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Marietta Doctor Facing Drug Trafficking Charges

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WTAP News
Posted: 11:34 AM Jul 8, 2008
Last Updated: 12:34 PM Jul 9, 2008
Reporter: Bruce Layman
Email Address: bruce.layman@wtap,com

58 comments

A | A | A

A Marietta doctor is under arrest following raids Tuesday morning at his home and at his office at Harmar Village Medical on Maple Street in Marietta.

According to Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks, the Major Crimes Task Force began investigating 73-year old Dr. Pedrito Galupo in March, during which time undercover agents received prescriptions to obtain large quantities of Schedule II narcotics, including Percocet, Xanax and Oxycontin. The agents allegedly received these prescriptions without being asked to show proof of their identity during their visits or receiving a formal examination.

Galupo faces charges of trafficking in a Schedule II narcotic.

Officials say Dr. Galupo voluntarily permanently surrendered his license to practice medicine in Ohio.

Officers say they are going to investigate some of the doctor's patients to see if they were doing anything illegal with the prescriptions.

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Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

Posted by: Lu Location: Ohio on Sep 1, 2008 at 08:26 PM
I've always like Dr.Pete from the very get go in my early injuries. He was a very exact in all he did for me. My recovery from my injuries are 90% because of his great care and concern. He is a good lister and always looked right at me to see how I was doing. I always had consultation from him before any meds were given to me. His whole staff were very personnal,and always made sure everything was done right. I never took advantage of his Christianity to get more drugs from him. I know there are poeple that would do that. I respected him as a good Dr. and a good person. God Bless, and my prayers are with all who are not well ,and are looking for a good Dr. such as Dr.Pete.

Posted by: PharmD*2* Location: Parkersburg on Jul 23, 2008 at 01:06 AM
I love that last comment...it pretty much sums up what needs to be said from a pharmacist's point of view. I never realized until now how ignorant some people are when it comes to understanding what a pharmacist's responsibilities are. We are held liable if we fill a prescription that is not for a legitimate medical purpose and harm comes to that patient (or someone else!). We are all that stands between the patient and the drugs, and that is rarely a good place to be. I agree with Pharmd--they were not going to get it from me, either. And before you judge someone's profession, make sure you do your homework...otherwise you just sound like an arrogant idiot to the rest of society.

Posted by: PharmD Location: Parkersburg on Jul 17, 2008 at 02:22 PM
Wow, after reading all these comments, the only thing I can think is, man, I'm glad I'm not an idiot. I see the point people are making that this man may be a caring individual. He may have been a good doctor, (at one time). I sympathize with his patients that were legitimate patients, in seek of actual health care. On the other side, I was disgusted with the amount of narcotic prescriptions that I saw coming from this dr. Not only the amount of rx's, but who they were for sometimes amazed me. I would see young people, in their late teens come in with prescriptions for 180 Percocet and 180 Xanax(highest strength of both). About three-fourths of the time, after a little investigation, these same people had similar narcotics filled elsewhere, from a different dr. Whether they were selling, or abusing, I don't care, but they were not going to get their drugs from me. This man knew what he was doing was unethical. Oh, and to clarify a couple comments, pharmacy school takes at least 6 years

Posted by: momof5 Location: ohio on Jul 15, 2008 at 06:24 PM
Doctors are afraid to treat patients because police go on these 'witch hunts'. People with Chronic pain can not get the help they need. Bust the Drug Sellers.

Posted by: Patient Location: Ohio on Jul 15, 2008 at 05:24 PM
I have been seeing this Dr for many years. He DOES take insurance. He would always send me for tests before giving me any prescriptions. I do have chronic pain, it was not the reason I started seeing him - I became ill a few years after seeing him. After a series of tests he found I had a disease that caused me great pain. He tried several meds and eventually I did start taking a low dose narcotic to relieve the pain.Until you have lived with chronic pain,you do not know how low your quality of life becomes. -This Doctor goes on missionary trips several times a year to poverty stricken countries and performs surgery free of cost.He is 73 years old, he knows what he is doing. Every time I came with a complaint he diagnosed me correctly even before the tests came back. He comes from the old school of medicine where caring for people comes first.Now adays Dr's are too afriad to treat you.The PEOPLE who sold the drugs are the criminals. My prayers are with you Dr. Pete.

Posted by: Nicky Location: Bryan on Jul 14, 2008 at 08:23 PM
This Dr is a very nice man and strongly believes in helping others. He wouldn't even give me narcotics for a pinched nerve because he says "your pain can not be seen."

Posted by: acerx Location: Ohio on Jul 13, 2008 at 06:21 PM
The "Dr." was a prominent physican in Columbus, OH until he was stripped of all priviliges by the major hospitals for unethical practices and various financial problems. It is obvious to me that this guy knew exactly what he was doing, how could you be a Doctor for that long & not know the rules for writing prescriptions? Seems like a case of extreme greed and disregard for the communities well being.

Posted by: Citizen Location: Marietta on Jul 12, 2008 at 07:34 PM
A Dr. just doesn't decide to accept Medicare or Medicaid. There is a lot of paperwork and many restriction and rules. Many Drs do not accept it for these reasons.

Posted by: Susan Location: Marietta on Jul 12, 2008 at 01:08 AM
I know Dr. Galupo and his wife personally and I'm lI know Dr. Galupo and his wife personally and I'm letting all of you know they are two of the most caring and loving Christian people around here. When he started this clinic, he did so with the intent of opening a mission for people who couldn't afford medical care. He didn't take insurance or medicaid because that takes an enormous amount of time and energy and it was only he and his wife working in the clinic. He never expected his practice to explode with the number of patients that it did and he became overwhelmed. She booked and managed the phones and appointments, while he saw the patients. It got out of hand and before they could get a handle on it, this happened. They closed the clinic once before and dumped and bunch of patients because of addicts dealing their prescriptions. Their hearts were in the right place. He was NOT a drug dealer, he was a compassionate man who was taken advantage of by the addicts in the area

Posted by: YAY on Jul 10, 2008 at 11:56 PM
I've spent some time reading these comments and I sympathize with the people who think he didn't know what he was doing. This man was a doctor for many years before this, why did he up and decide to stop being a surgeon and start doing pain/anxiety maintenence? Also, with the cash thing, yes it's awesome for people who don't have insurance, that's great, but why would you deliberately REFUSE to accept insurances? He could have easily accepted insuraces for Medicaid people and then they wouldn't have to pay $50. It would be free! I work in a pharmacy and every prescription from him was a narcotic and also about 2 out of 3 prescriptions were bumping up against the same stuff at different doctors! And yes there's legit prescriptions that are written for 90 pills, but I actually had to fill a prescription from him for about 270 of the strongest strength of Percocet there is to someone who's never taken it before. You need to work up to that and any legit doctor would know and practice it.

Posted by: someone Location: marietta on Jul 10, 2008 at 11:03 PM
i cannot get my brain wrapped around how you people could defend this guy. Maybe your not close to this situation ok, Maybe you do not believe the police ok, nothing wrong with that i dont half the time either. But you honestly cannot know of this situation and everything involved because if you did and you were CLEAN there is no way you could see him as a "good guy just trying to help all those poor people in pain" LEARN YOUR FACTS!!!! I am just glad no one i am close to thinks the same way as you all or its hard to tell how many drug abusing neighbors i would have. But its ok appearently if your just selling your drugs to supplement your income????????? Thoughts like that are what makes this world a scary place to live in. Some day maybe people will come to there senses but im not counting on it. G-day all

Posted by: relieved Location: marietta on Jul 10, 2008 at 04:48 PM
the only people who really have a right to say anything about this whole case are people who went to this quack, police/investigators, or people that work at nearly all the pharmacies locally that were smart enough to refuse to fill the rx's written by him. none that i ever saw and turned away were anything but controlled substances, be it nerve meds pain meds or ADD meds. honestly, there's no possible way all his patients needed the exact same 3 or 4 drugs i always saw with the exact same strength and ridiculous quantities. i agree with Me. if you're defending him its probably b/c you've been there, bought from someone who has, sold them, or know someone who might've. what he was doing was way different than what drs at pain management clinics would do if the clinic you chose was a reputable one. keryn your right people will still seek here and elsewhere but pharm. won't have to deal with people who r stil addicts which gladly is not you anymore. we have enough here we don't need more

Posted by: just another name Location: wood county on Jul 10, 2008 at 12:01 PM
as for calling this dr. an enabler, thats like calling everyone an enabler. the pharmasists are enabling, the taxis the parents who bale their kids out of jail, the councilers who treat addiction, the methadone clinics who save lives everyday. please, even the wood county sheriff the one who's son was in the news all the time, he's an enabler, lets arrest him. where will it end people. surely if u knew him u would know that he wasnt bringing in oodles of money or going out in style. he thought he was helping people, and it would be a shame to see u or anyone else end up in this same situation, to find out that someone u helped turned out to be a user or dealer that fingered u to the cops as a source. this is a shame on our police dept. and our country, no dr. should have to deny treatment out of fear that he could later be prosicuted for it. to those that say he knew what he was doing, yes he was treating his patients, like any other dr would, trying to help people not hurt them.

Posted by: Keryn Location: williamstown on Jul 10, 2008 at 11:48 AM
to 'about time' and all others concerned for my children, i am not stupid enough to have children while using, i quit so i could have children, i have been clean by choice for my two yr old and baby. so u dont have to worry. i didnt have some huge habit, and most people selling drugs, are legitamate hurting people looking to supliment their income. the addicts are going to take as many as possible and only sell to support their habbit. and as for the many comments about these pills getting into the hands of children, of course everyone is concerned about that, however arresting drs is not going to stop druggies from selling. arrest the sellers, users, not the drs. and perhaps if u would take care of ur own kids, u wouldn't have to worry about them getting into drugs. maybe no one knows, but the high and middle schools are flooded with drugs have been for years, kids smoke pot between every period, and pass acid, pills, and even drink alcohol in class. ushould know ur enemy from friend

Posted by: very upset and outraged Location: everywhere on Jul 10, 2008 at 11:28 AM
How dare anyone make such a bold statement as to say that the only ones defending this man are addicts. how totally clueless are u?? just because we dont believe everything the slanted cops are telling us and we choose not to judge someone before his trial does not make us addicts. just look at the Jon Benet Ramsey case, for years the police told the media that the parents were the offenders, we all know how that turned out, too little too late. and as for jazzman and the others who keep refering to carloads of people driving from other states, first of all, says u. second, I have seen many people do the exact same thing to go to the cleveland clinic, or charleston, its not uncommon for people to travel for dr. appointments, and certainly not uncommon for people to carpool, especially those who are uninsured or on medicaid for they are the ones without cars most generally, even i try to get all my kids appointments on the same day so i dont have to make several 45 min.trips to the dr.

Posted by: me Location: marietta on Jul 10, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Everyone has an opinion and everyone's opinion counts. Like for example in my opinion all of you dillusional people that chose to defend this dr. in my opinion you were probably one of his patients. But again thats my opinion and everyone is entitled to there own. By the way to those of you who have concluded by my posts that i am a pharmacist, i do not believe i said that, so again that would be your opinion. And to be a pharmacist it takes a little more than 2 years so you should probably be a little more educated in that area before posting. As much as i enjoyed telling my opinions on this issue i think im done and theres not much more to say. I am Happy its over. I hope you enjoy your time in jail dr. galupo i know i will enjoy you being in there!!!

Posted by: hahaha on Jul 10, 2008 at 10:55 AM
to DM: I have needed to use prescription pain killers before. For a limited amount of time. The drugs I was referencing were Adderall, Ritalin, Xanax, etc... Eat one of those pills every 4 hours and you're either 1. going to sleep ALL day or 2. not be able to sit still for a week. And a legitimate dr looks for the source of the pain versus treating the symptoms. Therefore he'd need affiliation with local hospitals to help diagnose patients. Basically he was like, What do you need? Alright, have a nice day. No breath deep, no what's your family history. I think it's really funny that people think he's a good outstanding citizen... And it's NAIVE people not neive or nieve. Thanks to my 4 yr degree I knew that. Seriously people, he packed his stuff up and left because he was hoping he could avoid trouble.... not because he was harrassed by police. He was scared because he knew what he was doing was illegal and morally wrong.

Posted by: Scott Location: parkersburg on Jul 10, 2008 at 09:32 AM
Posted by: About time on Jul 10, 2008 at 12:37 AM are you a doctor? no you're a pill dispenser. leave the doctoring to the doctors and they'll leave the pill dispensing to you.

Posted by: Jazzman Location: Mtta on Jul 10, 2008 at 01:05 AM
This quack does not deserve to be called a doctor; there are many doctors, nurses and pharmacists who are wonderful assets to their communities He is not one of them. He is a black mark on those dedicated people who serve their patients with concern, compassion and integrity. As a physician he is supposed to assess his patients and give them his "educated, professional" opinion. He can't do that is he doesn't even look at them. This quack only took cash. Why? To avoid a paper trail of the insurance cards. His office was often open on Sunday. Why? The working addicted needed time to get to his office? Do you want those addicts driving by YOUR school every month? This man knows what he was doing was wrong and illegal. Car loads of addicts would drive up from KY or other out of town places just because they knew he would score for them… deliver. He is a dealer, a drug addict enabler. I could go on. These quacks are easy for a pharmacist to spot. Just ask them.

Posted by: About time on Jul 10, 2008 at 12:37 AM
Scott- are you kidding me. Pharmacy is at the minimum 6 yrs and all pharmacists graduating these day have a Dr of pharmacy which takes 8 yrs. Don't post any opinions when you are clueless. Keryn- glad to here you are clean but being an addict doesn't make you a genius & I hope your children had someone else caring for them during your addiction. And children can get drugs from friends, family members, and in cabinets but stopping drugs at their source is the place to start. There are people with chronic pain but those people see their Dr. or a pain management Dr. And for the comment about people seeing him because they didn't have insurance but lots of people had insurance (some even medicaid) but paid the $50 to see him and walk out with prescriptions for narcotics they wanted. That is legitimate Dr. Don't think so. It wasn't only Marietta police dept involved. Ohio board of medicine, Ohio board of pharmacy, WV board of pharmacy, and the DEA were all involved.

Posted by: Anonymous Location: Marietta on Jul 9, 2008 at 11:42 PM
Keryn, to address your comment..I am truly in the field and I cannot speak for Marietta OB/GYN's because I do not work in Marietta. I didn't say there weren't any physicians who do this, I said NOT ALL physicians practice this way. Poor man trying to help people without insurance, the 33 week pregnant patient was on medicaid (which we all know pays for Rx's) and she reported that she received these medications from her psychiatrist....oh, maybe she was confused? As an ex addict as you say, you should know first hand what he was up to..why are you defending him. The ID thing, no doctors office asks for ID..I agree. However, who cares the evidence is conclusive without the complaint they didn't ask for ID. Everyone is entitled to their opinion however, he knew what he was doing. He practiced for years, I'm sure made plenty of money....so was ending his career in this fashion really worth it. Final thought: Nieve or upset you can no longer get your meds are the ones who defend this man.

Posted by: susan g. Location: marietta on Jul 9, 2008 at 08:06 PM
to RAVEN, its not that "all the honest hurting patients" will get into trouble by this investigation, but rather that because of these situations it will become harder and harder to obtain prescriptions based on actual need. people get so crazy agianst the war on drugs, that they end up hurting the ones that are follong the rules, and the addicts will continue to break the rules and get the drugs. where will it end, arrest the doctors, then the nurses and dentists, the pharmasists, before long all the good people trying to help will be locked up, and the only ones left will be drug abusers. what good would that do? lets arrest Budweiser, or the liquer stores for when the drunk drivers kill people with their cars. that makes about as much sence as arresting this doctor. everyone is entitled to thier oppinion, too bad most are formed without education

Posted by: Scott Location: Parkersburg on Jul 9, 2008 at 08:03 PM
Posted by: ELAINE Location: MARIETTA on Jul 9, 2008 at 06:30 PM Why is it that those who do not buy the DEA/police version are suddenly selling drugs etc? seems in your fear you have lost common sense and rationalization. One thing about drug users, no one forces them, they go searching for drugs. the drugs would sit there for 1000 years and never harm a soul. How about we arrest for actual crimes: theft,rape,murder instead of people who are harming no one but themselves. What happened to freedom in America? I don't care if they shoot dope, don't harm anyone else, and no one is forcing anyone to do any drug, it is a personal choice that must be made by them and for them. If you're worring about your kids, they are your responsibility, do your job and raise them. Your kids aren't anyones concern except to you and those who would scare you with "it's for the children" while looking to get more funding. how else do you think we went for citizen to subject to law enforcement?

Posted by: kassy Location: p-burg on Jul 9, 2008 at 07:58 PM
oh, and to ELAINE, we're all impressed that u've found ur caps lock button, too bad ur not smart enough to know how to turn it off. bad cyber manners.

Posted by: Kassy Location: pburg on Jul 9, 2008 at 07:56 PM
to poster 'elaine' no one says he was nessisarily 'taken advantage of' of course he knew what he was doing, unfortunatly what he was doing wasn't illegal. when will people learn that cops arent always your friends and just because they call the news cameras and go arrest someone and make up big charges, doesnt mean he did anything wrong. why hasnt anyone wondered why wtap was their first call? before parading over there to humiliate this man and potentially ruin his life, innocent until proven guilty, no one knows if any of these allogations are true.

Posted by: sam Location: marietta on Jul 9, 2008 at 07:50 PM
People will always abuse the systems, that doesnt mean we should arrest every doctor whose name appears on the perscriction bottle in the hands of an addict. Doctors can not be held responsible for people car pooling to his office or chosing to sell or abuse their perscriptions. where will it end,should we begin prosocuting the pharmisists who dispence them, and the drug manufacturers who make the medicines?

Posted by: DM Location: williamstown on Jul 9, 2008 at 07:45 PM
to HAHAHA aparently u havent ever needed any of these medications or u would understand that if u wait more than four hours, the last pill wears off and u feel bad, which is the very reason u were perscribed them to begin with. lets leave the math and diagnosis to the doctors. I would completl understand why any local doctor would not want to deal with local hospitals, the only decent one was selby, now mmh has taken over. I wouldnt go to any of those hospitals if my life depended on it. I had to go to cawdwell for my obgyn. these hospitals have no idea what they are doing, my grandma had a car accident and broke her hip, but they didnt know for two years, then while pushing her in a wheelchair they stubbed her toe, and do to their care she lost her toe, foot, and eventually her leg before dieing in their care. i wouldnt deal with them either.

Posted by: dan Location: marietta on Jul 9, 2008 at 07:37 PM
hey "me" anyone can POSE as a pharmasist and pass crazy judgements upon people, but one day perhaps u will be in pain and find how difficult it is these days to get help because of misunderstanding judgemental people like you who think they know it all. I agree with both scott and keryn, let the dr.s do their jobs and u stick to counting pils and following orders. dont be so nieve in calling perfect strangers nieve simply becasue they have differing oppinions than you. perhaps they do know more than you, that could be possible. believe it or not, police officers, prosicuters, and judgesarent always upstanding good citizens, maybe he gave up his licence to aviod nasty nonsence that the marietta and washington co. law enforcement are known for.

Posted by: keryn on Jul 9, 2008 at 07:30 PM
to 'me' I pay with hundred dollar bills, and I'm not selling, there u go judging agian!! actually I have seen scripts from dentists, dr.s and er's for more than 20, and many dr.s write scripts for more too, and I've never shown my id to anyone in my life. no doctor is writing scripts for $50 thats just silly, the $50 is what he probably charged for the visit, not the script. dont believe everything u read. and if he did just charge $50 that was a bargain i've never spent less than $75 at any dr office, and i wasnt paying for the script, thats for the pharmisists or did u forget. and had he not gotten names, how would the police officers investigate? Pharmasists havent seen anything. I've seen the dark side of everything, I am more experienced and educated here than anyone standing behind the counter with a little two year degree. most drug addicts using presrciption drugs are business men and soccer moms, like the Weiser&cawley people. and define outrageous? sometimes drs know more

Posted by: ELAINE Location: MARIETTA on Jul 9, 2008 at 06:30 PM
GET REAL PEOPLE!!!! HE WAS NOT TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF...HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING!!! I HOPE ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE SELLING THE DRUGS THAT THEY GOT FROM HIM ARE ARRESTED, BUT I WON'T HOLD MY BREATH... HE MAY BE A NICE MAN BUT HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING!!!!!!!!!!!1

Posted by: Scott Location: Parkersburg on Jul 9, 2008 at 05:16 PM
Hey Raven, if these people were coming in and getting prescriptions without id, yadda yadda yadda, how will they get these numbers to call? Sounds a lot fishy to me. inside source huh? interesting. on another note, why do all of you hide behind fake names? could it be you just wanrt to feel important but actually have no connections at all? That sounds a little fishy to me too.

Posted by: Scott Location: Parkersburg on Jul 9, 2008 at 04:51 PM
"Posted by: Me Location: Marietta on Jul 8, 2008 at 10:35 PM" How about you do your job of dispensing the prescriptions and leave the doctoring to those who stayed in school for the credentials to be an MD. The way I read your post, you're just a pharmacist, meaning at best you have a 2 year program to stand on. Between you and the DEA, why do we even need doctors to begin with? :rolleyes:

Posted by: Raven Location: Parkersburg on Jul 9, 2008 at 04:38 PM
Sounds like its not only the Doc in trouble. So all the honest hurting patients have nothing to worry about but from what i understand from an inside source is that all of his pain medication patients will be getting a phone call very soon telling them to bring in their scripts and pills to local law enforcement. I guess they want to count your pills Oh My whos in trouble now. I hope law enforcemt follows up and takes all the drug abusers off the street.Cudos to the Washington County Sheriffs Dept

Posted by: me Location: marietta on Jul 9, 2008 at 04:04 PM
Unfortunatly Loraine there is not, there are central databases that cover different states but they are not linked. Hopefully that will be coming soon.

Posted by: me Location: marietta on Jul 9, 2008 at 03:56 PM
keryn?? . . you seriously think that someone who comes in to a pharmacy, wips out a roll of 100 dollar bills to buy there CII narcotics written in outrageous quantities, are not selling them, appearently I underestimated how nieve you really are. And yes the dealers will get the drugs somewhere else but does that make it ok? NO it does not! And if you go to the ER or the Dentist you may get 20 vicodin or 6 percocet if you really sell your pain story, but no ER or Dentist i have been to will write you out a PRESCRIPTION for 180 percocet for $50 cash. Not to mention not getting a name or any kind of identification before giving out the prescription. You may think you have more experience than everyone here, but i say your wrong on this issue. I am glad to hear you have been clean for 3 years and congratulations but be a little more informed before commenting on the issues please.

Posted by: hahaha on Jul 9, 2008 at 02:49 PM
health care professional-- I'd like to see someone take a ritalin or adderall every four hours. HAHA is right. And get realistic here, people who legitimately NEED xanax and the such aren't popping them every four hours on the dot. The people who need the drugs for legitimate reasons might have a problem dealing with a Dr. who did not have any affiliation with local hospitals. And who area pharmacists were REFUSING his prescriptions because a carload of people would get out and each have one to get filled. YEAH. Sounds like a by the book business to me. If he wasn't guilty would he have surrendered his license so quickly and without a fight??

Posted by: Tammy Location: Parkersburg on Jul 9, 2008 at 02:16 PM
Ha Ha Ha. Some of these post are just hilarious. What about the children? How many of you drug your children daily so you don't have to deal with them? Thats the real problem. We teach our children and have for years, its ok to seek drugs, legal or illegal to alter our behavior or to make us feel better. Wake up!! If you want drugs you dont need a doctor. Hell I can't even get my doctor to prescribe much needed pain meds. Just take advil, he says. So I think its "innoccent until proven guilty".

Posted by: Susan Location: Marietta on Jul 9, 2008 at 01:27 PM
It amazes me how opinionated people are in this area who have no idea what they're talking about. WTAP as well as all of the local papers are FED this coverage by law enforcement with no amount of "objective" coverage. People suck up this information as truth and then get on blogs like this one and write opinions about something they know nothing about. Anonymous is right in saying innocent until proven guilty. It's easy for law enforcement to get all the press and make their case in the media, but has anyone ever noticed there is no balance to the coverage? It's always the information fed to the media by the prosecutor's office or some other branch of law enforcement that gets all the air-time. I didn't see one patient or colleague of his mentioned or interviewed. All I saw was what law enforcement wanted us to see. I wish people would do more research and ask more questions instead of blindly believing what WTAP and local law enforcement WANTS them to believe. Get a LIFE people

Posted by: Loraine Location: Parkersburg on Jul 9, 2008 at 12:50 PM
I have been to the Dr's with chronic pain and have been prescribed drugs BUT you must have valid ID sign releases that you will not get other drugs from any office or ER and u also have to attend PT or other forms of help to get better, not just take drugs and see you next month. If your Dr doesnt make you sign releases or check your ID then you should be aware of what kind of DR he is. Is there not some kind of data base yet where pharmacies can see what you are being dispenced every month? If there was a national data base this couldnt happen.

Posted by: Anonymous on Jul 9, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Just watched the newscast, what happened to 'innocent until prven guilty?' when have any of us been to a dr.s office and only spent $50? so enough about the money. And I have many times been to upstanding Dr.s and had to wait in line or in a waiting area for hours sometimes just to get in. From what I saw on the news that building didnt look so big, probably didnt have much of a waiting room. As for acceptiong cash what would this country be if we didnt accept cash. Even the president knows that almost half the country has little to nomedical coverage. One of many reasons that separte us from third world countries is our right to seek health care no matter what our appearance or economic statis. I would hate to be judged by a pharmasist or Dr. based upon my appearance after being sick. No one loos great when they are seing a Dr. if we did, we probably wouldnt be needing a dr. and to 'about time' people will always drive all over to find drugs, that what they do.

Posted by: Keryn Location: Wiliamstown on Jul 9, 2008 at 12:00 PM
to Anonymous, if u really are 'in the field' as u say, perhaps u would consider takeing a look around at ur colleages in the are because that is exactly what they are prescribing, and more. I have a degree in early childhood developement, and understand the damaging life-altering affects that alchohol and drug use have ona baby, but have also heard several OBGYN dr.s and nurses in Marietta tell Preagnant patients not only does marijuana not hurt a baby but actually helps them. These are people we trust, so dont think that it doesnt happe. This man was trying to help people. Some people lie, believe it or not. to 'itsabouttime' they'll still come here, and everywhere else, dont be nieve. the only reason the cops came down on this dr. is because they busted a user and offered the DRUGGIE a deal to stay on the street if he gives up other people and rather than narking out his friends he gave up the one innocent person in this whole situaton. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

Posted by: Keryn Location: Williamstown on Jul 9, 2008 at 11:28 AM
I am a mother of two, and I, of all people, understand the fears of knowing that your children could be exposed to drugs. I have seen it over and over. That does not give anyone the right to Slander a Dr. for doing his job the best he can. I have never heard of being carded at the dr. office that would be absurd! and I have been to dr.s and e.r.s for many reasons and never had to do anything more than tell them my symptoms and get a diagnosis, no dr. in town really examines his patients the way he probably should. there just isnt time these days. There will always be abusers of the systems set up to help people. Dont judge this man without being educated. And for anyone praising the Marietta Police Dept.?? what a joke! for crying out loud one chief of police was kicked out for talking about growing pot! I have a very loving relative who served for 20 years at the marietta city police dept. trust me they arent anything to be praised.

Posted by: Scott Location: Parkersburg on Jul 9, 2008 at 11:23 AM
O gotta tell you, I have never in my life had a doctor ask me for my ID. have any of you every had the doctor ask you for that? Nice to know that the DEA with their vast medical study can override the doctors degrees and oath. Unbelievable I giess the doctor should have prescribed all the new meds that DO NOT WORK instead. :(

Posted by: Keryn Location: Williamstown on Jul 9, 2008 at 11:13 AM
well to the comenter called 'me' how totally wrong and completly outragiouse for u to call ME nieve!!! Of all people I have more experience than any pharmasist or dr. or police officer combined! I have been clean and sober for three years now, and I know how easy it was to go to any dr. in town or any hospital around and get the same thing, and had he not givin out these perscriptions, the abusers would have found it somewhere else, but those who truely needed it would not be getting the help and treatment needed to live a normal life. and to 'ppb' and all the other commenters that think these are going to children, please! kids and teens get the pills from mommy's cabinets, not these people. Those getting pills from dr.s whether rightfully or not, are not seling to kids, more often than not, they are taking them all themselves. and those that are selling are going to sell wether they get it from him, or the E.R. or dentist or anywhere.

Posted by: Sincere Location: Marietta on Jul 9, 2008 at 09:19 AM
I know Dr. Galupo personally and know he is a well respected doctor who was providing services to those who may not have insurance and may not be able to afford care. Pain management medicine is very difficult to know who is sincere and who is not. Many bad people try to take advantage of doctors faking symptoms of pain and are very good at it. Chronic pain is a horrible condition to sincerely have and it is wonderful that people like Dr. Galupo are trying to helping them. He is a wonderfully caring man and doctor. We are lucky in our community to have him. I am very disappointed in the sensationalism that wtap is taking. I would hope the Marietta police are investigating all doctors and put more time and money towards catching the people that are taking advantage of doctors and selling or using the drugs. Dr. Galupo has a wonderful family and we should all support them.

Posted by: Alcohol Kills2 Location: Parkersburg on Jul 9, 2008 at 06:36 AM
When is alcohol going to join the "drug" list? It destroys as many lives and families as other drugs do. It destroyed my family, so I've always been amazed by the government's acceptance of it. It's the most hypocritical SCAM by government I can think of! Even after three DUI conviction's in West Virginia, the punishment isn't jail, it's home confinement! WAKE UP AMERICA

Posted by: About time Location: Marietta on Jul 9, 2008 at 01:05 AM
People from TN and KY don't drive to our area in carloads to see a legitimate Dr. when they all leave with prescriptions for #200 percocet each. Pay the $50 and he would write the rx you want. No exam. No insurance. No questions. A line of people outside his office on Saturday waiting to get seen. If you figure the numbers 2oo tablets per patient at even small number of 50 patients it would be 10,000 tablets in a day. Some ending up on the street. Probably sold to your child, friend, or family members in OUR community. Everyone should be MAD at this man. We all pay for his decision to come to our community.

Posted by: Citizen Location: Marietta on Jul 8, 2008 at 11:34 PM
Does any Drs office ask for ID before they see you? Perhaps an insurance card but I have never had to show proof of identity. If this is part of the charges then they should arrest every Dr. in town. He voluntarily closed his office months ago when he heard that some people were critical of his practice. He tried to help many people with real pain problems. Also, I'm sure that people with drug habits rushed to a new Dr. in town because they were refused drugs by other Drs in town who know them. Perhaps he was naive to some degree but calling him a drug trafficker is going too far.

Posted by: Ben Location: stolen on Jul 8, 2008 at 11:21 PM
just leave the man alone and let him handle his job to the best he can.

Posted by: Me Location: Marietta on Jul 8, 2008 at 10:35 PM
Upset citizen, and Keryn how can you possibly be so nieve. He was a drug dealer the only difference is he was not out there on the street selling them. He wrote Large quantities of Narcotis to off the street patients without so much as a name or any ID. No licenced professional would be doing that, I do not see how you could think he is just a poor man, who is being misrepresented, he is an enabler. You know how those drugs get on the street that kids end up buying, guys like this prescribe them to losers that go out and sell them. I work for a nearby pharmacy and have been seeing what he is writing, and who he is writing them for and trust me its a good thing he is out of business. And in closing its not subscriptions, that would be if you were signing up for a magazine. This would be prescriptions and I congratulate the Marietta Police Department for getting this trash off of the streets!

Posted by: itsabouttime Location: marietta on Jul 8, 2008 at 09:38 PM
This was a long time coming for this dr. and the community will be better for it. working in a pharmacy i've seen all the illegitimate rx's he's written and will be happy to no longer be bothered by drug seekers coming from states away willing to pay hundreds of dollars in cash for their meds. there were very few rx's that didn't have suspicion written all over them. all i can say is "it's about time"!!!

Posted by: Anonymous Location: local resident on Jul 8, 2008 at 09:06 PM
For all supporters of this "poor doctor who was taken advantage of", anyone in the medical field knows that you do not give ANYONE 90 percocet, 90 adderall, and 90 ativan to anyone in those quantities. I know for a fact that this doctor prescribed these medications in the above listed quantity...and yes all three of these medications the same day to a 33 week pregnant patient. She is not obese and obviously pregnant...so how compassionate is a doctor who gives prescriptions for 360 pills in one day to a pregnant patient. And for the person who stated he is doing what any doctor does..have some respect for the physicians who watch out for their patients and consider the addiction of these kind of medications. EVERY doctor does not do this. I see people on a daily basis who are addicted to drugs and manipulate the system any way they can to obtain these medications. As a DR, you have to be aware of addiction, try to prevent it, offer resources for rehab, and not encourage the behavior.

Posted by: Health care professional Location: Marietta on Jul 8, 2008 at 08:40 PM
HAHA sounds like a user himself. Way to go with the math, friend. Lets see if a patient has a Rx for 1-2 tablets every 4-6 hours for pain as necessary how many tablets might one take in a 24 hour period. Multiply that number by 30 days in a month and guess what the number you get exceeds 90 tablets if the patient was taking the 2 tablets allowed every 4 hours as allowed. Amazingly, some prescriptions are for more than the 10 tablets that the E.R. doc might give to a suspected user like he appears to be by the language and intelligence, or lack thereof, in the post. So, I guess you could say I am calling the spade as I see it, a spade. The physician being held for not requesting proof of identification, sounds like the victim of just another of the exploitations that seem to be rampant in this community. Note to HAHA, hope you never need pain medication in my facility. It might not be available to you thanks to the our slap happy cops and equally unimpressive media coverage.

Posted by: Chris Location: Marietta on Jul 8, 2008 at 08:03 PM
Dr. Pete is a good man and the truth will be known.Compassionate, yes, a supplier, no. He would never distribute medications illegally. How many times have you ever been asked to show ID at a doctors visit? Maybe an insurance card for payment purposes, but to be carded at the doctors? No way. Unfortunately there are too many users who prey upon the compassion of physicians. Lets hear both sides of the story before casting judgement. Pain control is an issue for many patients and those who abuse and make it necessary for the police to feel the need to trap honest physicians are the same folks who make it difficult for suffering patients in pain to get necessary medications. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Pete and his family through this trying time. Think about the injustice and how this entrapment may affect each and every one of us who may need pain medication in the future if the local physicians may wonder if there is truly pain involved or a sting waiting to happen.

Posted by: PPB Location: VIENNA on Jul 8, 2008 at 07:24 PM
COME ON PEOPLE,, IF U FEEL SORRY FOR HIM YOU WERE PROBALLY ONE OF HIS DRUG SEEKING PATIENTS, THIS MAN WOULD ONLY TAKE CASH, AND NOT BILL INSURANCE, NOT DEAL WITH ANY HOSPITAL, EVEN TO RECIEVE TEST RESULTS. A MAN WITH THAT KIND OF EDUCATION KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING !! THANK GOD FOR OUR EXCEPTIONAL TASK FORCE FOR KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY SAFE. THIS GUY WAS SUPPLYING THE DRUGS OUR KIDS COULD HAVE BEEN OFFERED TO BUY.

Posted by: Mandark Location: Marietta on Jul 8, 2008 at 07:20 PM
Obviously, there will always be people who abuse various substances. But I sure hope I never have a chronic pain whose pharmaceutical alleviation is outlawed by politicians and other do-gooders.

Posted by: Pete Location: Parkersburg, WV on Jul 8, 2008 at 07:17 PM
Why do doctors/people like this somehow think they will get away by prescribing large quantities of drugs to the druggies and not get caught?? Is this really worth the 'extra money' they'll make until they are caught?

Posted by: HAHA on Jul 8, 2008 at 06:53 PM
Except that he wrote a script of percs or xanax or oxy's to every joe coming in off the street. And not just a month supply, like 90 at a time. I'd say call a spade a spade.

Posted by: Upset Citizen Location: Marietta on Jul 8, 2008 at 06:52 PM
I agree with Keryn. C'mon people, he is a passionate, sincere man who just got himself caught up by letting these addicts and manipulators take advantage of him. He wanted to help people, not be a drug dealer. Maybe the task force needs to investigate ALL doctors, Im sure there are many out there who constantly write prescriptions over and over for the same narcotics, not to mention to the same people!

Posted by: Keryn Location: Williamstown on Jul 8, 2008 at 06:23 PM
How dare you misrepresent this poor man repeatedly before and after every commercial with all those teasers about him trafficing DRUGS and implying that he is selling controlled substances. He was a Dr. writing subscriptions to his patients. He was writing them to himself, he wasn't abusing them. I understand that the police officers may be charging him with those false charges, but after watching your story, I cant believe uyou would represent the story that way! I dont know this man, and I'm not aDr. so I dont know the regulations, but from your interveiws with the police men, it wsounds like he did what every dr. I've ever been seen by at the E.R. he asked for symptoms, Diognosed them, and wrote a perscription. I've been to many hospitals, and no one ever ran tests, or even looked at me when i went in, I would say I had a tooth ache or whatever, and they would write perscriptions for pain killers. He is not a drug dealer, he was a licenced profesional. stop the false teasers.