ADDICTION SPECIALIST CONVICTED

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

Shinderman, a well known Illinois psychiatrist who is considered an
expert in addiction medicine, faces prison time for his conviction on
59 of the 67 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 was also convicted of 25
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 six 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 caused 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., following 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.

"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.

While 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 he state medical licensing board and has a
pending civil case against Shinderman.

She 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." Pratt 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.