DOCTOR GUILTY OF DRUG COUNT

Jury Acquits On Fraud, Money Laundering

LONDON -- A doctor at a Paintsville clinic conspired to illegally prescribe
hundreds of thousands of pills that fed drug abuse in Eastern Kentucky, a
federal jury ruled yesterday.

Jurors deliberated more than seven hours before convicting Yakov Drabovskiy
on one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs and
two counts of writing prescriptions without legitimate medical reason. The
jury acquitted Drabovskiy of one count involving money laundering and one
count of Medicaid fraud.

Drabovskiy faces up to 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Karen
Caldwell scheduled sentencing for Oct. 23.

Drabovskiy was among a number of Eastern Kentucky doctors arrested the last
two years as state and federal authorities tried to crack down on improper
prescribing by doctors -- one source of legal drugs being diverted for
illegal sale and use.

With the verdict against Drabovskiy, five doctors who practiced in the
region have been convicted or pleaded guilty. Three others still face charges.

Drabovskiy worked for Dr. Frederick Cohn at a pain clinic Cohn opened in
Paintsville in August 2000. The clinic quickly gained a reputation as a
"pill mill" where it was easy to get drugs.

People flocked to the office -- among them drug addicts and dealers --
lining the sidewalk outside at times, according to trial testimony. There
were 10,000 patient files on hand when the state police and FBI raided the
office Aug. 2, 2001, and shut it down.

Cohn, 70, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty in February and is awaiting
sentencing.

In closing arguments yesterday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger West told
jurors that Cohn and Drabovskiy operated a shoddy practice aimed at making
money by churning out prescriptions with little or no examination of the
patients.

Tim Johnson, the FBI agent who investigated the case, testified that the
two doctors saw a total of more than 200 patients one day in February 2001.
But Drabovskiy also worked alone some days when Cohn was gone, and saw
nearly 120 patients by himself on one occasion, according to Johnson's review.

Johnson said that in many cases, there was no blood pressure or other vital
signs recorded in patient files. The diagnosis listed in hundreds of files
was basically the same, and the treatment plan was similar despite the
complaint, Johnson testified.

Many patients got a standard "Cohn cocktail" of Lorcet, Soma and either
Xanax or Valium -- a painkiller, a muscle relaxer and an antidepressant --
according to testimony.

The high volume meant the doctors spent little time with some patients --
often three minutes or less. In one case, an undercover informant who saw
Drabovskiy emerged with a prescription in 70 seconds, West said.

To save time, Cohn and Drabovskiy used prescriptions that office employees
had written out before the patients arrived for office visits, so that all
the doctors had to do was sign the slip.

"They didn't even come close to meeting minimal standards of care," West
said. "It wasn't legitimate medical practice."

Altogether, the two doctors wrote prescriptions for 6.9 million pills in
one year. The practice grossed $1.8 million, West said.

The clinic billed Medicaid for more than 300 patients Drabovskiy saw, even
though he did not have the necessary clearance to charge for seeing
Medicaid patients, Johnson said.

Drabovskiy, however, adamantly denied doing anything wrong. Drabovskiy, a
Russian in his early 50s who said he came to the United States for work,
represented himself with the help of interpreters and Steve Milner of
Lexington, his advisory attorney.

Drabovskiy said it wasn't the prosecutor's job to judge how long a doctor
should see a patient, and said he prescribed drugs because he thought
patients needed them. It is legitimate to use drugs to treat pain; some
doctors advocate using even more than he and Cohn prescribed, he said.

Drabovskiy said others in the office handled billing for Medicaid, and that
he could not refuse to see those patients. And he said he did not agree
with Cohn to break the law, describing himself only as an employee.

Cohn told him the mix of prescriptions to write, Drabovskiy said.

"A boss is a boss, and so that was his instructions," Drabovskiy said. "I
do not understand why the guilt of one person is being transferred onto me."

West, however, said Drabovskiy was blaming others for his own improper acts.

After the verdict, West asked Caldwell to revoke the doctor's bond and
order him held until sentencing.

Caldwell, however, allowed Drabovskiy to remain free, noting there is
little risk he would flee because he has turned in his green card and passport.