News (Media Awareness Project) - US WV: Suspended Doctor Gets New Trial Date |
| Title: | US WV: Suspended Doctor Gets New Trial Date |
| Published On: | 2001-12-21 |
| Source: | Charleston Gazette (WV) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-25 01:32:48 |
SUSPENDED DOCTOR GETS NEW TRIAL DATE
A new trial date joins new charges and new defense lawyers for a
suspended Mingo County doctor accused of demanding sex from
OxyContin-addicted patients.
Dr. Armando M. Acosta now faces a Feb. 12 trial on the 12-count,
superseding indictment handed up against him Dec. 11, U.S. Magistrate
Judge Mary Stanley ruled Thursday.
Stanley initially set a January trial date for Acosta, after the grand
jury indicted him on 18 counts in November.
The new charges replace the old, and echo their allegations that
Acosta improperly prescribed the powerful painkiller to two patients
between April and August 2000.
The new indictment further accuses Acosta of illegally dispensing
OxyContin and such other drugs as alprazolam, diazepam, butorphanol
and hydrocodone to 10 other people between January 1998 and August.
The new charges also point out that "sexual contact between a
physician and his patient" is "dishonorable, unethical and
unprofessional conduct" under state ethical rules for doctors.
Prosecutors allege that photos from a camera placed in Acosta's
Delbarton office show him engaged in sexual acts with various
different women. Some of the photos have been filed under seal with
the court.
Pending Mingo Circuit Court charges, meanwhile, allege that Acosta
sexually assaulted a female patient incapacitated by drugs.
Investigators believe Acosta needlessly prescribed OxyContin to
patients and others, and allowed them to form habits. He then demanded
sexual favors in exchange for further doses of the addictive drug,
investigators contend.
The state Board of Medicine has fielded a string of ethics complaints
against the Cuban-born family practitioner since at least the early
1990s. He was on probation with the board when arrested on the federal
charges, and the board has since suspended his license.
Acosta fired and replaced his original team of lawyers. He remains
jailed pending his trial. Stanley denied a request by the new lawyers
to release him to the custody of his adult daughter and son-in-law in
Huntington.
A new trial date joins new charges and new defense lawyers for a
suspended Mingo County doctor accused of demanding sex from
OxyContin-addicted patients.
Dr. Armando M. Acosta now faces a Feb. 12 trial on the 12-count,
superseding indictment handed up against him Dec. 11, U.S. Magistrate
Judge Mary Stanley ruled Thursday.
Stanley initially set a January trial date for Acosta, after the grand
jury indicted him on 18 counts in November.
The new charges replace the old, and echo their allegations that
Acosta improperly prescribed the powerful painkiller to two patients
between April and August 2000.
The new indictment further accuses Acosta of illegally dispensing
OxyContin and such other drugs as alprazolam, diazepam, butorphanol
and hydrocodone to 10 other people between January 1998 and August.
The new charges also point out that "sexual contact between a
physician and his patient" is "dishonorable, unethical and
unprofessional conduct" under state ethical rules for doctors.
Prosecutors allege that photos from a camera placed in Acosta's
Delbarton office show him engaged in sexual acts with various
different women. Some of the photos have been filed under seal with
the court.
Pending Mingo Circuit Court charges, meanwhile, allege that Acosta
sexually assaulted a female patient incapacitated by drugs.
Investigators believe Acosta needlessly prescribed OxyContin to
patients and others, and allowed them to form habits. He then demanded
sexual favors in exchange for further doses of the addictive drug,
investigators contend.
The state Board of Medicine has fielded a string of ethics complaints
against the Cuban-born family practitioner since at least the early
1990s. He was on probation with the board when arrested on the federal
charges, and the board has since suspended his license.
Acosta fired and replaced his original team of lawyers. He remains
jailed pending his trial. Stanley denied a request by the new lawyers
to release him to the custody of his adult daughter and son-in-law in
Huntington.
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