Doctor indicted in W.Va. on distribution charges

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) — A federal grand jury in Wheeling has indicted a doctor on charges he supplied excessive amounts of prescription drugs for non-legitimate medical reasons.

U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld said Thursday that Dr. Douglas Paul Broderick is charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, a felony.

Broderick allegedly supplied large quantities of painkillers to customers for no legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice. Many of his customers traveled long distances to receive their medication.

Officials say some of those individuals returned to West Virginia and Ohio to sell the pills for profit. Those individuals also have been indicted and many have reached plea agreements.

Broderick’s businesses in Jacksonville, Fla., and Rock Hill, S.C., only accepted cash and had their own pharmacies.