The brother of a doctor indicted in a heavily publicized “pill mill” case in Biloxi has been sentenced to only time served, reports the Biloxi-Gulfport Sun-Herald here, and local TV WLOX-13 here.
The brother, Richard Trieu, who also acted as the medical clinic’s office manager, had been charged with 21 felony counts; one conspiracy count and 20 counts for each of the 20 prescriptions at issue in the case. The amended indictment upped the number of charges to 60 counts, including serious federal drug charges.
Trieu was arrested in May 2008 together with his brother and sister-in-law Dr. Thomas Trieu and Dr. Victoria Van (shown with their children in photo), and Nick Tran the pharmacist next door. Read here.
In February, Richard Trieu pleaded guilty to one single count of misprision of felony, defined as failure to report a crime and is a crime rarely used. (Read short analysis in the Bolsavik’s posting here.)
It is for that single count that Trieu faced his punishment on Friday. The sentence given was for the 84 days he already served, plus one year of probation, and a fine of $5,000 and court cost of $100.
The sentence allowed Trieu to walk right out of court a free man.
Dr. Trieu, Dr. Van, and pharmacist Tran still face a trial in July. Read more about the case here, here and here.
The light sentence given to Trieu compared with the original heavy indictment prompted his lawyer to pronounce, “The result was quite different than the government alleged the outcome would be,” as quoted by the Sun Herald.
It is possible that the light sentence may reflect some part of the plea bargain that may yet be publicized. For example, part of the plea bargain may contain conditions for Trieu to testify as government witness.
On the other hand, it may simply reflect some weaknesses in the government’s case.
If so, questions will be raised on the tactics used by law enforcement, when the doctors were handcuffed and led from their medical clinic, with live TV camera already waiting to capture the scene.
It also gives credence to the assertion by the doctor’s family (as stated in exclusive interview with the Bolsavik here) that the government objected to bail for the doctors in an attempt to coerce them into a guilty plead that may not be supported by the evidence.
