Gibsonia doctor indicted for sales of opioid scripts
GIBSONIA — A doctor whose office is based in Gibsonia has been indicted by a federal grand jury and accused of selling prescriptions for opioid painkillers
The charges against Andrzej Kazimierz Zielke, 62, include conspiracy and unlawfully distributing controlled substances according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh.
On Tuesday a federal grand jury returned a 14-count indictment against Zielke, who owns and operates Medical Frontiers in Gibsonia.
According to court documents Zielke prescribed Schedule II narcotics — Oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine sulfate and methadone — “outside the course of professional practice and not for legitimate medical purpose,” 13 times. Prosecutors say he “engaged in a pattern of illegally prescribing opioid painkillers to patients with no legitimate medical purpose and without examination, evaluation or testing.”
According to the criminal complaint, Zielke allegedly sold office visits for $250 cash, and had been writing a large number of oxycodone prescriptions for people in the McKeesport area, some of which, authorities say, were being funnelled to a narcotics dealer.
Zielke was arrested on Oct. 5., and on Oct. 11 the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine issued a temporary suspension of his license to practice medicine and surgery.
Acting U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song, in Pittsburgh, said Zielke’s arrest is the first since U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the formation of the Opioid and Abuse Detection Unit in August. The unit is a Department of Justice pilot program that focuses on opioid-related health care fraud. Western Pennsylvania is one of 12 Department of Justice districts across the country that have been tapped to participate in the program.
Zielke is facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine, or both, for each count in the indictment, according to prosecutors.
