MAN GETS 57 MONTHS FOR SELLING PAIN PILLS

A Lancaster man was sentenced in federal court last week for conspiring to
distribute oxycodone after an investigation involving the Comprehensive
Care & Pain Management Center in Myrtle Beach.

Curtis Albert Cooper, 64 of Lancaster, was sentenced Friday in federal
court in Florence for conspiracy to distribute between 1,400 and 2,000
grams of oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, between 1980 and
2001, according to a news release.

Cooper was sentenced by Judge C. Weston Houck to 57 months imprisonment,
followed by three years supervised release, during which he will be treated
and tested for narcotics.

Testimony at the hearing indicated an investigation initiated by the Drug
Enforcement Administration revealed a large number of Lancaster County
residents were going to Comprehensive Care & Pain Management Centers, a
Myrtle Beach pain clinic, to get pain pills. A large portion of the pills
were subsequently being resold on the streets of Lancaster, the release
said. Search warrants and interviews identified more than 100 Lancaster
County area residents who were receiving controlled substances from the
clinic. Undercover operations conducted in and around Lancaster County led
investigators to Cooper, who was identified as a large-scale supplier of
pills such as OxyContin, Tylox, Hydrocodone, Valium, Xanax and Soma.

An undercover purchase from Cooper led to the execution of a search warrant
at his residence. Agents seized numerous pill bottles with names besides
Cooper, pills, a Lincoln Continental and more than $86,000. The U.S.
Attorney's office in Florence handled the case, which was investigated by
DEA agents and Lancaster County Sheriff's Office.