[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 189 (Thursday, September 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58536-58537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21961]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Gilbert C. Aragon, Jr., D.O.; Revocation of Registration
On January 5, 2004, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of
Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement administration (DEA), issued an
Order to Show Cause to Gilbert C. Aragon, Jr., D.O. (Dr. Aragon)
notifying him of an opportunity to show cause as to why DEA should not
revoke his Certificate of Registration, BA4652714, and deny any pending
applications for renewal or modification of such registration, pursuant
to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(2) and (3), 21 U.S.C. 823(f). Specifically, the
Order to Show Cause alleged in relevant part, the following:
1. Effective May 17, 2002, the Texas State Board of Medical
Examiners (Board) suspended Dr. Aragon's state medical license. The
suspension was based upon an Agreed Order documenting Dr. Aragon's
arrest by Dallas Police on November 20, 2000, for driving while
intoxicated and possession of dangerous and controlled substances.
After a plea agreement with local authorities, Dr. Aragon pled guilty
to the charge of driving while intoxicated. Court documents also
revealed that Dr. Aragon also admitted guilt to the offense of illegal
drug possession, but the matter was not adjudicated. On June 8, 2001,
Dr. Aragon was sentenced to 150 days in jail, which was probated for
two years, and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. The Board's suspension was
further premised on Dr. Aragon's admission to police of having written
fictitious prescriptions in the names of family members in order to
assist his wife (who was addicted to drugs) illegally obtain
hydrocodone. As a result of the actions taken by the Board, Dr. Aragon
is currently without authority to handle controlled substances in
Texas, the State in which he is registered with DEA.
2. On November 30, 2000, May 12, 2001, and November 27, 2001, Dr.
Aragon answered ``no'' to questions on his Medical Practice
Questionnaire and Annual Registration Renewal forms inquiring if he had
been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime or placed on probation.
3. After being indicted by a Dallas County Grand Jury on January
22, 2003, Dr. Aragon appeared before the 203rd Judicial District Court
of Dallas County, Texas, and pled guilty to the third degree felony of
``[u]nlawfully obtaining from a legally registered pharmacist, a
controlled substance, to-wit: dihydrocodeinone, by the use of false or
forged prescription on October 15,
[[Page 58537]]
2001.'' The court imposed a ten year penitentiary sentence, five years
community supervision as well as a $4,000 fine and a fifteen day jail
sentence as a condition of community supervision. In response to these
matters, on September 25, 2003, the Board Staff filed a Complaint
requesting a hearing on its merits and requesting that Dr. Aragon's
medical license be suspended or revoked.
4. Dr. Aragon's state medical license has been delinquent for non-
payment since December 30, 2002, and his Texas Department of Public
Safety Controlled Substances Registration expired on January 31, 2003,
and has not been renewed.
The Order to Show Cause was initially sent by certified mail to Dr.
Aragon at his registered location in Irving, Texas; however, the order
was returned to DEA by the United States Postal Service with a stamped
notation: ``attempted, not known.'' On February 6, 2004, DEA mailed
copies of the Order to Show Cause to Dr. Aragon at a residential
location in Las Vegas, New Mexico, with an additional copy sent to a
purported work address in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. The order sent to the
purported work address was returned unclaimed, but the second order
sent to the residential location was accepted on behalf of Dr. Aragon
on February 9, 2004. DEA has not received a request for hearing or any
other reply from Dr. Aragon or anyone purporting to represent him in
this matter.
Therefore, the Deputy Administrator of DEA, finding that (1) thirty
days having passed since the delivery of the Order to Show Cause to the
registrant's address of record, as well as to a second address, and (2)
no request for hearing having been received, concludes that Dr. Aragon
is deemed to have waived his hearing right. See David W. Linder, 67 FR
12579 (2002). After considering material from the investigative file in
this matter, the Deputy Administrator now enters her final order
without a hearing pursuant to 21 CFR 1301.43(d) and (e) and 1301.46.
The Deputy Administrator finds that Dr. Aragon is currently
registered with DEA as a practitioner. According to information in the
investigative file, on or about May 15, 2002, Dr. Aragon entered into
an Agreed Order with the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners
(Board). Dr. Aragon and the Board agreed, inter alia, that Dr. Aragon's
state medical license be suspended until he completed various terms and
conditions for reinstatement, including the completion of a 96-hour
inpatient evaluation, conducted by or under the direction of a
psychiatrist to evaluate Dr. Aragon for substance abuse or an organic
mental condition. The Agreed Order resulted from findings by the Board
that on November 20, 2000, Dr. Aragon was arrested by the Dallas
(Texas) Police and charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI).
In addition, the Board found that Dr. Aragon was charged with
illegal possession of dangerous and controlled substances. The Agreed
Order also referenced Dr. Aragon's subsequent plea agreement with the
Dallas District Attorney's Office, where he plead guilty and was
convicted of the DWI offense. The Agreed Order further referenced Dr.
Aragon's admission of guilt to ``the unadjudicated [sic] offenses of
illegal drug possession, and his subsequent sentencing on June 8, 2001
to ``150 days in jail probated for two years and a $2,000.00 fine.''
The Board made additional findings regarding Dr. Aragon's writing of
fictitious prescriptions in the names of family members and leaving
blank prescriptions for the use of his physician assistants when he was
not in the office.
Information in the investigative file also shows Dr. Aragon's state
medical license has been delinquent for non-payment since December 30,
2002, and his Texas Department of Public Safety Controlled Substances
Registration expired on January 31, 2003, and has not been renewed.
There is no evidence before the Deputy Administrator that Dr.
Aragon has satisfied the conditions of the Board for reinstatement of
his medical license, or that the Board suspension order has been stayed
or lifted. Moreover, there is no evidence in the investigative file
that Dr. Aragon's state controlled substance privileges have been
renewed, or otherwise reinstated.
Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a), the Deputy Administrator may revoke a
DEA Certificate of Registration if she finds that the registrant has
had his state license revoked and is no longer authorized to dispense
controlled substances or has committed such acts as would render his
registration contrary to the public interest as determined by factors
listed in 21 U.S.C. 823(f). Thomas B. Pilkowski, D.D.S., 57 FR 28538
(1992). Nevertheless, despite findings of the Board regarding Dr.
Aragon's inappropriate conduct with respect to use of alcohol and his
unlawful possession of dangerous and controlled substances, and
notwithstanding the other public interest factors for the revocation of
his DEA registration asserted herein, the more relevant consideration
here is the present status of Dr. Aragon's state authorization to
handle controlled substances.
DEA does not have statutory authority under the Controlled
Substances Act to issue or maintain a registration if the applicant or
registrant is without state authority to handle controlled substances
in the state in which he conducts business. See 21 U.S.C. 802(21),
823(f) and 824(a)(3). This prerequisite has been consistently upheld.
See Rory Patrick Doyle, M.D., 69 FR 11655 (2004); Dominick A. Ricci,
M.D., 58 FR 51104 (1993); Bobby Watts, M.D., 53 FR 11919 (1988).
Here, it is clear that Dr. Aragon's Texas medical license has been
suspended, his state controlled substance registration has expired, and
as a result, he is currently not licensed under Texas law to handle
these products. Therefore, he is not entitled to a DEA registration in
that state. As a result of a finding that Dr. Aragon lacks state
authorization to handle controlled substances, the Deputy Administrator
concludes that it is unnecessary to address further whether his DEA
registration should be revoked based upon the public interest grounds
asserted in the Order to Show Cause. See Samuel Silas Jackson, D.D.S.,
67 FR 65145 (2002); Nathaniel-Aikens-Afful, M.D., 62 FR 16871 (1997);
Sam F. Moore, D.V.M. 58 FR 14428 (1993).
Accordingly, the Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement
Administration, pursuant to the authority vested in her by 21 U.S.C.
823 and 824 and 28 CFR 0.100(b) and 0.104, hereby orders that DEA
Certificate of Registration, BA4652714, issued to Gilbert C. Aragon,
Jr., D.O., be, and it hereby is, revoked. The Deputy Administrator
further orders that any pending applications for renewal or
modification of such registration be, and they hereby are, denied. This
order is effective November 1, 2004.
Dated: September 8, 2004.
Michele M. Leonhart,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-21961 Filed 9-29-04; 8:45 am]
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