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A doctor known as the "Candy Man" will face trial next year for prescribing painkillers that allegedly led to the deaths of several patients. Today we learned the identity of one of the people testifying against him--a former member of his medical staff.
Mindy Kramer worked for Dr. Warren Stack for just over five years. She admitted in court today she knew what was going on in his office and was in on it, too. She had no comment after pleading guilty this morning in federal court to a conspiracy charge.
She admits she knew Dr. Stack was prescribing drugs like Oxycontin and Lortab to patients without giving them a medical exam. According to court documents, many of the patients were healthy but addicted to the drugs.
Kramer struck a plea deal with prosecutors and will testify against the doctor. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard McKelvie said, "We anticipate she will. That's the agreement she entered into today."
Federal prosecutors say that for a few months in 2007, Dr. Stack engaged in a practice he called "Express Scripts." "He set up a table in the waiting room and met with patients in the waiting room in full view of the staff and other patients. He would quickly review their file and issue controlled substance prescriptions," McKelvie said.
Kramer admitted she fraudulently billed health insurance providers for some of these prescriptions. The court documents also allege Dr. Stack prescribed painkillers to as many as 80 patients a day. Federal prosecutors say five people died as a result, and Kramer admits she knew about the overdose deaths.
Kramer cried in court, telling the judge, "It just hurts."
"I think what you saw speaks for itself really. This is a difficult situation, really, including for office staff who developed relationships with some of these people while they were doing this," McKelvie said.
Dr. Stack will stand trial in April. Kramer could face a maximum of five years in prison, but she won't be sentenced until after she testifies against the doctor.
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
