Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jul 2006
Source: Portland Press Herald (ME)
Copyright: 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/744
Author: Gregory D. Kesich, Portland Press Herald Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

CLINIC DOCTOR GUILTY OF FORGERY

A federal jury on Thursday convicted addiction treatment specialist 
Dr. Mark Shinderman of forging prescriptions for patients at a 
Westbrook methadone clinic.

Shinderman, a well-known Illinois psychiatrist who is considered an 
expert in addiction medicine, faces prison time and fines for his 
convictions on 58 of the 68 charges against him.

He was found guilty in U.S. District Court of writing another 
doctor's name and federal registration number on 25 prescriptions for 
controlled substances. The prescriptions were written during 2001 and 
2002, when Shinderman was seeing patients at CAP Quality Care, the 
for-profit methadone clinic owned by his wife, Noa.

Shinderman also was convicted of 24 counts of aiding and abetting the 
acquisition of controlled substances by deception, and two counts of 
falsifying records kept by a pharmacy. The jury split on 15 counts of 
making false statements on medical records, convicting him of seven 
and finding him not guilty on the rest.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark said the convictions showed the 
jury rejected the defense claim that Shinderman committed only minor 
offenses while providing legitimate medical services to his patients 
and causing no harm to them.

"The harm is to the system of regulation," Clark said. "Every step in 
the closed system of distribution requires a Drug Enforcement 
Administration number, and the people expect accountability."

Clark said the verdict upheld the principle that Shinderman's 
disregard for the law is serious.

"The people of Maine expect their doctors to follow the rules," he said.

Although it was not part of the charges against him, Shinderman's 
30-year history as a provider of methadone to treat people addicted 
to opiates such as heroin was a recurrent theme among the witnesses 
in the trial.

Shinderman owns and operates two methadone clinics in Chicago, Ill. 
But he testified that since coming to Maine in 2001, he had been the 
subject of a "witch hunt" by federal authorities, who denied him a 
DEA registration number to write prescriptions here.

Shinderman was supported by many who treat drug addicts in the state. 
They said his clinic offered the best treatment, in part because 
Shinderman, who is a psychiatrist, offered free services that 
included prescribing anti-anxiety and other medications to help 
patients deal with their addictions.

Supporters rejected the government's claim that Shinderman wrote the 
prescriptions to attract patients, saying the drug-addiction epidemic 
meant Shinderman had more patients than he could handle.

Michael Cunniff, one of Shinderman's lawyers, said that controversy 
over methadone treatment - giving an opioid addict daily doses of 
another addictive drug to prevent cravings and withdrawal symptoms - 
was the backdrop of the prosecution against his client.

"It was evident throughout the trial that methadone was an issue," 
Cunniff said. "We made every effort to keep it out."

Shinderman, 64, a tall and dignified-looking man with a neatly 
trimmed gray beard, bowed his head in the courtroom as the clerk read 
the jury's verdict shortly before 6 p.m. after nearly 13 hours of deliberation.

As soon as the jury left the courtroom, he comforted his wife and 
about 30 friends and family members before walking outside. He is on 
bail while awaiting sentencing, which could be in about three months. 
He faces up to five years in prison on each of the most serious 
charges and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count.

"I'm clearly disappointed about the verdict, but I'm happy I had my 
day in court," he said to reporters. "I just want to say thank you."

The government contended that Shinderman wrote prescriptions for 
controlled substances that included benzodiazepine drugs, which are 
known as "benzos" and are popular with some methadone patients 
because they enhance the euphoric effect of the drug.

Shinderman was also known for his published opinion that for years, 
doctors had under-prescribed methadone to some patients, causing them 
to relapse into using street drugs.

Although the normal therapeutic dose of methadone is 80 to 100 
milligrams a day and never exceeds 150 milligrams at the only other 
Greater Portland clinic, according to trial testimony, some CAP 
patients received much more.

Sharon Pratt, who came to the clinic when it opened after becoming 
addicted to pain medication she received during cancer treatment, 
ended up receiving 1,050 milligrams a day. She said Shinderman also 
prescribed other medications for her.

As a result of her high dose, she said she fell asleep while driving 
her car and then had a heart attack she attributes to the methadone. 
She filed a complaint with the state medical licensing board and has 
a pending civil case against Shinderman.

Pratt testified against Shinderman at his criminal trial and waited 
at the court all day Thursday for the verdict.

She said patients at CAP liked to see Shinderman because he would 
write prescriptions without arguing.

"This sounds weird, but I think he did it because he wanted to be 
popular," Pratt said. "I think he liked the attention he got, with 
everybody thinking he was awesome."

She said she was grateful for the verdict "on behalf of everyone who 
was victimized by this man."

Shinderman's methadone practice will be the focus of a pending civil 
case against CAP by the U.S. government. It is expected to go to 
trial early next year.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman