NEWS RELEASE

June 18,  2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

            KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In late 2008 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.  The jury trial for  Doctor Christopher Elder and Mr. Troy Solomon will commence Monday, July 21, 2010 before Judge Fernando Gaitan.  The other defendants have pled guilty since being indicted. Both Elder and Solomon have vigorously denied any wrong doing.

            While the Missouri defendants know Solomon and did business with his pharmacy, the government has been unable to directly connect Elder to the conspiracy.  The other defendants who have entered guilty pleas have uniformly denied dealing directly with Doctor Elder and have in fact admitted to never having met or spoken with him in person or by phone.  Drugs were sent from Missouri to a Houston pharmacy owned by Solomon and large sums of money were paid to Rostie with the assistance of Martin.  Solomon, Martin and Rostie are all also accused of money laundering. 

            During the last half of 2004 Elder worked part time at a clinic that was co-located with the Texas pharmacy.  Dr. Elder has consistently maintained his innocence and has been quick to point out he is himself a victim of the scheme.  During the main part of the conspiracy while others charged were reaping large profits, Elder continued to live in the same modest apartment he had while in medical school and drove a pickup truck.  Even today, some six years later, he is still heavily in debt with student loans.  While the government has traced large sums of money and extravagant spending beyond their means to the other defendants, red faced investigators refunded estimated tax money to Elder after subjecting him to a thorough IRS audit for the two years under investigation.

            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 who has since recently been indicted in Houston, Texas on similar charges.  The physician, Doctor Peter Okose, 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 and the government has apparently tied him to obscene profits.  The Medical board, after a thorough preliminary investigation, has neither sanctioned Doctor Elder nor suspend or revoked his license and he has full privileges as a physician and Double 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."