PHYSICIAN IS ACCUSED OF VIOLATING DRUG LAWS

A physician in Bridgeton who specializes in pain management was
arrested Monday on a 93-count indictment accusing him of selling
prescriptions for the medical equivalent of cocaine, heroin, morphine
and speed.

The case against Dr. Marlou Davis had been foreshadowed when similar
charges were filed against him in October 2000 but dismissed by the
state just before trial.

St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch explained Monday
that authorities chose to drop that case to build a stronger one after
learning of the scope of the situation.

"It mushroomed into a much bigger case than we initially anticipated,"
McCulloch said.

He said investigators documented hundreds of separate incidents but
that prosecutors chose to hold the case down to 93.

Those involved prescriptions written to about 15 people who
authorities said did not need them for medical reasons.

The doctor has not been allowed to write prescriptions since the 2000
case was filed, McCulloch said.

Davis, 53, who lives in Overland, was charged by a grand jury in a
suppressed indictment last week with unlawful delivery of controlled
substances. Each count carries a possible prison sentence of five to
15 years. The case was revealed after his arrest Monday afternoon.
Bail was set at $100,000.

"This is no different than a guy standing on the street corner selling
crack, although this is much more insidious because this guy is
supposed to be a health professional taking care of people," McCulloch
said.

Unusual office hours and a high volume of patients first attracted the
attention of federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents and police
in St. Louis County, authorities said.

Clients would visit Davis' office, at 3450 Bridgeland Drive, near
DePaul Health Center, as late as 3 a.m., and he would write as many as
100 prescriptions a day, authorities charged.

"During the course of this investigation, our undercover operatives
who went to the doctor's office received prescriptions without any
medical complaints," said William J. Renton, special agent in charge
of the DEA region based in St. Louis.

Davis also had legitimate patients for whom he prescribed medications
for pain and for weight control, officials said.

Davis' lawyer from the 2000 case, Derek Rudman, said Monday that he
felt the original case had been weak.

"It became clear while we prepared for trial that my client ran a
credible practice, and the individuals who were testifying against him
were not credible," Rudman said.

Davis has been in court before.

In October 1996, a federal judge ordered him to pay $4.1 million in a
civil suit that accused him of making fraudulent Medicare claims in
1986 and 1987. The status of his appeal could not be determined Monday.

In 1991, a federal indictment charged Davis with billing Medicare for
advanced tests on patients whose conditions did not warrant them. The
U.S. attorney's office dismissed the case after a jury was picked
because a government witness said Davis might have been justified after all.

Davis has been licensed in Missouri since 1976.