LAWYER SAYS DOCTOR FOUGHT FOR PATIENTS

ROANOKE - A doctor accused of illegally dispensing OxyContin and
other drugs was a compassionate maverick who was simply trying to ease
his patients' pain, defense lawyers told jurors yesterday.

Dr. Cecil Byron Knox "became one of the strongest patient advocates,"
his lawyer, Tony Anderson, said in federal court. "His resiliency and
just outright stubbornness to do what's right for his patients got him
into that chair he's sitting in today."

Knox, 54, a pain specialist, faces drug, fraud, conspiracy and other
charges stemming from a federal sting last year at his Southwest
Virginia Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation clinic in Roanoke.

Prosecutors said in court documents that from 1998 to 2002, Knox and
his staff billed health insurers almost $1 million for medical
services and dispensing narcotics, including OxyContin, methadone, MS
Contin and oxycodone, that in some cases served no medical purpose.

Prosecutors said Knox, a former paid speaker for OxyContin maker
Purdue Pharma, falsified the kind of services he provided. Other times
he billed for medical services administered by his staff that required
personal contact by a physician.

One witness told investigators he traded marijuana with Knox in
exchange for OxyContin and methadone.

While federal prosecutors have said some of his patients were killed
by his drug treatments, Knox is not accused in those deaths.

Knox's office manager, Beverly Gale Boone, 44, also faces charges,
including health-care fraud and conspiracy.

Two colleagues who worked in the same building, Willard Newbill James,
58, of Roanoke, and Kathleen O'Gee, 53, of Pulaski, face charges of
health-care fraud and paying and receiving kickbacks for referring
patients.

During opening statements yesterday, Anderson spoke of patients who
hobbled into Knox's office with bad backs or gunshot wounds. In many
instances, Knox developed personal relationships with patients, going
to their homes and helping them get comfortable, Anderson said.

"Dr. Knox researched and found a way to fight for his patients," he
said. "Dr. Knox quickly became a thorn in the side of [Medicare and
Medicaid], and that's where this investigation started."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rusty Fitzgerald said outside of court that
Knox was not simply a good doctor surrounded by hopeless addicts.

"Pain can be managed safely," Fitzgerald said. "There are people who
do the same work [legally] with equally good outcomes."

Knox's trial is expected to continue for six weeks.