[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 202 (Thursday, October 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52941-52943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-26179]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Trudy J. Nelson, MD; Revocation of Registration

    On June 12, 2000, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of 
Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), issued an 
Order to Show Cause (OTSC) by certified mail to Trudy J. Nelson, MD, 
notifying her of an opportunity to show cause as to why the DEA should 
not revoke her DEA Certificate of Registration, BN0504894, pursuant to 
21 U.S.C. 824(a)(1), 824(a)(2), 824(a)(3) and 924(a)(4) and deny any 
pending applications for renewal, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 823(f). The 
OTSC also notified Dr. Nelson that should no request for hearing be 
filed within 30 days, her right a hearing would be deemed waived.
    The OTSC was sent to Dr. Nelson's registered location in Sidney, 
Ohio, and also to another location at Marysville, Ohio. The Sidney, 
Ohio mailing was returned, unclaimed. The Marysville, Ohio mailing was 
received June 20, 2000, by individual signing on behalf of Dr. Nelson, 
as indicated by the signed postal return receipt. To date, no response 
has been received from Dr. Nelson nor anyone purporting to represent 
her.
    Therefore, the Administrator, finding that (1) 30 days having 
passed since the receipt of the Order to Show Cause, and (2) no request 
for a hearing having been received, concludes that Dr. Nelson is deemed 
to have waived her right to a hearing. Following a complete review of 
the investigative file in this matter, the Administrator now enters his 
final order

[[Page 52942]]

without a hearing pursuant to 21 CFR 1301.43(d) and (e), and 1301.46.
    The Administrator finds as follows. Pursuant to an investigation 
conducted by DEA in conjunction with the Sidney, Ohio, Police 
Department, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Piqua, Ohio, 
Police Department, the State of Ohio Pharmacy Board, and the State of 
Ohio Taxation Department, Dr. Nelson was found to have engaged in a 
substantial amount of allegedly criminal activity during the period 
between October 1994 and June 1999. Relevant to the instant matter are 
her illicit activities relating to controlled substances.
    As a result of the investigation, on or about December 28, 1999, in 
the Court of Common Pleas in Shelby County, Ohio, Dr. Nelson pleaded 
guilty to one felony count of Attempted Corrupting Another With Drugs; 
three felony counts of Trafficking in Drugs; and one felony count of 
Theft of Drugs. Dr. Nelson was sentenced to serve six years 
incarceration. On January 12, 2000, the State Medical Board of Ohio 
issued a Notice of Immediate Suspension and Opportunity for Hearing, 
informing Dr. Nelson inter alia that her license to practice medicine 
and surgery in Ohio was immediately suspended.
    Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a), ``A registration pursuant to section 
823 of this title to * * * dispense a controlled substance * * * may be 
suspended or revoked by the Attorney General upon a finding that the 
registrant--(1) has materially falsified any application filed pursuant 
to or required by this subchapter * * *; (2) has been convicted of a 
felony under this subchapter of subchapter II of this chapter or any 
other law of the United States, or of any State, relating to any 
substance in this subchapter as a controlled substance * * *''
    In addition, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 823(f) and 824(a)(4), the 
Administrator may revoke a DEA Certificate of Registration and deny any 
pending applications for renewal of such registration if he determines 
that the continued registration would be inconsistent with the public 
interest. Section 823(f) requires the following factors be considered 
in determining the public interest:
    (1) The recommendation of the appropriate State licensing board or 
professional disciplinary authority.
    (2) The applicant's experience in dispensing, or conducting 
research with respect to controlled substances.
    (3) The applicant's conviction record under Federal or State laws 
relating to the manufacture, distribution, or dispensing of controlled 
substances.
    (4) Compliance with applicable State, Federal, or local laws 
relating to controlled substances.
    (5) Such other conduct which may threaten the public health and 
safety.
    These factors are to be considered in the disjunctive; the 
Administrator may rely on any one or combination of factors and may 
give each factor the weight he deems appropriate in determining whether 
a registration should be revoked or an application for registration be 
denied. See Henry J. Schwartz, Jr., MD, 54 FR 16422 (DEA 1989).
    Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(1), the Administrator may revoke a DEA 
Certificate of Registration upon a finding that the registrant has 
materially falsified an application for registration. The investigative 
file reveals that, in January 1994, the Complaint Committee of the West 
Virginia Board of Medicine issued a complaint that alleged that Dr. 
Nelson renewed her State license to practice medicine and surgery by 
fraudulent misrepresentation and making a false statement in connection 
with a licensure application. In lieu of further proceedings, effective 
April 15, 1994, the West Virginia Board of Medicine accepted the 
surrender of Dr. Nelson's license to practice medicine and surgery in 
that State. Additionally, as a result of a falsification of a 1991 
registration application for medical licensure in the State of Ohio, on 
June 6, 1994, Dr. Nelson entered into a Consent Agreement with the 
State Medical Board of Ohio (Ohio Board) wherein her Ohio State medical 
license was suspended for an indefinite period of time. Dr. Nelson 
subsequently entered into a second Consent Agreement with the Ohio 
Board on August 10, 1994, in response to the Ohio Board's learning of 
the April 1994 surrender of Dr. Nelson's West Virginia medical license. 
Pursuant to this second Consent Agreement, Dr. Nelson's Ohio State 
medical license was again suspended for an indefinite period, and 
probationary terms were imposed when the license was reinstated.
    On October 31, 1994, and again on September 10, 1997, Dr. Nelson 
executed applications for DEA Certifications of Registration. In 
response to liability question 2(b) on each application, that states: 
``Has the applicant ever been convicted of a crime in connection with 
controlled substances under State or Federal law, or ever surrendered 
or had a Federal controlled substance registration revoked, suspended, 
restricted or denied, or ever had a State professional license or 
controlled substance registration revoked, suspended, denied, 
restricted or placed on probation?'' Dr. Nelson checked the box marked 
``no.''
    The Administrator finds that Dr. Nelson knew that her responses on 
her 1994 and 1997 DEA applications were false. Dr. Nelson had been 
forced to surrender her West Virginia medical license in April 1994; 
her Ohio medical license was suspended pursuant to Consent Agreement in 
June and then again in August 1994; and she executed the first of the 
DEA registration renewal applications at issue less than two months 
later. Answers to the liability questions are always material because 
DEA relies on the answers to these questions to determine whether it is 
necessary to conduct an investigation prior to granting an application. 
See Bobby Watts, MD, 58 FR 46995, (1993); Ezzat E. Majd Pour, MD, 55 FR 
47547 (1990). Therefore, grounds exist to revoke Dr. Nelson's DEA 
Certificate of Registration pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(1).
    Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(2), the Administrator may revoke a DEA 
Certificate of Registration upon a finding that a registrant has been 
convicted of a felony under the law of any State. The investigative 
file clearly shows that Dr. Nelson pleaded guilty on or about December 
28, 1999, in the Court of Common Pleas in Shelby County, Ohio, to one 
felony count of Attempted Corrupting Another With Drugs; three felony 
counts of Trafficking in Drugs; and one felony count of Theft of Drugs. 
Dr. Nelson was sentenced to serve six years incarceration. Therefore, 
grounds exist to revoke Dr. Nelson's registration pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 
824(a)(2).
    Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 823(f) and 824(a)(f), the Administrator may 
revoke a DEA Certificate of Registration and deny any pending 
applications for renewal if he determines that the continued 
registration would be inconsistent with the public interest. Regarding 
the public interest analysis pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 823(f), the 
Administrator has reviewed the five factors, and finds that factors 
(2), (3), (4), and (5) are most relevant to the instant matter.
    Specifically, the Administrator finds with regard to factors two 
and four that Dr. Nelson pleaded guilty to five felony violations on or 
about December 28, 1999, in the Court of Common Pleas in Shelby County, 
Ohio, including one felony count of Attempted Corrupting Another With 
Drugs; three felony counts of Trafficking in Drugs; and one felony 
count of Theft of Drugs; and was sentenced to serve six years 
incarceration. The Administrator therefore concludes that Dr. Nelson

[[Page 52943]]

clearly has mishandled controlled substances in the past, and failed to 
comply with laws relating to controlled substances. See Robert A. 
Leslie, 64 FR 25908 (1999).
    With regard to factor three, as previously set forth, Dr. Nelson 
pleaded guilty on or about December 28, 1999, in the Court of Common 
Pleas in Shelby County, Ohio, to one felony count of Attempted 
Corrupting Another With Drugs; three felony counts of Trafficking in 
Drugs; and one felony count of Theft of Drugs; and was sentenced to 
serve six years incarceration.
    With regard to factor five, the Administrator finds especially 
egregious in this matter that Dr. Nelson's array of convictions include 
one that is especially heinous in light of her purported role as 
medical healer: her guilty plea to the crime of Attempted Corrupting 
Another With Drugs. The Administrator finds that the investigative file 
contains evidence that Dr. Nelson abused her DEA Registration by 
knowingly feeding and encouraging the addiction of at least one of her 
patients, and that she subsequently used that patient's minor son as an 
excuse and a conduit to continue to feed that patient's addiction. Such 
conduct on the part of a medical professional is as vile as it is 
disgraceful, and the Administrator denounces such conduct in the 
strongest possible terms.
    The Administrator therefore concludes that it would be inconsistent 
with the pubic interest to continue Dr. Nelson's registration, and 
therefore grounds exist to revoke her DEA registration pursuant to 21 
U.S.C. 824(a)(4).
    Accordingly, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, pursuant to the authority vested in him by 21 U.S.C. 
823 and 824 and 28 CFR 0.100(b) and 0.104, hereby orders that the DEA 
Certificate of Registration, BN0504894, previously issued to Trudy J. 
Nelson, M.D., be, and it hereby is, revoked, and any pending 
applications for renewal or modification of said registration be, and 
they hereby are, denied. This order is effective November 19, 2001.

    Dated: October 10, 2001.
Asa Hutchinson,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 01-26179 Filed 10-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-M