A Northeast-based family doctor and his receptionist were charged last week with running a “pill mill” in their Bustleton medical office as well as a second office in Bucks County.
A federal grand jury indicted Dr. William J. O’Brien III, 49, and Angela Rongione, 29, both of Philadelphia, on Thursday, accusing them of conspiring to distribute controlled substances. O’Brien was also charged with 26 counts of distributing prescription painkillers illegally.
From January 2014 through December, O’Brien allegedly wrote prescriptions for oxycodone and alprazolam to would-be patients although he did not examine or counsel them as required by law. The physician also falsified medical records to appear as if he had fulfilled the legal requirements for writing those prescriptions, the grand jury claimed. O’Brien and Rongione worked from offices at 9892 Bustleton Ave. and from 49 Rolling Lane in Levittown, Bucks County.
Oxycodone is a generic name for a medication used in Percocet pills. The pills typically contain a combination of oxycodone and another drug, such as acetaminophen, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Alprazolam is a generic medication commonly sold under the brand name Xanax.
O’Brien and Rongione would charge first-time visitors $250 to obtain a prescription, while they would charge repeat customers $200 per visit. Rongione typically referred to the fees as “co-pays,” screened customers, scheduled appointments, collected cash and kept records of prescriptions distributed by the office. The conspirators allegedly instructed patients not to fill their prescriptions at pharmacies nearby the offices so as not to arouse suspicion about the medical practice.
The indictment cited two unnamed informants who each allegedly bought prescriptions from O’Brien and Rongione repeatedly last year. One of the informants recorded a conversation with the doctor in which he allegedly offered to give her a prescription in exchange for oral sex.
Each defendant faces the possibility of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charge. O’Brien faces the possibility of five additional years in prison for each distribution charge. ••
