END OF CASE IS 'ALMOST BITTERSWEET'

All Charges Have Been Dropped Against Beverly Gale Boone, Former Office
Manager Of Roanoke Pain Doctor Cecil Knox

At the government's request, a federal judge has dropped all charges
against Beverly Gale Boone, former office manager of Roanoke pain doctor
Cecil Knox, and ordered that the charges cannot be brought again.

After more than four years of prosecution, a two-month trial and six
amended indictments, Boone was the last of five defendants to reach some
resolution in a case that at one point included 313 charges each against
Knox and Boone and threatened life in prison for both of them.

"I am innocent, and I would have and was prepared to go to the next trial
and defend myself," Boone, 46, said Monday. "So this is almost bittersweet
for me because I've done a lot of work for myself for four years."

In exchange for dismissing the charges, Boone entered into pretrial
diversion, which usually means 18 months' probation for a defendant. But
the government accepted the period of supervised release that Boone has
already served.

According to federal prosecutor Tom Bondurant, the pretrial diversion
agreement signed by Boone includes the statement "Upon your accepting
responsibility for your wrongful behavior ..." and states that she
committed misdemeanor health care fraud.

But Boone refuses to interpret that as an admission of guilt on her part.

"I did not violate a law, and I stood by that," she said.

Bondurant said Monday that the government had met its objective in the case
when Knox pleaded guilty earlier this month and gave up his medical license
and his right to prescribe medication. Knox pleaded guilty Sept. 2 to
felony racketeering, two counts of marijuana distribution and misdemeanor
health care fraud.

"Cecil Knox is no longer a doctor, he can no longer write scrips and he's a
convicted racketeer, and I think with those objectives being met, I don't
think there's any reason to go further," Bondurant said.

Boone was arrested in February 2002 along with Knox and Tiffany Durham, who
also worked at Knox's Roanoke practice, Southwest Virginia Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation. They were charged with conspiring to illegally
distribute drugs, including methadone and OxyContin; distributing narcotics
for no legitimate medical purpose; racketeering and health care fraud,
among other things. Their actions were alleged to have resulted in death or
serious injury to patients.

Counselor William Newbill James Jr. and alternative medicine specialist
Kathleen O'Gee, who both practiced with Knox, were also arrested and
charged with health care fraud.

Just before the October 2003 trial, Durham pleaded guilty to knowledge of a
felony. Midtrial, a judge dropped all charges against O'Gee. The other
three defendants were acquitted on some charges, and the jury was hung on
the remaining charges.

About three months later, Knox, Boone and James were indicted again on the
charges that were not acquittals and on some additional charges. Charges
against James were dismissed in March 2004, leaving only Knox and Boone as
defendants.

In light of the outcome of Boone's case, Durham's attorney, Jeff Dorsey,
said he plans to take another look at his client's case. She has not been
sentenced.

"I will be exploring all possibilities for Tiffany Durham, including the
possibility of her case being dismissed as well," he said.

Boone said Monday that the case has devoured her life for the past four
years. She has not been able to find a job, instead spending her days
working on her own defense.

After she was arrested at Knox's office, her then-13-year-old daughter
slept on a cot beside her bed for months, she said, and her entire family
has suffered emotional strain. She said it has been her family, friends and
spirituality that pulled her through.

"Don't back down," she said she told herself, "even in the face of the
power, the intimidation and the unlimited finances that the government
could put behind their prosecution."

John Brownlee, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, made a
statement Monday through his office's spokeswoman, Heidi Coy.

"We understand this has been difficult for Mrs. Boone, and we are pleased
that she has accepted responsibility for her fraudulent conduct and has
agreed to serve 18 months' probation," Coy said.

Boone's attorney, Bill Cleaveland, said he does not believe that his client
needed to be involved in the investigation at all because Knox was clearly
the government's focus.

"I think that the fact that the government spent as much time, money and
energy as they did to prosecute her to end up at this point speaks
volumes," he said.