OxyContin Case Gets New Twist

DOCTOR FACES MORE CHARGES

Dr. Cecil Byron Knox And Three Others Are Charged Under The Racketeer
Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act.

The Roanoke physician charged with dispensing drugs, including OxyContin,
that may have killed or seriously injured 10 of his patients now faces
racketeering charges.

A federal grand jury on Friday indicted Dr. Cecil Byron Knox, one of his
nurses and two others who worked at his Second Street Southwest clinic,
charging them under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
The act, designed originally to prosecute drug bosses and organized crime
figures where they have taken over legitimate businesses, has been more
broadly used in recent years.

The new allegations come on top of a previous indictment in February, which
led to the arrests of Knox, 52; his nurse, Beverly Gale Boone, 43; and
Tiffany T. Durham, 28, an emergency medical technician who prosecutors say
helped dole out prescription refills.

Among other things, the three were charged with conspiring to illegally
distribute OxyContin and a variety of other prescription painkillers, and
with prescribing such drugs for no legitimate medical purpose. Federal
authorities allege that they conspired to commit health care fraud,
obstructed a criminal health care investigation and received kickbacks for
patient referrals. Knox's practice, Southwest Virginia Physical Medicine
and Rehabilitation, also has been charged.

Also charged in February were Willard Newbill James Jr., 56, and Kathleen
G. O'Gee , 53, both of whom worked at the clinic, on charges of health care
fraud.

Of the five people indicted, only Durham is not listed among the
racketeering defendants.

U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said that evidence showing a combination of
mail fraud, wire fraud and drug dealing in furtherance of a criminal
enterprise led Western District prosecutors to seek the new indictment.

Knox's case and others have centered on OxyContin, known as "hillbilly
heroin," a high-powered yet grippingly addictive painkiller blamed for
overdoses and criminal activity in the coalfields and nationwide. Debate
continues over the documented merits of its legitimate use versus the toll
it takes on addicts - particularly when doctors overprescribe it.

Dozens of doctors have been charged in OxyContin-related indictments, and
five in Southwest Virginia were convicted last year.

Knox and Boone each face up to life in prison and fines of about $27
million. Durham faces up to life imprisonment and a fine of more than $26
million. James faces a maximum 95-year term and a $2.5 million fine. O'Gee
faces 105 years and a $2.5 million fine.

Knox also faces two wrongful death lawsuits.