Armstrong could face 135 years in prison and up to $6.75 million in fines if convicted

By Matthew Penix

St. Tammany News SLIDELL - A Slidell pharmacy owner and three of her doctors could each face 135 years in prison and $6.75 million in fines for illegally selling prescription drugs that raked in millions from customers across the Gulf Coast, according to a superceding indictment filed last week.

Additional charges were filed by United States Attorney Jim Letten last week against Cherlyn "Cookie" Armstrong Scherer Prejean and six of her businesses - mostly in Slidell - after the practices attracted residents from Alabama, Florida and Texas looking to score painkillers or anxiety pills for a fee and little to no consultation, according to the indictment.

According to law enforcement, Prejean and her doctors would write a prescription for the addictive medications after seeing a patient for less than a minute, if at all, then sending clients to their in-house pharmacies, sometimes servicing roomful of clients in one sitting. Lines of cars with license plates reaching as far away as Tennessee were seen in the drive through pharmacies, a move that caught the eye of the Drug Enforcement Administration and local authorities last summer that resulted in a multi-agency investigation and crackdown.

During a summertime raid of numerous Slidell pain management clinics, Prejean, her doctors, clients and other owners of similar type operations were arrested and charged - 23 in the Slidell area alone. But now Prejean and her doctors, Suzette Cullins, Joseph F. Guenther and Betty De Loach, are each charged with an additional 26 counts of illegally dispensing schedule III and IV controlled substances and one count of conspiracy to distribute a "detectable amount" of pain management pills, according to the superceding indictment released Jan. 13.

In addition, the federal grand jury charged five of Prejean's six pharmaceutical corporations and five holding companies with one count of money laundering.

If convicted on all drug charges, Prejean and her doctors face one of the largest possible penalties since the task force started targeting "pill mills." For the money laundering conspiracy charge, Prejean faces up to 20 years and fines in excess of $500,000.

Addictions revealed

Prejeans's arrest came as the prescription pill boom had surfaced, exposing what law authorities called a quiet undercover criminal empire that fed thousands of addictions that residents would literally die for.

As the raids began to increase, "pill mills" shut down and supply routes were severed, forcing residents to obtain their drugs in other ways.

Clifton Rivera found a way, but it cost him his life.

The 28-year-old Mandeville resident had stolen an undisclosed amount of prescription painkillers and money during a robbery heist at Walgreen's off U.S. Highway 190 in Mandeville. As Mandeville police arrived and surrounded his truck, they ordered him out of the vehicle. Rivera ducked and accelerated toward the officers, barely dodging the bullets whizzing into the cab. He sped off and a chase ensued before he was again cornered in front of State Police Troop L on the Interstate 12 Service Road.

When he stepped out, Rivera didn't raise his hands as instructed but continued to walk toward the officers. Officers fired. Rivera collapsed to the concrete and died.

In Slidell, the police faced a "minor explosion" of pharmacy robberies following the raids. Some crooks would pass notes declaring they had a gun and wanted a specific type of drug; others called in fake prescriptions to pharmacies. Some experts said prescription drug addictions are as hard to break as a cocaine habit, and those addicted sometimes turn to something they've never done before - robbery.

It's not that potentially addictive medications shouldn't be used, said Richard Brown, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin Medical School.

"They have an important place in the treatment of debilitating conditions," he said.

According to National Institute of Drug Abuse, drug addiction, characterized by drug craving that is out of control, is actually uncommon among people who use drugs as prescribed.

Millions of Americans abuse prescription drugs daily. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, nine million Americans used prescription drugs for non-medial purposes in 1999, an estimate that has likely to increased during the past several years.

With 50 million Americans suffering from chronic pain, the chance to get hooked on prescription painkillers is not unlikely, according to the NIDA. But doctors should take note of rapid increases in the amount of medication needed, or frequent, unscheduled refill requests. Doctors also should be alert to the fact that those addicted to prescription drugs may engage in "doctor shopping," moving from provider to provider in an effort to obtain multiple prescriptions.