Today they sentenced Dr. Juan lbanez to four+ years in prison. Seems the good doctor was selling prescriptions over the Internet. Exactly what was he selling to get himself a four-year prison sentence? Painkillers like Hydrocodone. Now, to put this into perspective, doctor Juan didn’t sell a few pills here and there, no, he sold over 85 million dollars worth of the stuff to a worldwide audience. In fact, he operated 13 websites and sold over 50 million pills from 2003 through 2007. He enlisted the help of Tampa area physicians and one can only wonder who they are and what’s in store for them down the road to justice.
lbanez was the brains (no doubt) and knew when it was time cash in his medical license and cooperate with authorities. He was facing a twenty-year prison term but, with his cooperation he quickly shaved that down to four-years and a few months.
It’s been reported that one woman purchased (get this) $40,000.00 worth of the pills over the net for a 40 pill per day habit. The wife of lbanez did her pleading with the court in stating that her husband was a “good man” and that he stood by her when she was dying of cancer. My dad was a good man too and he died while caring for my mom who had cancer but, he never set-up shop on the net and sold $85M worth of painkillers (worldwide). His attorney stated that his client led an otherwise “exemplary life“. Sorry, but, that “exemplary life” included selling painkillers for more than a few years, which ruined more than few lives.
No doubt, the witnesses against the doctor were former patients, who told their stories of ruin and addiction. However, while the doctor was the enabler, what label does one place on the victims. Rush Limbaugh (for all of his nonsense) admitted his addiction to hydrocodone and oxycotin. The news date for the CNN article on Limbaugh’s “open talk about drugs” was in November of 2003 and Dr. lbanez was selling his wares in Florida at about the same time. I wonder if there’s any connection between the two cases. Limbaugh was quoted as stating “I’m no role model” and it’s the first thing out of Rush’s mouth I can agree with. No, sir, you’re NOT a role model for anything I can’t think of.
Nonetheless, the Tampa doctor is going away for a short stay (much less than he deserves) and more than likely much richer for the experience (in financial terms). Under specific laws concerning the sale of drugs, it was my understanding that ill-gotten gains from the sale of drugs (don’t know if this applies to prescription drugs) are forfeited. However, I see nothing on-line or in the local tabs that state anything other then the gross sales of $85M for the period ending November 2007. In other words, what about lbanez’ property and cash, where’s the money?
As for Rush, you’ve really become a bit of a wind-bag over the years and your latest statement concerning Obama and your “hope” that he fails, is what one could expect from a right-wing, know-nothing – recovering drug addict. I thought there were twelve-steps in that program you attended, maybe you skipped a few:-)
It’s a pretty sad day when a Tampa resident (for many years) can’t get a hold of a pair of super bowl tickets unless they mortgage their home, are personal friends with someone in the NFL, a buddy of a high-level executive at Bank of America or, are willing to buy ultra-super season tickets in order to get two halfway decent seats – non nosebleed - thank you very much!
Yes, I spent a few weeks trying to get Super Bowl tickets. I figured that the stadium (at the very least) puts aside tickets for those in the local community. I figured wrong! I called up the stadium and waited for 35 minutes to get through to a real live employee. I asked if there wasa special day (or a way) in which to buy two tickets and he responded that “We’ll, it’s a bit difficult, as the NFL controls the majority of how the tickets are distributed. First, they go to the teams, then to the sponsors, then to more sponsors and then any other sponsors who want them. While our stadium holds 10’s of thousands of people, we simply can’t accommodate those from the local community – it’s out of our hands”.
What’s no surprise is who’s sponsoring some of the pre Super Bowl events. Bank of America (a real Bailout favorite right now) is sponsoring (count em’) 
