Doctor wantonly doled prescriptions, police say

From The Morning Call Online

A Monroe County doctor and psychologist was charged Monday with improperly prescribing and distributing powerful and potentially addictive drugs.

Harold Pascal, 71, of 5007 Poole Road, Smithfield Township, repeatedly prescribed drugs such as Adderall, a stimulant, and Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, without reviewing a patient's medical history or providing treatment, according to the state attorney general's office.

'We allege that these appointments were strictly for the purpose of providing a prescription,'' said Nils Frederiksen, deputy press secretary for Attorney General Tom Corbett.

Corbett said that Pascal is charged with four counts of prescribing or delivering controlled substances outside the scope of accepted medical treatment principles, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Pascal is also charged with three counts of Medicaid fraud, a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

The charges followed a 15-month investigation during which agents from the attorney general's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation say they received 27 prescriptions from Pascal. The agents presented evidence to a statewide grand jury, which recommended the charges.

District Judge Michael Muth of East Stroudsburg released Pascal on $25,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday.

In addition, the attorney general's office is taking steps to seize Pascal's East Stroudsburg office, a checking account and a safe deposit box. Pascal also has an office in Lehighton, but spends most of his time in East Stroudsburg, Frederiksen said.

Pascal could not be reached for comment.

The investigation was prompted by reports from a confidential informant who complained of family members being overmedicated. Pascal had been chosen for one of the family members by a school district, the grand jury said. Frederiksen said he didn't know which one.

According to the grand jury:

Pascal asked the undercover agents what they wanted, then wrote prescriptions for the drugs.

The agents said they openly discussed his prescription writing habits with him. They said the doctor was aware the drugs he was prescribing were addictive, and that he knew of reports that patients were selling them on the street.

Patients who gathered in Pascal's waiting room often spoke openly about their addictions and advised the agents to compile a list of drugs they wanted from the doctor.

Though his office was open only a few hours each week, he would frequently see up to 60 patients a day. He met them in a room that had no medical furniture or examination equipment.