Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 6, 1994 TAG: 9407060066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Dr. Kenneth LeGree Hallman was named in a 16-count indictment returned Tuesday by a grand jury in Roanoke Circuit Court.
The indictment, which caps a yearlong investigation by the Virginia State Police and the Department of Health Professions, alleges that Hallman began illegally prescribing the drugs shortly after taking over as director of the medical center in 1992.
Hallman is accused of obtaining prescription drugs "by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, embezzlement or subterfuge" on 16 occasions between January 1992 and May 1993.
A search warrant filed in Circuit Court alleges that Hallman prescribed Temazepam, a tranquilizer, for no medical reason to a woman who worked as his housekeeper. The woman then returned the drugs to Hallman for his own use, according to the search warrant.
Hallman will be allowed to turn himself in on the charges and most likely will remain free on a personal recognizance bond, according to Chief Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Betty Jo Anthony.
When Hallman took over the McDowell Avenue medical center in 1992, he received a key to the city for his efforts to provide health care to an area identified in a study as medically underserved. As the only medical center in Northwest Roanoke, the center is more easily accessible to those without transportation to the city's other hospitals and clinics.
Although Roanoke officials have begun charging nurses more often with illegally obtaining prescription drugs through their employment, Tuesday's indictment was the first such charge against a city doctor in recent years.
The state Board of Medicine may take disciplinary action in the case, but that apparently had not happened Tuesday. Hallman's attorney, Jeff Rudd of Roanoke, said Hallman is continuing in his capacity as director of the center.
"The number and the nature of the charges may, unfortunately, create an unfair perception of Dr. Hallman's culpability," Rudd said. "I fully expect that he will be morally and legally vindicated in the future."
Rudd said Hallman is a "highly respected" member of Roanoke's medical community, and he cautioned against making a "snap judgment" in the case based on the charges.
Without elaborating on what Hallman's defense may be, Rudd said he expects evidence to show "a more detailed picture that cannot be gleaned from the black and white of an indictment."
If convicted, Hallman faces a maximum punishment of up to five years in prison on each of the 16 felony charges.
According to the search warrant, the police began an investigation in May 1993 after receiving information from Hallman's housekeeper, who said he prescribed Valium to her for no medical reason.
The woman told the police that Hallman telephoned her prescriptions to a Roanoke pharmacy in return for her housework and sexual favors, according to the warrant. The woman also claimed that Hallman would telephone prescriptions for Temazepam in her name and drive her to the pharmacy so she could pick up the medication, which she then gave to him.
"Dr. Hallman also provided funds to pay for the prescriptions," the search warrant alleges.
The state police said in the warrant that they have tape-recorded at least one telephone conversation between Hallman and the woman in which he agreed to "do her a favor" by telephoning a prescription to a pharmacy.
"During the conversation, at no time did he ask her about any medical problems," the warrant states.
by CNB