[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28580-28581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9835]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Rebecca Sotelo Denial of Registration

    On October 6, 2004, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of

[[Page 28581]]

Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), issued an 
Order to Show Cause to Rebecca Sotelo (Respondent) who was notified of 
an opportunity to show cause as to why DEA should not deny her 
application for registration as a mid-level practitioner, pursuant to 
21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3) and 823(f).
    The Order to Show Cause alleged that Respondent had not been 
granted Prescribing and Dispensing Authority by the Arizona State Board 
of Nursing and was not authorized to handle controlled substances in 
Arizona, the State in which she practices. The Order to Show Cause also 
notified Respondent that should no request for a hearing be filed 
within 30 days, her hearing right would be deemed waived.
    The Order to Shaw Cause was sent by certified mail to Respondent's 
residence at 4479 N. Camino Del Ray, Tucson, Arizona 85718. According 
to the return receipt, the Order to Show Cause was delivered to 
Respondent on October 18, 2004. DEA has not received a request for a 
hearing or any other reply from Respondent or anyone purporting to 
represent her in the 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 
Respondent and (2) no request for hearing having been received, 
concludes that Respondent is deemed to have waived her 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 on March 3, 2004, Respondent, a 
nurse practitioner, applied for registration with DEA as a mid-level 
practitioner in Schedules II-V (Control No. E06325608N). She had 
previously been registered with DEA in that same status under 
Certificate of Registration MS0233222 but allowed the registration to 
expire on March 29, 2003, and it was retired from the DEA registration 
system.
    Respondent had been licensed as a Registered Nurse with the Arizona 
State Board of Nursing (Board) and possessed a Certificate for Advance 
Practice, which is required by the Board for a nurse to act as a Nurse 
Practitioner. Under Arizona law and regulations, Nurse Practitioners 
may prescribe and dispense controlled substances if they are registered 
with DEA and the Board had granted them Prescribing and Dispensing 
Authority.
    Respondent's initial Prescribing and Dispensing Authority expired 
on December 31, 1998, and her state nursing license, together with her 
Advance Practice Certificate, expired on June 30, 2003. In February 
2004, she renewed her nursing license and Advanced Practice 
Certificate. However, she did not attempt to renew her Prescribing and 
Dispensing Authority.
    In June 2004, after Respondent submitted her current application 
for DEA registration, the Board notified DEA investigators that because 
of public complaints lodged against her, Respondent's Prescribing and 
Dispensing Authority would not be renewed without an investigation and 
resolution of the allegations. On July 15, 2004, the State board 
advised DEA the Respondent ``has not possessed the authority to 
prescribe and/or dispense medications as a nurse practitioner in the 
state of Arizona from January 1, 1999, to present.''
    There is no evidence before the Deputy Administrator that 
Respondent's Prescribing and Dispensing Authority has been since been 
renewed. Therefore, the Deputy Administrator finds that Respondent is 
not currently authorized to handle controlled substances in the State 
of Arizona.
    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 she 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 11,655 (2004); Dominick A. Ricci, 
M.D., 58 FR 51,104 (1993); Bobby Watts, M.D., 53 FR 11,919 (1988).
    Here, it is clear Respondent is not currently authorized to handle 
controlled substances in Arizona, where she currently practices. 
Therefore, she is not entitled to a DEA registration in that State.
    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 the 
pending application for a DEA Certificate of Registration, submitted by 
Rebecca Sotelo, be, and it hereby is, denied. This order is effective 
June 17, 2005.

    Dated: May 9, 2005.
Michele M. Leonhart,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 05-9835 Filed 5-17-05; 8:45 am]
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