NEWS RELEASE
November, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INNOCENT TEXAS PHYSICIAN WAS SCHEDULED TO BE TRIED IN THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI IN JULY, 2009, THEN LATER IN NOVEMBER 2009 ON VIRTUALLY NON-EXISTENT EVIDENCE OF WRONG DOING. CASE HAS BEEN CONTINUED AGAIN TO LATE FEBRUARY 2010 OVER DEFENSE OBJECTIONS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – John F. Wood, former United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, previously announced in late 2008 in a lengthy and detailed press release that the owner of a Belton, Mo., pharmacy, along with a Texas physician and three other defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury for participating in a conspiracy to illegally distribute nearly $1 million in prescription drugs.
Mary Lynn Rostie, 57, and Cynthia S. Martin, 49, both of Belton, and Christopher L. Elder, M.D., 36, Troy R. Solomon, 43, and Delmon L. Johnson, 49, all of Houston, Texas, were charged in a 24-count indictment that was returned on Feb. 6, 2008, by a federal grand jury in Kansas City. Doctor Elder, Troy Solomon and Delmon Johnson were all first scheduled for trial in Kansas City on July 20, 2009. Over Doctor's Elder's objection the case has now been continued into 2010.
Rostie is a pharmacist and co-owner of Rostie Enterprises, LLC, d/b/a The Medicine Shoppe in Belton. According to the indictment, Rostie unlawfully dispensed large quantities of drugs relying on faxed prescriptions that bore Doctor Elder's name and address. The prescriptions were faxed from Texas from a pharmacy there. All five defendants were charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances from August 2004 through October 2005. Doctor Elder was unaware of what was occurring.
The indictment alleges that Doctor Elder wrote unlawful and invalid prescriptions for drugs and that Solomon, co-owner of Ascensia Nutritional Pharmacy, sent those prescriptions by facsimile to Rostie at The Medicine Shoppe. Rostie allegedly filled the unlawful prescriptions and had the controlled substances delivered by FedEx to the Texas pharmacy where they were signed for by various employees of the pharmacy. Rostie entered a guilty in September 2008 to filling prescriptions illegally and sending them to various persons in Texas. Elder has vigorously denied involvement in the conspiracy; denied he wrote and authorized the prescriptions to be faxed to Missouri, and, denied receipt of any proceeds from the conspiracy or involvement in it.
For over three years now, no government witnesses have provided statements to date to connect Elder to any conspiracy or unlawful practices. Two different government handwriting experts have admitted that it is impossible to state beyond a reasonable doubt that Elder wrote the prescriptions and a state pharmacy board investigator has previously testified during a pharmacy board hearing that it appears that "cut and past" and photocopying may have occurred in many instances. Notwithstanding this, the government stubbornly continues to contend he had knowledge of the scheme and was involved.
In May 2006, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided the Belton pharmacy and various pharmacies in Texas. The prosecution has obtained voluminous phone records for all the charged defendants including Elder. While a number of those charged contacted each other on the date of execution of the search warrant, no one involved called Doctor Elder.
Martin entered a plea in early 2009 which included admissions that she transported cash from Texas to Missouri and gave it to Rostie in exchange for a share of the proceeds. Both expect to receive substantial reductions in their potential sentences for testifying for the government against those going to trial. Martin has admitted to providing false information about the scheme on a number of prior occasions. Both admit they have never met Doctor Elder. Rostie claims to have spoken to him on one instance in early 2004 a three way conversation but admits she never later ever called him to verify whether he in fact had authorized any prescriptions or refills of prescriptions. Elder has previously denied being involved and even offered to appear before the grand jury before the case was indicted to provide information but his offer was declined by the prosecution and his information was never provided to the grand jury.
Solomon and Johnson, a manager at Ascensia, distributed the prescription drugs, the indictment says, providing a portion of the proceeds to Martin as payment – to her as the broker who introduced Solomon to Rostie, as well as to pay for additional prescription drugs. Approximately 70 packages, which the indictment says are believed to have contained cash payments, were shipped via United Parcel Service from Johnson’s residence to Martin from Sept. 2, 2004, through Oct. 31, 2005. Martin made 29 deposits into her personal checking account, totaling approximately $71,666.00, from Oct. 8, 2004, through Oct. 17, 2005. Martin paid Rostie thousands of dollars in cash for the prescription drugs. According to the indictment, Rostie made gross sales of at least $991,114 from filling the unlawful prescriptions and distributing those controlled substances. None of this money was ever traced to Doctor Elder and no witness or any bank records confirm he ever received any money from any of the defendants.
In addition to the distribution conspiracy, Rostie, Martin, Solomon and Johnson were charged with participating in a money laundering conspiracy from August 2004 through October 2005. The indictment alleges that they conducted financial transactions that involved the proceeds of the conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances, knowing that the transactions were designed to conceal the illegal activity. Doctor Elder was audited by the IRS, received a refund as a result of the audit, and there is absolutely no evidence pointing to his receipt of any proceeds from the scheme described in the indictment. During 2004 and 2005 Doctor Elder drove an older pickup truck and lived in modest surroundings in a small apartment.
The Texas Medical Board (TMB) has conducted its own extensive investigation of Doctor Elder and another physician in Houston, Texas that the government contends is an un-indicted co-conspirator in this case. The un-indicted physician who is alleged to have engaged in conduct identical to that which Elder is accused of has had his license to dispense controlled substances revoked. The board, after a thorough investigation, has refused to sanction Doctor Elder or suspend or revoke his license and he has full privileges as a physician and Board Certified pain management specialist in the State of Texas.
Doctor Elder said "I am looking forward to my day in court and the opportunity to present my side of the case. This has been a nightmare from the beginning and I am extremely upset that the federal government jumped into this case without having all the facts and without having conducted a full and complete investigation which should have readily convinced them of my innocence and that I was an innocent dupe." Elder continued, "I fully intend to file for attorney fees and ask for other sanctions against the government after I am found not guilty."