A 73-year-old Middleton doctor who allegedly wrote prescriptions for painkillers and sedatives in exchange for cash is being held on $50,000 bail, Suffolk Country District Attorney David Conley announced Tuesday.
Leonard Friedman was arrested by local, state and federal officials and charged with 14 counts of writing invalid prescriptions. The 14-month undercover investigation found that Friedman would write prescriptions for Percocet and Roxicet, two powerful painkillers, and Valium, a powerful sedative, in exchange for money.
Friedman allegedly charged up to $300 for a consultation and a prescription for both Roxicet and Valium. He’d charge another $200 for any further consultations and prescriptions for Percocet and Valium.
An undercover agent found Friedman would issue the prescriptions to patients who did not express symptoms to warrant such strong medication.
“A doctor who trades addictive drugs for cash makes a mockery of the Hippocratic Oath. If you’ve ever wondered how powerful prescription painkillers make their way to the street, this case provides the disturbing answer,” said Conley, according to the press office report.
Friedman was also prescribing Oxycodone at a rate “20 times higher than other doctors in his practice group,” according to Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Bucci.
Friedman’s case will pick up Aug. 12.
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