[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 222 (Thursday, November 17, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71374-71375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29692]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration

[Docket No. 10-54]


Joseph Giacchino, M.D.; Decision and Order

    On July 9, 2010, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Timothy D. Wing, 
issued the attached recommended decision. The Respondent did not file 
exceptions to the decision.
    Having reviewed the record in its entirety including the ALJ's 
recommended decision, I have decided to adopt the ALJ's rulings, 
findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommended Order.
    Respondent contends that because the State of Illinois has not 
issued a final determination as to whether his licenses should be 
suspended or revoked, DEA lacks authority to revoke his registration. 
Respondent's Resp. to Mot. for Summ. Disp., at 2. He argues that 21 
U.S.C. 824(a)(3) ``expressly contemplates a final decision of the state 
agency, as it contains the plain and ordinary language that the 
physician is `no longer authorized''' to handle controlled substances, 
that ``the future status of [his] license is uncertain and subject to 
procedural safeguards before a final determination is made,'' and that 
interpreting the statute ``to apply to `temporary' suspensions, which 
are uncertain and transitory, is not consistent with the language'' of 
the statute. Id. at 3.
    Respondent ignores that the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) defines 
``[t]he term `practitioner' [to] mean[] a physician * * * licensed, 
registered, or otherwise permitted, by * * * the jurisdiction in which 
he practices * * * to dispense * * * a controlled substance in the 
course of professional practice.'' 21 U.S.C. 802(21). He also ignores 
that the CSA expressly requires, as a condition of obtaining a 
registration, that a practitioner be ``authorized to dispense * * * 
controlled substances under the laws of the State in which he 
practices.'' Id. Sec.  823(f).
    Furthermore, in 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3), Congress expressly authorized 
the revocation of a DEA registration issued to a registrant whose 
``State license or registration [has been] suspended * * * by competent 
State authority and is no longer authorized by State law to engage in 
the * * * dispensing of controlled substances * * * or has had the 
suspension, revocation, or denial of his registration recommended by 
competent State authority.'' Thus, the CSA expressly grants the Agency 
authority to revoke where a practitioner's state authority is under a 
suspension, which by definition is a sanction of finite duration. See 
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 1187 (10th ed. 1998) (defining 
``suspend'' as ``to debar temporarily from a privilege * * * or 
function'').
    Nothing in the statute precludes DEA from revoking a registration 
in those cases where a practitioner's state authority has been 
summarily suspended. Indeed, that Congress has authorized revocation 
where the suspension or revocation of a practitioner's state license or 
registration has merely been recommended by state authority, 
demonstrates that DEA is not required to await a final decision from 
the State before acting to revoke his registration. Thus, for purposes 
of the CSA, it does not matter that Illinois suspended Respondent's 
medical license and state registration prior to a hearing, at which he 
may ultimately prevail. See, e.g., Bourne Pharmacy, 72 FR 18,273, 
18,274 (2007); Agostino Carlucci, M.D., 49 FR 33,184, 33,184-85 (1984). 
Rather, what matters--as DEA has repeatedly held--is whether Respondent 
is without authority under Illinois law to dispense a controlled 
substance. See Oakland Medical Pharmacy, 71 FR 50,100, 50,102 (2006) 
(``a registrant may not hold a DEA registration if it is without 
appropriate authority under the laws of the state in which it does 
business''); Accord Rx Network of South Florida, LLC, 69 FR 62,093 
(2004); Wingfield Drugs, Inc., 52 FR 27,070 (1987). Because it is 
undisputed that Respondent currently lacks authority under Illinois law 
to dispense controlled substances, I reject Respondent's argument.

Order

    Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(f) and 
824(a), as well as 28 CFR 0.100(b) and 0.104, I order that DEA 
Certificate of Registration, BG6335485, issued to Joseph Giacchino, 
M.D., be, and it hereby is, revoked. I further order that any pending 
application of Joseph Giacchino, M.D., to renew or modify his 
registration, be, and it hereby is, denied. This Order is effective 
immediately.\1\
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    \1\ In suspending Respondent's state licenses, the Illinois 
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation found that the 
public interest and safety ``imperatively require emergency 
action.'' Department of Fin. and Prof. Reg. v. Joseph Giacchino, 
M.D., No. 2009-04502 (Ill. Dep't Fin. & Prof. Reg. Apr. 22, 2010) 
(suspension order at 1). For the same reason, I conclude that the 
public interest requires that this Order be effective immediately. 
21 CFR 1316.67.


[[Page 71375]]


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    Dated: November 8, 2011.
Michele M. Leonhart,
Administrator.
    James Hambuechen, Esq., for the Government
    Gerald G. Goldberg, Esq., for the Respondent

Recommended Ruling, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Decision 
of the Administrative Law Judge

    Timothy D. Wing, Administrative Law Judge. This proceeding is an 
adjudication governed by the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 551 
et seq. to determine whether Respondent's Certificate of Registration 
with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) should be revoked and 
any pending applications for renewal or modification of that 
registration denied. Without this registration, Respondent, Joseph 
Giacchino, M.D., would be unable to lawfully possess, prescribe, 
dispense or otherwise handle controlled substances.
    On April 22, 2010, the State of Illinois Department of Financial 
and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional Regulation, 
ordered that Respondent's Physician and Surgeon License and Controlled 
Substance License be temporarily suspended pending further state 
proceedings. On April 30, 2010, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, 
Office of Diversion Control, DEA, issued an Order to Show Cause why DEA 
should not revoke Respondent's DEA Certificate of Registration, 
BG6335485, on the ground that Respondent lacked authority to handle 
controlled substances in Illinois, the state in which he maintained his 
DEA registration. Respondent, through counsel, timely requested a 
hearing on the issues raised in the Order to Show Cause.
    The Government subsequently filed a Motion for Stay of Proceedings 
and Summary Disposition, asserting that on April 22, 2010, the State of 
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division 
of Professional Regulation, ordered that Respondent's Physician and 
Surgeon License and Controlled Substance License be suspended and that 
Respondent consequently did not have authority to possess, dispense or 
otherwise handle controlled substances in Illinois, the jurisdiction in 
which he maintained his DEA registration. The government contended that 
such state authority is a necessary condition for DEA registration and 
therefore asked that I issue an order of temporary stay with regard to 
further filing deadlines in the instant case. The Government further 
requested that I grant the Government's motion for summary disposition 
and recommend to the Deputy Administrator that Respondent's 
registration be revoked. Counsel for the Government attached to the 
motion a copy of the Notice of Temporary Suspension issued to 
Respondent by the State of Illinois Department of Financial and 
Professional Regulation, Division of Professional Regulation. The 
notice included an Order that suspended Respondent's Illinois Physician 
and Surgeon License and Controlled Substance License, effective April 
22, 2010, ``pending proceedings before an Administrative Law Judge at 
the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Medical 
Disciplinary Board of the State of Illinois.''
    Respondent replied to the Government's motion on June 23, 2010, 
asserting that because the suspension of Respondent's Illinois 
Physician and Surgeon License and Controlled Substances License is 
merely temporary, the status of Respondent's state license is 
uncertain. Respondent argues that the Government's motion is therefore 
premature.

Discussion

    Loss of state authority to engage in the practice of medicine and 
to handle controlled substances is grounds to revoke a practitioner's 
registration under 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3). Accordingly, this agency has 
consistently held that a person may not hold a DEA registration if he 
is without appropriate authority under the laws of the state in which 
he does business. See Scott Sandarg, DMD, 74 FR 17528 (DEA 2009); David 
W. Wang, M.D., 72 FR 54297 (DEA 2007); Sheran Arden Yeates, M.D., 71 FR 
39130 (DEA 2006); Dominick A. Ricci, M.D., 58 FR 51104 (DEA 1993); 
Bobby Watts M.D., 53 FR 11919 (DEA 1988). In the instant case, the 
Government asserts, and Respondent does not deny, that Respondent's 
Illinois Physician and Surgeon License and Controlled Substance License 
are temporarily suspended.
    Summary disposition is warranted if the period of suspension is 
temporary, or if there is the potential for reinstatement of state 
authority because ``revocation is also appropriate when a state license 
has been suspended, but with the possibility of future reinstatement.'' 
Stuart A. Bergman, M.D., 70 FR 33193 (DEA 2005); Roger A. Rodriguez, 
M.D. 70 FR 33206 (DEA 2005). Respondent's argument that 21 U.S.C. 
824(a)(3) ``expressly contemplates a final decision of the state 
agency'' is not supported by agency precedent.
    It is well settled that when no questions of fact is involved, or 
when the material facts are agreed upon, a plenary, adversarial 
administrative proceeding is not required, under the rationale that 
Congress does not intend administrative agencies to perform meaningless 
tasks. See Layfe Robert Anthony, M.D., 67 FR 35582 (DEA 2002); Michael 
G. Dolin, M.D., 65 FR 5661 (DEA 2000). See also Philip E. Kirk, M.D., 
48 FR 32887 (DEA 1983), aff'd sub nom. Kirk v. Mullen, 749 F.2d 297 
(6th Cir. 1984); Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Auth. v. EPA, 35 F.3d 
600, 605 (1st Cir. 1994).
    As noted above, in the instant case it is clear that there are no 
material disputed facts. The Government asserted and Respondent did not 
deny that Respondent is without state authority to handle controlled 
substances in Illinois at the present time. In these circumstances, I 
conclude that further delay in ruling on the Government's motion for 
summary disposition is not warranted. I therefore find that the motion 
of summary disposition is properly entertained and granted.

Recommended Decision

    I grant the Government's Motion for Summary Disposition and 
recommend that Respondent's DEA registration be revoked and any pending 
applications denied.

    Dated: July 9, 2010.
Timothy D. Wing,
Administrative Law Judge.
[FR Doc. 2011-29692 Filed 11-16-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P