DEA, FBI Agents Raid Local Doctor's Office
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Armed with a search warrant, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and the state Attorney General's office raided the office of Dr. Oliver Herndon who is suspected of passing bad scripts to able-bodied patients.
"We had received complaints that in particular oxycodone was being prescribed for no medical reason," said Gary Davis, DEA Special Agent.
After a several months-long investigation, the agents seized files and immediately suspended the doctor's registration to prescribe narcotics.
"And we've done that because we felt for him to continue to do that would be a threat to the community," Davis said.
"There were some flags that led the local pharmacies to make decisions to refuse to fill pain medicines," Adam Rice, with Spartan Pharmacy, said.
Cooperating in the investigations were several local pharmacists – including Rice -- who says they have long been refusing to fill Dr. Herndon's prescriptions.
"Folks receiving large quantities of high-strength opioids, pain medicines who've appeared to able-bodied healthy individuals," Rice said.
In fact, Rice says Herndon had been virtually blackballed by pharmacists in the region.
"Actually one patient made the comment that they had to drive all the way to Altoona before they found a pharmacy that wasn't familiar enough with the doctor and his prescribing habits that they would actually fill his prescription," he said.
Some patients arrived for their scheduled office visit and while most were turned away, agents searched a woman suspected of seeking a bad script.
The results of the investigation and the evidenced seized will be presented to federal prosecutors seeking an indictment.
"We're working with the folks at the United States Attorney's office and eventually this evidence will be represented to a grand jury," Davis said.
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