Louis Adamo, MD, 60, of Scranton, PA, was charged on Nov. 2, 2017 for “overprescribing oxycodone”. Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced felony charges based on supposedly oxycodone pills to two patients over a two-year period.
Who’s the doctor here? Tom DePietro, the pharmacist who turned the doctor in to the government? I bet he still filled the prescriptions since according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s press release, 24 prescriptions were filled at that pharmacy. So why hasn’t he been charged with illegal dispensing? Or is it Attorney General Josh Shapiro himself? Where is his medical degree?
The government likes to throw numbers around to stimulate negative public opinion against the doctor charged. But people are unaware of a few simple facts that alter the meaning of the numbers.
First, all controlled opioids are converted to oxycodone in government charges. That is because the Controlled Substance Act was designed to be used against illegal drug dealing, not doctor’s offices. The equivalency table is based on grams of marijuana. So to use the law against doctors, oxycodone is the term they use for everything prescribed. They don’t really say what the actual prescription is for. The numbers they throw around could be perfectly acceptable for the patient’s pain level. No one can make that decision except for the doctor. That is stated in the Controlled Substance Act. One patient had been on pain meds for 10 years and probably had developed a significant tolerance. With the attacks on long-acting opioids, doctors have been forced to prescribe small weight pills, which requires a larger number to have the same effect, and have to be dosed sometimes every 3-4 hours.
Second, they try to sway public opinion by stating that Dr. Adamo prescribed to a “drug-dependent” person. Anyone who had taken controlled drugs for the length of time mentioned would be “drug-dependent” But they use the term knowing that people will equate that with “addicted”. Dependency is a naturally occurring result of use of a drug while addiction isn’t.
“At one point, this doctor was prescribing over 33 pills a day to one man,” Attorney General Shapiro said. “That’s an unconscionable amount of pills – and he broke the law.” That is a bold-faced lie. Show me the Pennsylvania law that states how many pills can be prescribed to a patient. If the prescriptions were for Percocet, 33 pills could be a necessary amount. That would be only 330 mg/day. I’ve seen patients on 6 80mg Oxycontin/day, which is 480 mg. The point is, only the doctor has the legal right to determine what is legitimate, as per the Controlled Substance Act.
The press release gives quotes from the two patients in the charge. Obviously they will say whatever the government tells them to say, to save their own butt. So nothing there should be believed as truth.
In March 2016, the Office of Attorney General’s agents did an illegal search and seizure at Dr. Adamo’s office. Dr. Adamo’s constitutional rights were violated, and will continue to be violated through the course of the prosecution. As a rule, the 4th, 5th, and 14th amendments are violated in these cases. And defense attorneys do nothing about it. Because they ride the gravy train too.
Pennsylvania is one of the bad states for attacks on doctors and it appears it is going to get worse before it gets better. On the list of doctors charged on http://doctorsofcourage.org/by-location/, 65 doctors have been charged there, and this list is not inclusive. Charges against medical personnel has sharply increased in 2017, with Attorney General Shapiro in office. Diversion agents have reportedly charged 150 people this year so far.
Attorney General Shapiro uses as his excuse for these illegal attacks that “Diverting prescription drugs for improper uses is the heroin epidemic’s fuel.” That is a government propaganda lie. Drugs are not the cause of addiction. To understand the REAL cause, watch the video The REAL Cause of Drug Abuse at https://doctorsofcourage.org/videos/
Any doctor who has been contacted by any government agent for anything, please contact us at www.doctorsofcourage.org. If you get indicted, do not waive your rights to a speedy trial. Make them put up what they have NOW, not 2 years from now after you’ve lost all your savings and can’t defend yourself. Do NOT cop a plea. That just opens the door for an attack on another physician. We have to work together—those attacked and those that haven’t been attacked—YET.
Addendum
What a shame. Dr. Adamo did not consult us, obviously did not have a decent attorney, and ended up copping a plea on Dec 6, 2018. Doctors have to stop doing this. The country is depending on you to stand up to this government misconduct. As long as doctors cop pleas, the government will continue to ruin lives, steal money, and murder our patients. Dr. Adamo was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day. That way he actually got released from prison after about 8 months. So he has been free now for 2+ years, and yet he is not getting on board stopping this from happening to his colleagues. It is by doctors hiding their head in the sand that the government can just pick the next juicy fruit.
To end these attacks, restore pain management, and provide compensation to all the families that have been destroyed by government overreach, we must get the Controlled Substance Act repealed. Join Doctorsofcourage to get that done. Learn what we teach and spread the word. NO DRUG CAUSES ADDICTION!! Let’s end the War on Drugs, Doctors and Pain Patients, end the black market, solve the southern border crisis, and restore proper pain management. It CAN be done!
Addendum from the author:
I have failed in my mission to end these attacks on doctors and pain patients. Through John Bevere’s book The Bait of Satan, I have figured out why—my lack of forgiveness to those who attacked me. As in Mark 11: 24-26:
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
And when you do not do the will of the Father, you are estranged from him and he will ignore you. So we all must forgive the agents who attacked us in order for things to be made right through any of our works.
Jesus said
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
But we cannot lay down our lives for God unless we know Him well enough to trust Him. We must have the assurance that He would never do anything to harm us. He always looks out for what He knows is in our best interest. As a nation, those of us suffering from these attacks must understand that we are serving as God’s messengers of love. We must forgive those who persecute us and love them instead, following God’s will for us. Then and only then will we see fruits from our labor.
So I hope that everyone who has suffered from what happened to the doctor can trust the Lord, forgive those who have hurt you, and help bring this country back to the God-fearing country that our forefathers founded. Then, and only then, can you be a part of the effort to stop these attacks. I look forward to that day.
Linda Cheek is a teacher and disenfranchised medical doctor, turned activist, author, and speaker. A victim of prosecutorial misconduct and outright law-breaking of the government agencies DEA, DHHS, and DOJ, she hopes to be a part of exonerating all doctors illegally attacked through the Controlled Substance Act. She holds the key to success, as she can offset the government propaganda that drugs cause addiction with the truth: The REAL Cause of Drug Abuse.
Get a free gift to learn how the government is breaking the law to attack your doctor: Click here to get my free gift
Attorney General Shapiro you punished Dr.Adamo, for doing nothing wrong. He was the best internist in Northestern PA and you stripped him of the privilege of taking care of his pariienrs who adored him. He is a wonderful man who didn’t deserve to be stripped of his lively hood and the right to care for the ill. Mr. Shapiro you have destroyed so many lives not just his . This man was forced to plead guilty to a crime he didn’t commit. Instead of going after the drug addicts who are at fault they are given the privilege of no punishment because they claim to have a so called DISEASE. !!!! Shame on you for ruining this mans career and his life in general. May God be with you for the CRIME that you have committed !!!!!
Dr. Adamo was our prized physician since we moved to Scranton 12 years ago. We firmly and absolutely do not belIeve the charges against this wonderful man. As a retired R.N. I personally can attest to his careful prescribing of any drugs. He is a very caring and compassionate man who truly cared about his patients. We are so sorry about this and can only hope for a changed outcome.
Such a careful prescribing dr had my cousin as a patient. He had him on over 800mg a day combined of oxycodone and oxycontin. Never once having him go in for any type of pill count or drug test. My cousin never even drank and going to a Dr for back pain turned him into an addict. Of course because my cousin never did drugs he never knew of the dangers of narcotics until it was to late. I watch him go downhill over 4 years then 6 months of hell after the “good dr” lost his medical license. Now my cousin doesn’t completely blame adamo nor do I but he is not without blame. Or is 800 mg of this powerful narcotic a safe and normal level? Every dr I have asked has said no. The best part now is my cousin walks around drug free again no suboxone or methadone treatments oddly he claims he’s in less pain then he was when getting treated with opioids. If you think your dr adamo doesn’t deserve what’s happening to him I strongly suggest you take a read of the criminal complaint filed against him. He never saw these guys for 6 months at a time. Hell he gave my cousin 3 months worth of prescriptions at a time and saw him every 3 months. That alone is against the law in PA. Maybe you should look up some stuff he did before blaming everyone but him for what he did. But Karma is quite a bitch as I know his daughter has had some troubles with opioids since this arrest. But I guess that’s Shapiros fault too.
Sorry, but you lack of medical understanding is showing. You don’t know the difference between “addiction” and “dependence” first. If your cousin simply withdrew from his prescription, although not a desirable experience, it just shows his dependency, not an addiction. You also don’t understand tolerance, and 800 mg, although high, is not out of the question for patients with a history of opioid use for a chronic problem. The doctors you refer to are either not in pain management, or so filled with the latest propaganda that their answers are stilted. And although I’m not familiar with PA law, federal law allows for 90 day prescriptions, and that is reasonable for patients that have a chronic condition that we know won’t change and the medicine will have to be continued. Any more frequent visits than that could actually be charged with fraud as “unnecessary”. And my guess is that PA law requiring less than that would be referring to acute pain, not chronic.
So I stand behind the post, Dr. Adamo, and the patients who speak on his behalf. Hope you are never in an accident that requires pain relief.
And what about DiPetros pharmacy for continuing to fill those bogus (obviously written prescriptions by a suspected employee no longer employed there?) Rx’s that were not confirmed by contacting Dr. Adamo about them?
He took a plea deal from what I have heard.
That’s too bad if it is true. He just put more doctors’ necks in the noose.
Yeah he was charged with 22 felony counts and he pled to 1 of the felony charges. He seems to be under the impression he will be able to practice medicine again in 2 years. I am not an expert, but I was under the impression that if a Dr gets a felony on their record they cannot get their DEA license back.
No, you can always reapply for your medical license. Getting the Controlled Substance certificate is a different story. Once relinquished, it is virtually impossible to get back. And usually the government is just waiting to pounce again and put you in prison. That’s what they did to me.
I’m sorry that happened to you.
This man forced for to take a plea or spend the rest of his life in a maximum correctional facility like Graterford for a CRIME HE DIDN’T COMMIT … SHAME ON YOU MR. SHAPIRO AND THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY”S OFFICE OF LACKAWANNA COUNTY
Dr Adamo was my doctor for so many years and I cannot switch doctors, I had switch my husband doctor to Dr Kazmerski and I was not impress by him, the office told me once I switch doctors I can not go back to Dr. Adamo. I am waiting for his return. Please let this doctor practice medicine. He is one the best doctors in Lackawanna county and no one could replace him.
Hey Shapiro, we need our Dr. Adamo back now! There’s alot of us patients out here who need him now! Let him get back to his practice til he goes to trial. But since a trial hasn’t been set yet, maybe you don’t really don’t have a case! So just swallow your pride Shapiro and drop the charges so our doctor can get back to treating his patients! We need him now! Don’t you realize how much your letting us, his patients are being neglected of his care?! Please drop the charges!!!
Dr. Adamo has been our trusted Doctor for over 20 years. He has NEVER failed us or led us in the wrong direction. / His office called & canceled my appt with him the beginning of this year (2018), no reassigning my visit to his PA, no explanation. When I called a week later to ? them about it, I was told I could wait a mth or 2 for his return, or I could switch to one of the other doctors but could not return to Dr. Adamo once he returned as a result of switching. I CHOSE to WAIT. I don’t believe he intentionally did what he’s been accused of. He is a very honest, conscientious man. Trusted. / Dr. Adamo, if you read these things, we, that know you as our doctor stand in prayer for you & your family. / Attorney General, please, UN suspend this mans’ license, his patients need his kind of care, down to earth, real & always concerned for the proper care of all of us. Thank you kindly.
Dr. Adamo has been my Doctor and three children’s Doctor for over 25 years and has been nothing but professional. I don’t know who or how he was set up but that’s what happened. He is respected by his patients and family. Please get behind to protect this wonderful person and doctor,