Local doctor sues over loss of license
$3.75M suit criticizes tactics by sheriff’s officeBy Brad Bauer, bbauer@mariettatimes.com
A Marietta doctor facing 42 years in prison on drug trafficking charges filed a lawsuit Wednesday against local and state law enforcement agents, alleging they improperly took his medical license.
The suit, filed by Dr. Pedrito Galupo, seeks more than $3.75 million in punitive and compensatory damages from Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks, the State Medical Board of Ohio, Ohio State Board of Pharmacy and several detectives who worked on the investigation into Galupo's practice.
Galupo, 73, of 501 Fifth St., was arrested July 8 at his office at 119 Maple St., where officers say he had been charging $50 a visit and prescribing painkillers without examining patients. Galupo is set to stand trial on the drug trafficking charges Dec. 15.
Galupo agreed to give up his medical license during the search of his medical office. His attorney, Rolf Baumgartel, said the request for the license was improper.
"It is our contention that they conspired against him to deprive him of his license without providing him the due process he should have been afforded," Baumgartel said.
The request for the license should have been made before the state medical board and not during an interrogation, Baumgartel said.
At first, Galupo declined to give up his license, Baumgartel said.
"When it became clear he was not going to surrender his license, the investigator said it would help his criminal case if he surrendered the license," Baumgartel said. "That is absolutely false. If anything, surrendering his license weakened his case. This license was surrendered under duress. This suit is seeking monetary damages. A medical license is worth a lot of money."
Mincks said he had not been served with a copy of the suit as of Wednesday afternoon.
"(Galupo) voluntarily surrendered that license, and our objective was to prosecute a criminal case," he said. "I'll look at the suit and give it to our county prosecutor to review."
Police said during a seven-week investigation, nearly 500 patients were observed visiting Galupo's office. Several undercover officers also scheduled appointments and said they were able to get prescriptions for numerous Schedule II narcotics - including Percocet, Xanax, Oxycontin, Adderall and Ritalin - without being examined.
Detectives working the case said they wanted to shut down the operation earlier, but they needed to build a strong case against the doctor.
"We could have shut him down, but he could have just moved to somewhere else. We wanted to get his medical license to prevent this from happening anywhere else," Chief Deputy Larry Stephens said at the time of the July search of Galupo's office.
Baumgartel said Galupo denies any wrongdoing in the criminal case. He said state medical board investigators, not police, should have been the ones to shut down the practice.
"Basically, you have sheriff's department detectives, who are doing the best they can, but they're the ones who are making the decision as to what is legitimate, malpractice or a crime," Baumgartel said. "The medical board is supposed to make those decisions."
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Johanna
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11-30-08 1:45 AM
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Alchemy....speak English, as that made no sense...not to me anyway?
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alchemy
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11-29-08 11:11 AM
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I cant imagine baumgartel doing a suit and where it needs to be, in federal court. I think most of washington counties case should be sued in federal court as well as anywhere they have little witchhunter courts that do not speak for the state but for local politicians and masons.
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Johanna
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11-29-08 12:27 AM
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Devil's Ad: A lot! It the Times were offended by yours, they'll remove it or I could hit abuse and alert them to....that's how most get removed...Blogger vs. Blogger...
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DevilsAdvocate
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11-28-08 10:02 PM
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I really haven't noticed this in past posts, but reading these, I see that there are huge gaping holes in the flow of comments. Just how many posts get wiped out by the staff?
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Johanna
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11-28-08 7:33 PM
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Do we know who is defending this Doctor for the Criminal Charges? Why would a Doctor be given a Public Defender..assets frozen or something?
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Johanna
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11-28-08 7:31 PM
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Local...I agree with the Public Defender aspect..but do you get a Public Defender given to you to sue the Local and State Law Enforcement for $3.75 mill.?
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localyocal
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11-28-08 7:23 PM
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I missed a lot of the posts about Rolf. I do know this. He is not only a defense attorney in private practice but also on the list for public provided defense. He may or maynot always believe a client is innocent or guilty but he does have a job to do and I know for a fact that he does it to the best of his ability for his client. He took an oath to be a lawyer and not let personal feelings enter into his defense. Sort of like a doctor treating you for lung cancer while you still smoke I guess. Anyway, if you were innocent and needed a darn good attorney, he would be the one. So don't condemn him for just doing his job. Does he LIKE or Believe in all his clients, probably not but he will do his best legally allowed job to do what he is suppose to do. Defend them. He is a good man and you have to separate that from his court demeaner sometimes.
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Johanna
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11-28-08 5:44 PM
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lol
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JohnnyRingo
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11-28-08 1:58 PM
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Johanna.... probably not.
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Johanna
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11-28-08 1:16 PM
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What brought "rural" into this anyway?
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Johanna
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11-28-08 1:13 PM
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Johnny, Will you really miss them? I won't..
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JohnnyRingo
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11-28-08 12:38 PM
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ObserverofJusticeSystem 11-28-08 11:08 AM »Report Abuse I disagrre with my comments on public figure attorney Rolf being removed from this board. Observerofjustice system will hencforth stop commenting on anything. Censored media comments are reminicent of anything but a democracy. Goodby to all! Observer.... I'm surprised that it took you this long to realize that. I will miss your posts!!!!!!!!!
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JohnnyRingo
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11-28-08 12:24 PM
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Alchemy…. The very name sounds like witchcraft from the middle ages. It appears you despise all forms of law and order. This is a country of laws enacted by the majority of those governed by them. Peace Officers that enforce these laws are citizens that have chosen to take on this dangerous profession to better their community and this country. If the system we have is so against your beliefs, you always have to option to leave, which might be the best solution for all of us. I’m just sayin…………
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Johanna
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11-28-08 11:57 AM
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Absolutely Butterfly and I was wondering the exact same thing! I think it would be worth comparing his "patient" list with a few obituaries! Alchmy..I'm not even going to bother with the Rural Dr. comment but I have known many rural Dotors.
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ObserverofJusticeSystem
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11-28-08 11:08 AM
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I disagrre with my comments on public figure attorney Rolf being removed from this board. Observerofjustice system will hencforth stop commenting on anything. Censored media comments are reminicent of anything but a democracy. Goodby to all!
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DonDon
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11-28-08 8:45 AM
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99.9 percent of lawyers make the rest look bad. They are the scum of the earth as far as I'm concerned. It's a shame they waste all that education to become what they are. Insurance people aren't far behind.
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butterfly
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11-28-08 8:08 AM
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The point here is;our Local Law Inforcement was successful in getting nothing more than one who was supplying "DRUGS" to people put out of business and for that I'm grateful.I don't care how he got shut down,it needed done and if our L.L.I. screwed up,I'm sure they meant well.Job well done guys!I just can't help but wonder how many of our local overdoses were from this Dr. doing what he knew was wrong????? I especially wonders if the *#@^%&*[DR.] has thought that one through? Money hungry is all he was!At any cost!Or should I say ANYONES?Stop the stupid Lawsuit and take your punishment for doing something you know was wrong Dear Dr.[I choke on that word Dr. in regards to him.]Our medical field is having it hard enough without something like this.Rolf? He's an Attorney that needs to get real with this one and see it for what it really is!Now this really takes nerve to try to defend yourself with a Lawsuit,if it walks like a duck,quacks like a duck, must be a duck!
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MalcomZ
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11-28-08 8:05 AM
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JohnyRingo_you forgot insurance salespeople.
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NasCarNut
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11-28-08 7:28 AM
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he didn't lose his license...he gave them up b/c he was scared...and he was scared b/c he was guilty...he wouldn't have been scared if he had done nothing wrong...this doctor(i use this term lightly) knew what he was doing was wrong...he's guilty as h*ll and we all know it...there will be a plea deal b/c of the law suit...Mariettas court system thrives on plea deals...he's not passing out drugs and that's all that matters...IMO...
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alchemy
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11-28-08 2:49 AM
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What I want to see is people suing the whole case right from the beginning. Small town click juries dont matter when someone files a lawsuit and I think thats a good equalizer to wannabe towns that are always trying to make the big news story at someone elses expense.
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alchemy
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11-28-08 2:43 AM
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I see we have the mob and torches out here too. Sounds to me like he was doing what doctors do especially from the era hes from. Marietta gave me a new insight a few years ago. That being, rural areas should not have their own courts. All they do is spit on the constitution and the rest of the state as if theyre better and know better when in reality they havent a clue. Just dumb ******** watching too much TV and wanting things to play out in real life in their own little nowhere place, even if they have to make it happen.
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Johanna
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11-28-08 1:54 AM
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Well...we have an idea of what the bloggers think of the Attorney. Have we seen any great blogs toward the Dr.? other than beardog or maybe..jeremiah? Where are all of the Docs in town that typically support each other? This is not really about Rolf but about the Dr. who has no support system? If there is a drug issue, where does it usually begin?
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Johanna
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11-27-08 10:23 PM
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Jeremiah...at last check Beer, Wine, Liquor and cigarettes were not in the same Class listing as Xanax, Ritalin, Oxycontin, Percocet and Adderal....your point is what?
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Johanna
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11-27-08 10:13 PM
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What does a beer or a cigarette have to do with illegal distribution of drugs, precribing drugs illegally or possibly, an incompetent Physician?
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jeremiah11
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11-27-08 9:49 PM
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it's IMPOSSIBLE to win the war on drugs when mom and dad have a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
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