Eastern Indiana doc admits conspiring to commit forgery
CONNERSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A former eastern Indiana doctor has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit forgery in a nearly 3-year-old case in which authorities alleged forged prescriptions were used to acquire narcotic painkillers and other drugs.
David Ringel, who entered the plea Friday in Fayette Circuit Court, was among four former employees of Connersville-based Fayette Regional Health System arrested in 2013 as part of a drug investigation by federal, state and local authorities.
In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped all other charges against Ringel. He was sentenced Friday to four years in community corrections, four years of probation and 2,080 hours of community service, and he was fined $5,000, the Connersville News-Examiner reported (http://bit.ly/28JsKf3).
Ringel, former doctor David Palmer and former physician's assistants David Wulff and Jeff Ferryman were arrested in November 2013 as part of an investigation involving the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Indiana Attorney General's Office.
Wulf and Palmer previously pleaded guilty to single counts of conspiracy to commit forgery. They each received the same sentence as Ringel.
Ferryman pleaded guilty to a single count of forgery. He faces up to eight years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 when he's sentenced July 13.
As part of his plea agreement and sentencing, Ringel also agreed to testify in any future criminal cases that might stem from the drug investigation.
An August 2013 search by federal, state and local authorities of Wulff's office in the Fayette Regional Health Primary Care clinic about 50 miles east of Indianapolis turned up three blank prescription pads with 50 prescription slips each bearing Ringel's signature, the newspaper reported at the time. The same search turned up two blank prescription pads with 50 prescription slips each and a partial blank prescription pad, all pre-signed by Palmer.
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Information from: Connersville News-Examiner, http://www.newsexaminer.com