2 BROWARD DOCTORS JAILED IN ILLEGAL PAINKILLERS INVESTIGATION

OAKLAND PARK -- Two Broward doctors were arrested on Tuesday on
charges that include doling out heavy-duty painkillers illegally to
undercover agents, a spokesman for the Broward Sheriff's Office said.

The arrests of Raul De Jesus Jimenez, 51, a medical doctor who lives
in Fort Lauderdale, and Kathy Anne Ragone, 41, a chiropractor who
resides in Pompano Beach, following a six-month investigation dubbed
"Operation Oxycon."

Here's what BSO spokesman Hugh Graf said happened that lead to the
arrests:

In April, BSO developed information leading them to investigate
Jimenez and Ragone. "Operation Oxycon" was launched a month later
using investigators from the Sheriff's Office, Hollywood Police
Department, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the FBI.

Between May and September, BSO undercover investigators made numerous
visits to the Tender Loving Multi Medical Pain Center on Northwest
Ninth Avenue in Oakland Park, a business operated primarily by Ragone.
Painkillers like Xanax, Valium, and the very powerful Oxycodone were
allegedly sold there frequently, Graf said in a prepared release.

On several occasions, the undercover detectives were sold the pain
pills without any medical exam and oftentimes without a prescription,
Graf said. The Oxycodone, purchased for as little as $2.50 apiece,
could easily fetch as much as $6 apiece on the streets. All told,
undercover investigators said they purchased well over 2,000 pills
from Jimenez and Ragone.

On Tuesday, investigators executed a search warrant at the Oakland
Park business, hauling away boxes of evidence.

Jimenez faces numerous charges, including trafficking in Oxycodone,
conspiracy to traffic in Oxycodone, delivery of Alprazolam (Xanax and
Valium), and delivery of anabolic steroids.

Ragone was charged with trafficking in Oxycodone and conspiracy to
traffic in Oxycodone. She is additionally charged with practicing
medicine without a license for having allegedly written prescriptions
for the painkillers. As a chiropractor, she is not permitted to do so,
Graf said.

Additional charges against both are pending, he said.