Another man would take the prescriptions, written for different peoples’ names by the doctor, to a pharmacy in Bordentown to be filled. The other man was arrested outside of that pharmacy in August 2008 with eight bottles of Percocet
William Kropinicki
LAWRENCE — A former township doctor was sentenced to 7 years in prison this afternoon for writing fake prescriptions for narcotic pain killers in the names of patients he never examined.
William Kropinicki, 59, of Morrisville, Pa. pleaded guilty in Superior Court to writing the prescriptions from the doctor’s office he operated in Lawrence and then creating falsified medical charts to cover up his actions.
Kropinicki pleaded guilty unexpectedly in October, after his trial was already underway.
His attorney said at the time that the former doctor felt that the evidence presented against him at trial by state Deputy Attorney General Russell Curley was overwhelming.
More than 20 people gathered in the courtroom to see Kropinicki’s sentencing and to speak on his behalf before Judge Robert Billmeier. Kropinicki’s friends and patients asked the judge to impose the minimum sentence, saying that he has never done anything wrong.
“He was a dedicated man and a good doctor,” Patricia Schell, a former patient of Kropinicki’s, said in court. “I would go to him tomorrow if he had his license back.”
Kropinicki was facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison. He had no prior criminal record.
“Doctors are not above the law and they cannot hide behind this trust that we give them,” Curley said. “Other doctors must know that they cannot get away with this.”
Billmeier also imposed a $10,000 fine that Kropinicki will have to begin paying six months after he is released in monthly installments of $250.
“He had such a passion to learn and to be a good doctor,” Billmeier said. “Somewhere his moral compass went off kilter.”
Kropinicki admitted to writing the prescriptions in a scheme with Carl Hames, a Trenton man who agreed to cooperate with the state in their prosecution of Kropinicki. He has already completed a prison sentence in connection with the case.
Hames would take the prescriptions, written for different peoples’ names by Kropinicki, to a pharmacy in Bordentown to be filled. Hames was arrested outside of that pharmacy in August 2008 with eight bottles of Percocet containing more than 80 pills.
Hames told investigators that he would pay Kropinicki $100 for each prescription.
Billmeier estimated that Kropinicki sold 12,000 illegal pills and took in $70,000 a month. The scheme began in January 2008 and continued until both were arrested in August 2008.
Logan argued that Kropinici was duped by Hames, who pretended to be a state corrections employee obtaining prescriptions for residents of a halfway house called The Straight and Narrow in Pemberton.
Logan pointed to Hames’ numerous convictions in New Jersey and out of state, including one in which he pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder for the 2004 stabbing death of a Burlington County man, to support the argument that he took advantage of Kropinicki.
Billmeier said that he did not believe that Kropinicki was duped or tricked by Hames.
“He knew exactly what he was doing,” Billmeier said. “He is a smart, intelligent man. He was charged with protecting lives but instead he put lives in jeopardy by prescribing large amounts.”
Kropinicki also spoke during the hearing and asked that the judge impose the sentence so that he could put his mistakes behind him.
“I just want to serve my sentence so I can get on with my life and regain my freedom,” Kropinicki said.