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Internet Pharmacy Shutdown

By Associated Press

Published: Wed, November 28, 2007 - 4:55 pm Last Updated: Wed, November 28, 2007 - 5:59 pm

Short URL: http://wkrg.com/a/7433/

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Federal authorities have closed a
pharmacy in suburban Birmingham that allegedly had $6 million in
Internet sales of drugs without valid prescriptions over a
four-year span.
U.S. Attorney Alice Martin says the offices and residences of
several individuals and corporations related to the William & Mary
Pharmacy, formerly located in Gardendale and Fultondale, were
searched by federal investigators.
The government claims the pharmacy dispensed hydrocodone-based
prescriptions in excess of $6 million -- representing over 75
percent of the pharmacy's business from May 2002 until March 2006.
A 57-year-old pharmacist, James E. Maddox, Jr. of Montevallo,
was charged in a criminal Information with misprision of a felony,
or having knowledge of the activity without reporting it and
concealing evidence.
A former pharmacy employee, 61-year-old Stephens C. Puckett, of
Birmingham, faces the same charge.
Maddox and Puckett could not be reached for comment. Jill Ellis,
a U.S. attorney spokeswoman, said she did not know if the two men
had hired attorneys.
A Colorado married couple, Melanie Dailey and James Mitchell
Dailey, both physicians from Steamboat Springs, also were charged.
She was charged in a criminal information with misprision of a
felony. He was charged with unlawfully distributing controlled
substances.
Dailey's attorney, Stephen Shaw of Birmingham, declined comment
until he discusses the charge with his client.
The maximum penalty for misprision of a felony is three years in
prison, fines of $250,000, or both. The maximum penalty for
distribution of controlled substances is 20 years in prison, a fine
of $1 million, or both.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)