Doctors facing federal prison for running pill mills

A Sarasota orthopedist and former Osprey anesthesiologist have been convicted of drug conspiracy and alien smuggling charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Dr. Fred Joseph Turner, 59, of Sarasota, and Rosetta Valerie Cannata, 60, of Osprey, were found guilty by a federal jury Thursday of one count of conspiring to dispense controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of medical practice, four counts of dispensing controlled substances and one count of conspiring to smuggle an alien into the United States, according to a news release.

The duo, indicted on July 23, 2015, each face a up to 20 years in federal prison for each of the controlled substance counts and up to 10 years for the alien smuggling conviction. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

From March 2011 through July 2015, Turner and Cannata ran Gulfshore Pain and Wellness Centre which had pain management clinics in Tampa and Punta Gorda, the jury learned at trial. Despite rarely physically or diagnostically examining patients, both would regularly prescribe excessive quantities of opiates, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone and morphine. They would also ignore patients’ drug screen results.

Undercover agents posed as patients during the investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the release states. During one of the undercover agent’s visits, Turner and Cannata asked the agent to smuggle a Hungarian national into the U.S. and in exchange prescribed the agent more oxycodone and hydromorphone and Cannata paid him $5,000.

Turner and Cannata told the agent to fake an injury and guided him through the process of falsifying his patient history, according to the release.

This story was originally published July 21, 2017 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Doctors facing federal prison for running pill mills."