No. 1 prescriber of Hydrocodone nabbed in pill mill bust: DEA

KHOU reports:
     HOUSTON – A Houston doctor and 18 co-conspirators have been arrested in connection with illegal pain-management clinics in the area, the DEA announced Wednesday.
     According to the DEA, Dr. Gerald Ratinov -- a licensed and registered Texas physician – was the No. 1 prescriber of Hydrocodone in the state.
     Hydrocodone is a prescription painkiller that’s sometimes taken with Alprazolam and Carisoprodol – a combination popularly described as the "Houston Cocktail."
     Investigators said Ratinov acted as the medical director of at least three pain clinics in Harris County without proper certification and while he was under judicial review by the Texas Medical Board.
     The clinics – Hobby Medical Clinic on Reveille Street, Abundant Life and Weight Loss Center on Hillcroft and Astrodome Pain Clinic on Westridge – were used, along with select pharmacies, to fill fraudulent, medically unnecessary prescriptions for clients, the DEA said.
     Thanks to the arrests, the clinics and their four related pharmacies can no longer dispense illegal pharmaceuticals on the streets of Houston.
     Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos applauded the efforts leading to the arrests.
     "This is an example of the superb cooperation between federal and local authorities to protect our citizens." Lykos said. "The DEA conducted a brilliant investigation and has stopped a dirty doctor and his cohorts from continuing to profit from the wretchedness of addiction. We will do our part to vigorously prosecute Ratinov and his co-defendants."
     The multi-agency investigation was led by the DEA and the Harris County DA’s Office, with participation from the Texas Medical Board, the Texas Pharmacy Board, the Texas DPS, the Fort Bend County and Harris County sheriff’s offices, HISD, HPD, Pasadena police, Harris County Precinct 2, Harris County Precinct 6 and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
     "Doctors and pharmacies have an obligation to comply and operate within the parameters of the law. Dr. Ratinov chose not to do so, which lead to an investigation by DEA and our law enforcement counterparts, resulting in the arrest of Dr. Ratinov and others who blatantly violated the law," Thomas E. Hinojosa, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said.