Two pharmacists in small town sentenced to 15 months in prison

ALBION, Mich. (AP) - Two men who operated a pharmacy for decades have been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for filling methadone prescriptions that were written for no medical purpose.

Federal prosecutors in western Michigan say John Shedd and Terry Tooley "contributed to the opioid epidemic" by filling prescriptions written by an Albion doctor.

Shedd and Tooley were partners at Parks Drug Store in downtown Albion in Calhoun County. They admit they billed insurance companies for prescriptions that weren't written and also forged documents.

The 65-year-old Tooley told a judge that he ignored his values of "honesty, integrity and commitment to family." An attorney for the 72-year-old Shedd says the offense was related to the pair's "old school approach to not question the customer."

In a separate case, Dr. Horace Davis was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2017.

Published: Tue, Sep 10, 2019