A man who runs a pain management clinic in Chantilly, Virginia, has been charged with multiple counts related to the unlawful distribution of a controlled narcotic.
Prosecutors said that in one year, the pain clinic "Chantilly Specialists," run by Paul Boccone, wrote prescriptions for the distribution of 800,000 OxyCodone-based pills to 600 patients. OxyCodone is a powerful, controlled narcotic that can result in addiction and death if not properly applied.
Attorney for Boccone, John O. Iweanoge, II, says his client denies the allegations against him.
Boccone has operated his pain clinic in Chantilly since 2005, first on Parke Long Court, and then moving it to 4200 Lafayette Center Drive. Prosecutors said he made all the decisions on the day-to-day management of the clinic, and at times also saw patients there, referring to himself as Doctor Boccone.
What Boccone did not do, prosecutors said, was get a medical license, either in Virginia or any other state. Prosecutors said he had no medical qualifications, and had never received any medical education.
According to court documents, Boccone hired medical staff members who were licensed to prescribe powerful type II narcotics, like OxyCodone. But prosecutors said under Boccone's direction, the clinic ran like a mill, using an egg-timer to limit the amount of time each "patient" had to be interviewed by a member of staff. Prosecutors said that staff members at the clinic under his direction issued prescriptions that contradicted the medical advice of other doctors, made narcotics available to patients he and his staff knew to be drug addicted, and overprescribed narcotic drugs. In one case, according to court papers, prescriptions were written that eventually gave one patient access to over 14,400 OxyCodone-based pills.
The prescriptions written at Boccone's clinic were in such high demand that customers traveled over 350 miles to Chantilly.
Investigators said that guns, tasers, and other firearms on the premises to "maintain order among customers receiving prescriptions for Schedule II narcotic pain medication."
Prosecutors say pain killer prescriptions written by the staff at Chantilly Specialists led to several patient overdoses and at least one death.
A nurse practitioner who worked at the clinic has also been charged with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.
News4's Chris Gordon spoke to a patient of Chantilly Specialists, Ltd. Tuesday. The patient, who declined to give her name, said she did not know that Boccone was not a doctor. The patient then entered the building before returning to her car, saying "They're denying everything. They're shredding papers."
Boccone's lawyer told News4 that his client asserts his innocence in the case, and looks forward to his day in court.
