CLINIC DOCTOR GUILTY OF FORGERY

A federal jury on Thursday convicted addiction treatment specialist
Dr. Mark Shinderman of forging prescriptions for patients at a
Westbrook methadone clinic.

Shinderman, a well-known Illinois psychiatrist who is considered an
expert in addiction medicine, faces prison time and fines for his
convictions on 58 of the 68 charges against him.

He was found guilty in U.S. District Court of writing another
doctor's name and federal registration number on 25 prescriptions for
controlled substances. The prescriptions were written during 2001 and
2002, when Shinderman was seeing patients at CAP Quality Care, the
for-profit methadone clinic owned by his wife, Noa.

Shinderman also was convicted of 24 counts of aiding and abetting the
acquisition of controlled substances by deception, and two counts of
falsifying records kept by a pharmacy. The jury split on 15 counts of
making false statements on medical records, convicting him of seven
and finding him not guilty on the rest.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark said the convictions showed the
jury rejected the defense claim that Shinderman committed only minor
offenses while providing legitimate medical services to his patients
and causing no harm to them.

"The harm is to the system of regulation," Clark said. "Every step in
the closed system of distribution requires a Drug Enforcement
Administration number, and the people expect accountability."

Clark said the verdict upheld the principle that Shinderman's
disregard for the law is serious.

"The people of Maine expect their doctors to follow the rules," he said.

Although it was not part of the charges against him, Shinderman's
30-year history as a provider of methadone to treat people addicted
to opiates such as heroin was a recurrent theme among the witnesses
in the trial.

Shinderman owns and operates two methadone clinics in Chicago, Ill.
But he testified that since coming to Maine in 2001, he had been the
subject of a "witch hunt" by federal authorities, who denied him a
DEA registration number to write prescriptions here.

Shinderman was supported by many who treat drug addicts in the state.
They said his clinic offered the best treatment, in part because
Shinderman, who is a psychiatrist, offered free services that
included prescribing anti-anxiety and other medications to help
patients deal with their addictions.

Supporters rejected the government's claim that Shinderman wrote the
prescriptions to attract patients, saying the drug-addiction epidemic
meant Shinderman had more patients than he could handle.

Michael Cunniff, one of Shinderman's lawyers, said that controversy
over methadone treatment - giving an opioid addict daily doses of
another addictive drug to prevent cravings and withdrawal symptoms -
was the backdrop of the prosecution against his client.

"It was evident throughout the trial that methadone was an issue,"
Cunniff said. "We made every effort to keep it out."

Shinderman, 64, a tall and dignified-looking man with a neatly
trimmed gray beard, bowed his head in the courtroom as the clerk read
the jury's verdict shortly before 6 p.m. after nearly 13 hours of deliberation.

As soon as the jury left the courtroom, he comforted his wife and
about 30 friends and family members before walking outside. He is on
bail while awaiting sentencing, which could be in about three months.
He faces up to five years in prison on each of the most serious
charges and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count.

"I'm clearly disappointed about the verdict, but I'm happy I had my
day in court," he said to reporters. "I just want to say thank you."

The government contended that Shinderman wrote prescriptions for
controlled substances that included benzodiazepine drugs, which are
known as "benzos" and are popular with some methadone patients
because they enhance the euphoric effect of the drug.

Shinderman was also known for his published opinion that for years,
doctors had under-prescribed methadone to some patients, causing them
to relapse into using street drugs.

Although the normal therapeutic dose of methadone is 80 to 100
milligrams a day and never exceeds 150 milligrams at the only other
Greater Portland clinic, according to trial testimony, some CAP
patients received much more.

Sharon Pratt, who came to the clinic when it opened after becoming
addicted to pain medication she received during cancer treatment,
ended up receiving 1,050 milligrams a day. She said Shinderman also
prescribed other medications for her.

As a result of her high dose, she said she fell asleep while driving
her car and then had a heart attack she attributes to the methadone.
She filed a complaint with the state medical licensing board and has
a pending civil case against Shinderman.

Pratt testified against Shinderman at his criminal trial and waited
at the court all day Thursday for the verdict.

She said patients at CAP liked to see Shinderman because he would
write prescriptions without arguing.

"This sounds weird, but I think he did it because he wanted to be
popular," Pratt said. "I think he liked the attention he got, with
everybody thinking he was awesome."

She said she was grateful for the verdict "on behalf of everyone who
was victimized by this man."

Shinderman's methadone practice will be the focus of a pending civil
case against CAP by the U.S. government. It is expected to go to
trial early next year.