Alexander DeLuca, M.D.
Addiction, Pain, & Public Health website

[Home] [Library]  [Slides]  [Search]  [Medline]  [Links]
 
Statement of Purpose; Privacy policy; Email Confidentiality Policy; Statements of Ownership & Sponsorship; Advertising policy

Chesapeake Doctor Enters Alford Plea in Narcotics Case

 
Matthew Roy, The Virginian-Pilot; 2005-12-24; Posted: 2005-12-24
[Identifier: http://www.doctordeluca.com/Library/WOD/LoxleyEntersAlfordPlea05.htm]
[Related resources: http://www.doctordeluca.com/Library/LibPages/WODjournalism-lib.htm]
[Source: http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=97336&ran=103711]
 
See also:
Dr. Loxley & Wife Arrested, Facing 91 Federal Charges - WAVY.com; 2005-02-01
 

[Full Text of this Article in Adobe PDF format]

NORFOLK — Sidney S. Loxley, the Chesapeake orthopedic surgeon accused of illegally dispensing narcotics to patients, was found guilty on a single count in federal court Friday afternoon.

Loxley, who had faced a 91-count indictment, pleaded to conspiracy to dispense narcotics outside the bounds of legitimate medical practice, court records showed.

Had the case gone to trial, the government intended to present evidence that over a 41-month period, Loxley earned $648,825 by prescribing controlled substances outside the bounds of legitimate medicine, a court document says.

Loxley entered an Alford plea, in which the defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that the prosecution has enough evidence to convict him.

While the charge he pleaded to can carry a prison sentence of 20 years, under a plea agreement, Loxley, 63, is expected to be sentenced to serve 87 months in prison, said his attorney, Andrew M. Sacks. His sentencing is set for April 19.

His wife, Carol D. Loxley, who had worked at his practice, also pleaded guilty to a single drug-related charge, alleging she obtained Demerol fraudulently, court documents say. On April 19, she is expected to get a sentence that will not include prison time, according to Sacks.

Sidney Loxley was in custody Friday and his wife was not.

In a court document entitled “Statement of Facts,” the government laid out its case against Loxley, a licensed physician in Virginia since 1975. The document outlines the evidence the government intended to bring to trial:

• Loxley and his wife were the sole corporate officers for Orthopedic Surgeons Ltd., which operated at 501 N. Battlefield Blvd. in Chesapeake.
   
• Chesapeake detectives initiated an investigation of the practice in March 2003, after a patient of Loxley’s was found dead of an accidental overdose with various prescription medicine bottles at the scene, the government said.
   
• Later that year, the Drug Enforcement Administration began an undercover operation as well, sending in “patients” for whom Loxley wrote prescriptions.
   
• In June 2004, federal, local and state authorities searched his office, seizing patient files.
   
• In September 2004, Loxley was arrested for driving under the influence.
   
• His blood-alcohol content for driving was nearly triple the legal limit for driving, and patients were waiting to see him at his office at the time.
   
• Former patients smelled alcohol on him during office visits, the government’s statement says.
   
• Patients noted that after the search of the practice, a sign went up indicating a visit cost $95, cash only, with no insurance accepted.
   
• Physicians reviewed some of Loxley’s files and noted irregularities; one physician would have testified that Loxley’s prescribing practices for three patients who died were “outside the bounds of legitimate medical practice and carried a high possibility of injury and/or death,” the statement says.

Loxley’s medical license has been suspended, and he has agreed to not seek reinstatement.

“Dr. Loxley considers himself at this point, retired,” Sacks said.

He also faces substantial forfeiture of assets as part of the plea agreement.

[Full Text of this Article in Adobe PDF format]

[END]