March 24, 2005: Headlines: COS - Brazil: Medicine: Crime: Pain: Richmond Times Dispatch: U.S. District Judge Leonard D. Wexler yesterday refused to grant bail to Dr. William E. Hurwitz, who in December was convicted of 50 charges stemming from a three-year federal investigation into the illegal distribution of medications
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March 24, 2005: Headlines: COS - Brazil: Medicine: Crime: Pain: Richmond Times Dispatch: U.S. District Judge Leonard D. Wexler yesterday refused to grant bail to Dr. William E. Hurwitz, who in December was convicted of 50 charges stemming from a three-year federal investigation into the illegal distribution of medications
- 2006.08.23: August 23, 2006: Headlines: COS - Brazil: Staff: Medicine: Crime: Pain: Jurisprudence: Pain Relief Network: Maia Szalavitz writes: Associated Press account ignores support for Dr. William E. Hurwitz in medical community, national debate on pain treatment Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 5:17 am [1]
- 2006.10.12: October 12, 2006: Headlines: COS - Brazil: Staff: Medicine: Crime: Pain: Washington Post: William E. Hurwitz will Remain In Prison Until Retrial Friday, November 03, 2006 - 12:03 pm [1]
- 2006.08.23: August 23, 2006: Headlines: COS - Brazil: Staff: Medicine: Crime: Pain: Washington Post: Conviction of William E. Hurwitz overturned Friday, November 03, 2006 - 11:59 am [1]
- April 21, 2005: Headlines: COS - Brazil: Medicine: Crime: Pain: Connection Newspapers: Some families will always consider Dr. William E. Hurwitz a healer. Brazil Medical Director, pain doctor, 59, sentenced to 25 years in prison Monday, October 12, 2009 - 5:36 pm [3]
U.S. District Judge Leonard D. Wexler yesterday refused to grant bail to Dr. William E. Hurwitz, who in December was convicted of 50 charges stemming from a three-year federal investigation into the illegal distribution of medications
U.S. District Judge Leonard D. Wexler yesterday refused to grant bail to Dr. William E. Hurwitz, who in December was convicted of 50 charges stemming from a three-year federal investigation into the illegal distribution of medications
Judge denies bail for Va. doctor
Physician called flight risk; he faces minimum term of 20 years on drug convictions
BY PAUL BRADLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Mar 24, 2005
ALEXANDRIA -- A prominent Northern Virginia doctor convicted of fueling a black market in potent prescriptions drugs will remain in jail pending his formal sentencing and an expected appeal of his convictions.
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U.S. District Judge Leonard D. Wexler yesterday refused to grant bail to Dr. William E. Hurwitz, who in December was convicted of 50 charges stemming from a three-year federal investigation into the illegal distribution of medications -- primarily OxyContin, a widely abused and highly addictive painkiller. The investigation resulted in convictions on drug-trafficking charges, authorities said.
Wexler, who had allowed Hurwitz to remain free on $2 million bond during his trial, said the 59-year-old Harvard graduate now represents a substantial flight risk because he faces a minimum prison term of 20 years.
"For this defendant, given his age, I find this is a risk of flight. No bail," Wexler said.
Wexler also refused to grant Hurwitz a new trial. April 14 was set for a sentencing hearing during which prosecutors will seek a life prison term. Defense lawyers have said they will appeal the convictions.
Hurwitz, who graduated from the Stanford University medical school and holds a law degree from George Mason University, earned a reputation as an unconventional doctor who advocated massive doses of potent drugs to help patients combat chronic pain. He once was profiled on the CBS News show "60 Minutes."
But he closed his practice in McLean in 2002 once he became the focus of federal investigators, the latest in a string of disputes with regulators. He earlier had been disciplined by medical boards in Virginia and the District of Columbia for improperly treating pain patients.
During his trial, Hurwitz testified that he prescribed massive amounts of painkillers to some patients but insisted he always did so for sound medical reasons. He has denounced his prosecution as a "political trial" by federal agencies that are targeting doctors instead of drug dealers and abusers.
His supporters -- about 30 of whom attended yesterday's hearing and cried out "bye, Billy" as he was led from the courtroom -- describe him as a compassionate doctor who helped hundreds of patients ease unrelenting pain. He is a former Peace Corps volunteer and once worked for the federal Veterans' Administration.
But prosecutors, while acknowledging that Hurwitz helped many legitimate patients, said he also recklessly prescribed thousands of pills to known drug abusers.
"The government proved the defendant was a pill-mill," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark D. Lytle. "He prescribed outrageous amounts of drugs to drug addicts."
One patient received a prescription for 1,600 painkillers a day, testimony in the trial showed. Another continued to get prescriptions even after testing positive for cocaine.
In addition, Hurwitz was convicted of recklessly treating some of his legitimate patients, some of whom overdosed on the drugs the doctor prescribed.
One of those patients, Linda Lalmond, died of a drug overdose in a Fairfax County hotel room June 1, 2000, a day after consuming morphine prescribed and dispensed by Hurwitz.
Contact Paul Bradley at (703) 548-8758 or pbradley@timesdispatch.com
When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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Story Source: Richmond Times Dispatch
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Brazil; Medicine; Crime; Pain
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Why is Hurwitz's drug dealing posted on the Peace Corps website?
Hurwitz was a former volunteer medical director for the Peace Corps in Brazil in the 1970's.
Best Regards,
Admin1
