As seen in the Lowell Sun Online
A former psychiatrist, who was well-known as a doctor who treated drug addicts in Lowell, is on trial facing criminal charges for prescribing excessive amounts of OxyContin and other prescription drugs to his drug-addicted clients while allegedly bilking Medicaid for the cost.
After more than a day of tense negotiations, Dr. Michael L. Mavroidis, 58, of Campton, N.H., yesterday opted for a jury-waived trial before Middlesex Superior Court Judge Hiller Zobel on an initial 20 counts of a 66-count indictment for allegedly violating both the Medicaid False Claims Act and the Controlled Substance Act.
The indictments were the culmination of a two-year investigation by the attorney general's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Lowell police and state police assigned to Middlesex County District Attorney Martha Coakley's Office.
Mavroidis, who has been a doctor since 1976 and a board certified psychiatrist since 1980, was the former owner the Lowell Psychiatric and Behavioral Center at 817 Merrimack St.
When Mavroidis was arrested in September 2001, prosecutors from the state Attorney General's Office accused him of extorting oral sex from at least one patient in exchange for various prescription drugs.
Mavroidis, through his attorney, has vehemently denied the allegations, stating that he used sound medical judgment in all his prescriptions.
Since his arrest, the state Board of Registration of Medicine has suspended Mavroidis' license and revoked his Drug Enforcement Administration number, which permits him to issue prescriptions.
Prosecutors allege that between 1997 and 2003, Mavroidis wrote medically unnecessary prescriptions for Klonopin, Ativan, Xanax and OxyContin to four patients then billed Medicaid for the costs.
Investigators had alleged that Mavroidis had been supplying prescription narcotics and painkillers to street-level addicts for years. He is known to work with heroin addicts in Lowell who are taking methadone to treat their addiction, according to sources. On the streets, Mavroidis was known as "Dr. Feel Good," or the "pill doctor," sources say.
In 2003, Mavroidis' former roommate, Carl Giannelli, filed a civil lawsuit against Mavroidis claiming Mavroidis failed to treat Giannelli's drug problem and even made it worse. But Giannelli's attorney said the lawsuit was dismissed.
Testimony in the trial is expected to begin today and continue for several weeks
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