PROSECUTORS LOOK AT DOCTOR IN DRUG CASE

He Prescribed OxyContin To Man Who Pleaded Guilty To Selling It

Federal prosecutors in northern Virginia have obtained 18 convictions
against dealers and abusers of the prescription pain medicine OxyContin and
are investigating a doctor they consider a co-conspirator in plans to
illegally distribute thousands of the pills.

The doctor at the center of the investigation, William E. Hurwitz of
McLean, has shut down his practice and defiantly accused the government of
interfering with the doctor-patient relationship.

Court documents do not name Hurwitz, but he acknowledges that he is the
unnamed McLean doctor who was a source of OxyContin to Timothy Dwayne
Urbani, 32, of Manassas. Urbani pleaded guilty earlier this month to
dealing between 23,000 and 74,000 OxyContin pills in Tennessee and Virginia.

As part of a plea bargain, Urbani admitted that he participated in an armed
robbery of a Fauquier County pharmacy, an arson-insurance scam in
Winchester, and other criminal action to obtain OxyContin for resale on the
street.

He also said he bought $72,000 worth of OxyContin over 10 months in 2001
and 2002 from a prescription obtained through Hurwitz. The prescriptions
allowed Urbani to obtain 1,500 OxyContin pills every two to four weeks.

Urbani pleaded guilty to three counts, including conspiracy to distribute
OxyContin and conspiracy to commit arson, that collectively carry a maximum
sentence of 45 years. As part of the agreement, Urbani agreed to testify at
any future trials.

Hurwitz has not been charged. He has a history of disciplinary action taken
against him by the medical boards in the District of Columbia and Virginia.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that federal prosecutors were
investigating Dr. Joseph K. Statkus, the operator of a pain clinic in
Centreville, Va.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Hurwitz said he is being persecuted for
the misdeeds of his patients.

"I felt a duty to these patients, understanding there was a risk they might
behave improperly," he said. "Our role in life as doctors is to listen to
patients, to try to make them feel better or to cure them."

Court records indicate that Urbani admitted to Hurwitz that he had been
arrested for dealing OxyContin, but that Hurwitz continued to prescribe the
medicine. But he warned Urbani to be careful because the Drug Enforcement
Administration was investigating him.

Urbani's wife was given a prescription of 500 OxyContin pills; the medical
records indicate Hurwitz's basis for giving the prescription was "anxiety
due to continuing legal harassment by the federal prosecutor" against the
Urbanis, according to court records.

Hurwitz said that Urbani is under pressure from the federal government to
portray him badly. He also said that it sets a dangerous precedent to hold
doctors accountable for patients' actions.

"You might make the analogy to a car salesman. A guy who sells a car
doesn't know if he's selling it to a safe driver.... Where do you cut the
liability?" Hurwitz asked.

Prosecutors declined to comment specifically about the investigation
against Hurwitz. U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty said, "The 18 convictions
demonstrate the very serious commitment of this office to prosecute the
illegal prescription of pain medication, including the very powerful
OxyContin."

At one court hearing, though, prosecutor Gene Rossi said that Hurwitz
"through willful blindness, deliberate ignorance, if not intent ... would
give obscene amounts of pills" to Urbani and others who have been a focus
of the investigation.