Madison, Wis. - John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Edward McGrath, 36, of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb to 36 months in prison for illegally acquiring and dispensing oxycodone. This prison term will be followed by three years of supervised release. McGrath pleaded guilty to these charges on October 13, 2011.

McGrath was a dentist in the Wisconsin Rapids area. From April 2009 through April 2010, McGrath wrote approximately 207 prescriptions to obtain controlled substances for himself. He did this in a number of different ways. In some cases, the person to whom McGrath wrote the prescription gave a portion of the pills obtained to McGrath and was allowed to keep the other half of the pills obtained for his or her own use. In some cases, McGrath performed free dental work in exchange for the patient filling prescriptions and providing the prescribed drugs to McGrath. In some cases, McGrath wrote prescriptions for family members who did not need medication. McGrath would pick up the prescriptions and use the drugs himself. In some cases, McGrath wrote prescriptions for another dentist with a drug problem and the other dentist would write prescriptions for McGrath. Finally, in some cases, McGrath wrote prescriptions and paid people cash to fill them. The defendant involved 17 different people in his scheme.

The charges against McGrath were the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Wood County Sheriff's Department. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman.

 

 

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