Jury Convicts Two Doctors Of Conspiracy To Commit Money Laundering Resulting From Pill Mill Operation In Broward And Palm Beach Counties
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in (SAC), Drug Enforcement (DEA), Miami Field Division, Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Michael J. De Palma, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CID), announce the conviction of two doctors, Cynthia Cadet, 43, of Parkland, FL, and Joseph Castronuovo, 73, of Key Largo, FL. After a two month trial, a West Palm Beach jury found the defendants guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The jury also returned a forfeiture verdict in the amount of $10,001, as to each defendant. The defendants were acquitted of the remaining charges. Sentencing has been scheduled for November 4, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth A. Marra.
The charges against the defendants stem from Operation Oxy Alley, a coordinated investigation into pill mills in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. In August 2011, thirty-two defendants, including Cadet and Castronuovo, were charged with racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and other offenses. Twenty-eight defendants have entered guilty pleas and been sentenced in connection with the August 2011 Indictment.
According to the August 2011 Superseding Indictment and evidence presented in court, defendants Christopher and Jeffrey George, twin brothers, operated, managed and financed four pain management clinics in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. According to the August 2011 Superseding Indictment, the Second Superseding Indictment filed on July 19, 2012, and statements made in court, from 2007 to early 2010, these clinics distributed approximately 20 million oxycodone pills and made more than $40 million from the illegal sales of controlled substances. Thirteen of the thirty-two defendants were doctors, including Cadet and Castronuovo.
The Second Superseding Indictment charged Cadet and Castronuovo with conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute controlled (punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment) and money laundering (punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment). Cadet was also charged with dispensing oxycodone and other controlled substances that resulted in the death of seven (each count punishable by up to life imprisonment) and conspiracy to unlawfully distribute (punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment). Castronuovo was also charged with dispensing oxycodone and other controlled substances that resulted in the death of two individuals, and conspiracy to distribute oxycodone to persons under the age of twenty-(punishable by up to forty years’ imprisonment).
Operation Oxy Alley is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The OCDETF mission is to identify, investigate, and prosecute high level members of drug trafficking enterprises, bringing together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.
