WEDNESDAY.FEB.27,2002
NEWS
Pharmacist pleads guilty, says he diluted drugs for 34 patients
The Associated Press
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Pharmacist Robert R. Courtney struggled to maintain his composure yesterday while telling a packed courtroom that he had "no rational explanation" for why he diluted cancer drugs for 34 patients.
Courtney, 49, pleaded guilty to 20 federal counts of adulterating, tampering with and mislabeling the chemotherapy drugs Taxol and Gemzar.
Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a minimum of 17 1/2 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison. He also faces a total fine of up to $15 million.
Under questioning yesterday from attorneys and U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith, Courtney, who was in shackles, repeatedly admitted that he was guilty of diluting the drugs, but said he didn't think of the consequences and didn't mean to harm anyone.
In a statement that brought many victims and Courtney's family to tears, the pharmacist said could not understand his own actions.
"I have had a long period of time in isolation to reflect on my conduct," said Courtney, who stopped often to regain his composure. "I keep asking myself 'Why?' Why would I commit crimes so profoundly inconsistent with my faith, beliefs and my relationship with my Lord and Savior?"
"In my daily readings, I can find no rational explanation ... I am guilty and I accept full responsibility. To the victims, I am extremely sorry."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Porter said prosecutors "fully intend" to seek the 30 years.
That would be fine with Henry Chelston, of Independence, whose wife, Delia, took Taxol prepared by Courtney to fight her ovarian cancer.
"I think it should be a little bit longer (than 17 1/2 years)." said Chelston, 66. "He'll still be healthy at 67."
Courtney has been jailed since surrendering Aug. 15 to investigators working with a Kansas City oncologist for whom Courtney prepared intravenous doses of Gemzar and Taxol.
In the plea, Courtney also acknowledged that he and his corporation, Courtney Pharmacy Inc., diluted and tampered with the drugs Platinol and Paraplatin, conspired to traffic in stolen drugs and caused the filing of false Medicare claims.
In his confession, Courtney wrote that he was motivated by a need for money, including a $600,000 tax liability and $330,000 to fulfill the balance of a $1 million pledge he had made to his church.
Under the agreement, Courtney must disclose any other criminal activity he committed and any knowledge he has of crimes by others. If the government believes he has been truthful, he will not face any other charges.
Porter said the prosecutors had evidence of the 34 dilutions — eight of which were detected by laboratory tests and 26 of which Courtney described in a written confession.
The plea agreement requires that Courtney's assets — estimated to total between $10 million and $12 million — will be used as restitution for victims in the criminal case.
Attorneys said they were working with lawyers involved in about 300 civil lawsuits to transfer those assets to criminal court to create a fund for restitution for victims. Porter said attorneys hoped to have the details of that arrangement finalized by the end of the week.
Smith accepted the plea agreement, but delayed setting a sentencing date until after those arrangements became final.
Defense attorneys said money from the restitution fund would go first to eight specific victims named in the charges, then a system would be set up for other claimants. If the details are finalized, the civil lawsuits would not be necessary, they said.
The federal case against Courtney froze his
assets, stripped him of his pharmacy licenses and forced him to sell two pharmacies, one in Kansas City, Kan., and one in suburban Merriam.
Some of those lawsuits also name pharmaceutical makers Eli Lilly & Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., claiming they knew about the dilutions but did nothing with that knowledge.
Courtney's guilty plea "makes it a lot easier" to demonstrate liability in the civil lawsuits, Michael Ketchmark, an attorney for 173 of the plaintiffs in those lawsuits, said yesterday.
"The drug companies were saying that we couldn't prove the dilutions, but that domino has fallen," Ketchmark said.
"We said all along that he should be held fully accountable for diluting these medications, so we're very pleased that he's taking full responsibility for his actions today," said Jeff Newton, a spokesman for Eli Lilly.
"It's really wrong that Michael Ketchmark filed all these baseless law suits against the pharmaceutical manufacturers and we're still going to vigorously defend ourselves," he said.
"We believe it's wrong that he filed these lawsuits. They're baseless. We really hope his (Courtney's) pleadings today allow the patients and their families to heal a little bit."
A spokesman for Bristol-Myers did not immediately return phone calls from the Associated Press.
Porter said prosecutors accepted the plea agreement in part to force Courtney to fully reveal all of his criminal activities. He said those revelations would help law enforcement notify those who were affected and give peace of mind to those who weren't.
"One of the most damaging effects of his conduct is the uncertainty he's caused those who were affected by his conduct," Porter said. "We will be able to give others some level of assurance that they were not affected and restore some of their peace of mind."
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