Perry Physician Indicted for Unlawfully Dispensing Controlled Substances

TALLAHASSEE—Perry, Florida physician Eulogio Muncal Vizcarra, 71, was arrested yesterday on charges contained in a federal indictment. U.S. Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced that the grand jury charged Vizcarra with 49 counts of unlawfully dispensing or causing the dispensing of controlled substances.

According to the indictment, Vizcarra operated a medical business known as the Perry Family Medical Clinic on S. Jefferson Street in Perry, Florida, where Vizcarra is charged to have prescribed controlled substances to patients without sufficient medical necessity. He allegedly prescribed these substances in quantities and dosages that caused patients to abuse, misuse, and become addicted to the drugs. The indictment further alleges that Vizcarra prescribed controlled substances to patients knowing that the patients were addicted to and misusing these drugs and that he continued to prescribe addictive controlled substances to patients even after learning that the patients had suffered overdoses on the drugs, were selling the drugs, or were “doctor shopping.”

He made his initial court appearance on the charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles A. Stampelos at the U.S. District Courthouse in Tallahassee today. The trial is scheduled for April 14 before U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker at the U.S. District Courthouse in Tallahassee.

If convicted of unlawfully dispensing controlled substances, Vizcarra faces a term of up to 5, 10, or 20 years’ imprisonment depending upon the controlled substances involved, and a fine of up to $1,000,000.

This indictment is the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Florida Department of Health, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric K. Mountin.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.