Pubdate: Sat, 19 Jul 2008 Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) Copyright: 2008 The Tribune Co. Contact: http://www.tbo.com/news/opinion/submissionform.htm Website: http://www.tampatrib.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446 Author: Sherri Ackerman, The Tampa Tribune Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n694/a04.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone) 4 OVERDOSES SINCE '06 LINKED TO DOCTOR TAMPA - Terry Underwood remembers when his wife found their son's body. Timothy Underwood had gone out the night before with friends, his father said. Sometime before morning, someone brought the 23-year-old construction worker home. He died while lying in the back seat of his car in the driveway. "We didn't even know he was there until we woke up and found him," said Terry Underwood, a route driver for a convenience store chain who lives in Seffner. "He made it home." The cause of his death May 11 was an accidental overdose of two prescription drugs: alprazolam and oxycodone. He had gotten a prescription for the alprazolam, also known as Xanax, four days earlier from a doctor named John Mubang. Hillsborough County sheriff's detectives have tied Mubang to at least three other accidental overdose deaths since 2006 in an investigation that led to a raid this week of the doctor's Seffner clinic. Affidavit Names 4 Victims Mubang, former medical director of the Hillsborough County jail system, was arrested Wednesday on charges of prescribing drugs for monetary gain and trafficking controlled substances. In an affidavit released Friday, detectives named four victims including Underwood. The others: "c Denise Sims, 42, of Seffner, who died Jan. 18, 2006, of the combined effects of alprazolam and oxycodone. She had received a prescription for the medications from Mubang 10 days earlier. "c Michael Tarantola, 32, of Wimauma, died March 23, 2007. Mubang wrote him a prescription for the muscle relaxer carisoprodol three days earlier, the affidavit said. Tarantola died of an accidental overdose of the drug along with alprazolam, hydrocodone and oxycodone. "c Michael Grogan, whose mother found her 53-year-old son on the morning of July 28, 2007, lying on his back in bed with a peanut butter sandwich in his hand. "I touched him and I knew he was gone," said Betty Grogan of Brandon. Her son was addicted to prescription medications, she said. A medical examiner's report found Michael Grogan died of an accidental overdose of morphine, alprazolam, carisoprodol, temazepam and doxepin. Mubang is listed as Grogan's last attending physician, according to the affidavit. A vehicle accident 31 years earlier had left Grogan with a battered body and severe head injuries, his mother said. He frequently sought medicine from Mubang and other doctors. "It seems like the doctor would have checked to see what else he was taking," Betty Grogan said. A Tampa Tribune investigation also uncovered another victim, 21-year-old Carl Hyder. Records show he died of the combined effects of alcohol, hydrocodone and alprazolam. Investigators found drugs prescribed by Mubang two days earlier: hydrocodone, a pain killer, and alprazolam, as well as carisoprodol marketed under the brand name Soma. Mubang, 57, originally from Cameroon, Africa, operates a corporation called Jerik University at 741 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. in Seffner, public records show. Corporation officers are listed as Mubang, president; his wife Angeline Mubang, vice president; and 16-year-old Fred Mubang, treasurer. Angeline Mubang also is a registered nurse, according to the affidavit. John Mubang also has a medical license in Pennsylvania and received his medical degree from Hahnemann University, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., according to the Florida Department of Health. Detectives Visited Him 13 Times The affidavit outlines an investigation that began in February and lasted until May, following telephone complaints from anonymous callers who had loved ones addicted to prescription drugs. Mubang was mentioned as the prescribing practitioner, according to sheriff's Detective Karen Cain. Cain said she also had been contacted by two news reporters including the Tribune's Elaine Silvestrini, who had learned from public records that Mubang was the prescribing practitioner in overdose deaths. Undercover detectives visited Mubang 13 times, paying $110 to $135 per visit. They told the doctor they had been in car accidents, but never showed any evidence of injuries. Each time, they walked away with narcotics prescriptions, the affidavit said. Mubang barely examined them, the affidavit said. The waiting room was described as "a social event" where everyone talked about how easy it was to get prescriptions. Some patients were trying to barter their medicines, detectives said. Investigators seized computers, patient names and records of deceased clients, but they did not take current medical records, authorities said. For the victims' families, Mubang's arrest brings some relief. "We are very, very pleased," said Terry Underwood, who described his son, Timothy, as a loving person. "It's been a hard 12 months." WFLA News Channel 8 Reporter Krista Klaus contributed to this report. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom