Stockton

The Roane County Sheriff’s Department was one of several law enforcement agencies that took part in an investigation that led to the indictment and conviction of the owner of two pain clinics, or “pill mills,” in Chattanooga, authorities said. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were also involved in the investigation that led to the convictions of four people, including Barbara Lang, a.k.a. “Aunt Bea,” 60, of Rossville, Georgia, who owned and operated Superior One Pain Clinic and Primary Care Pain Clinic in Chattanooga, federal officials said. Lang was convicted of drug trafficking and financial crimes. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Police and Fire, Roane County, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: Aunt Bea, Barbara Lang, Charles Larmore, Chattanooga Police Department, drug conspiracy, Drug Enforcement Administration, drug trafficking, Elite Care, Faith Blake, financial crimes, Gregg L. Sullivan, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Jack Stockton, Jerome Sherard, medication, Michael D. Porter, narcotics, opioids, oxycodone, pain clinic, pill mill, pills, Primary Care Pain Clinic, Roane County Sheriff's Department, Rockwood Police Department, Sherard Clinic, Superior One Pain Clinic, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tracy Stone, U.S. Attorneys' Office, U.S. District Court, Xanax

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