A district judge on Friday found prosecutors presented enough evidence to have a Moscow doctor stand trial on charges he overprescribed pain pills to two patients.
Louis Adamo, M.D., 60, sat in Lackawanna County Central Court next to his attorney, Paul Walker, as they disputed the district attorney’s case by arguing it is hearsay the defense couldn’t challenge.
Adamo, 1616 Whitetail Run, was charged in October with prescribing outside accepted treatment principles and for prescribing to a known drug-dependent person.
Assistant District Attorney Drew Krowiak said Adamo was “just writing off” prescriptions.
“It’s a case of a lack of oversight,” he said.
Agent AJ Casarella of the state attorney general’s office found Adamo had prescribed thousands of oxycodone tablets to two patients between September 2015 and March 2016. For a time during that period, one patient received 240 pills every eight to 10 days and had them filled at six different pharmacies. To conclude the investigation, agents had medical review expert Stephen Thomas, M.D., look over the patients’ medical files. Thomas concluded, “Dr. Adamo’s prescribing behavior for both patients was grossly incompetent, falling below the standard of care.”
One of the patients Adamo prescribed to had been treated at Marworth in Waverly for alcohol addiction but received pills anyway, agents said.
Walker took issue with the subjective nature of Thomas’ report and the defense’s inability Friday to question Thomas, claiming it is a due process violation.
Casarella, the only witness called during the roughly two-hour hearing, used Thomas’ report to help with his testimony Friday but often could not answer some specific medical questions Walker posed because he is not a medical expert. For example, at one point Walker asked if prescribing Xanax could be an acceptable way of treating anxiety. Casarella replied that he believes so, based off the Thomas report, but then cautioned that he’s not an expert.
“I think that’s the point,” Walker said.
“Was that a question?” Krowiak shot back.
Hearsay is allowed at a preliminary hearing, the prosecution argued, and Magisterial District Judge John P. Pesota accepted it. Thomas will testify at trial, the prosecution promised.
Adamo is free on $100,000 unsecured bail.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9144; @jkohutTT on Twitter