HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Westmoreland County doctor is facing charges for illegally writing and filling 332 prescriptions for hydrocodone.
He was the former chief medical officer at Excela Health.
Dr. Ralph A. Capone, 64, of Greensburg, has been in practice for nearly 40 years.
Only Channel 11 was there on Wednesday as Dr. Capone turned himself in without a defense and without denial.
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He told the judge, "I don't dispute this. It all happened."
Capone wouldn't comment any further to Channel 11.
A detective with North Huntingdon police got involved after the attorney general's office received an anonymous tip reporting inappropriate prescriptions for a family member.
For three years, police say Capone was writing prescriptions in the name of his brother, mother, wife, son, daughter and himself for hydrocodone syrup, hydromet syrup and hydrocodone pills. They totaled more than 332 prescriptions filled for family members without their knowledge at various pharmacies around Jeannette and Greensburg.
Investigators say it was for his own personal use.
Agents searched Capone's house in Farmington Place and say he kept the medicine in a tool box in the garage and didn't have any medical records for the family members he prescribed.
An office number listed for Capone led to the MedExpress in Irwin.
A woman who answered the phone told Channel 11 Capone does not work there, but Channel 11 did find out Capone was an adjunct professor at Saint Vincent College.
He's been a doctor in our area for nearly 40 years... Today, he was charged with writing fraudulent prescriptions in...
Posted by WPXI Melanie Marsalko on Wednesday, October 11, 2017
The school said he was a lecturer of theology and is suspending pending the resolution of the case.
"This physician put the health care of his own family members at risk while fueling his own addiction," said Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
Hydrocodone is an opioid-based drug is used to treat coughs, colds and respiratory infections and is chemically similar to morphine.
Capone was released Wednesday on his own recognizance and is scheduled to be back in court on Oct. 24.
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