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JIM THORPE — An Allentown doctor charged in 2013 with writing fraudulent prescriptions that netted thousands of oxycodone pills for a New Jersey dealer has pleaded guilty.
John R. Manzella, 52, of the 2700 block of W. Fairview St. faced 99 counts alleging he ran a pill mill from his Jim Thorpe medical practice. He pleaded guilty this week in Carbon County Court to one count each of conspiracy and unlawful dispensing by a practitioner, according to a spokesman for the state attorney general’s office.
Allentown attorney Glenn Goodge, who represents Manzella, did not respond to messages Friday. Manzella’s medical license has been suspended by the Pennsylvania Board of Osteopathic Medicine since August 2013, according to public records.
Manzella was charged in July 2013 following an investigation by state narcotics agents stemming from a mortgage fraud investigation targeting a Newark, N.J. man. While executing warrants at the office of Robert J. Kosch, New Jersey authorities located unfilled prescriptions and letters from Manzella stating that patients were under his care, court papers say.
Pennsylvania authorities reviewed a state prescription monitoring database and found numerous prescriptions for narcotics from Manzella filled at pharmacies throughout eastern Pennsylvania. When authorities searched Manzella’s records they found files for only nine of the 35 patients to whom he prescribed the drugs, according to court papers.
Further investigation revealed Manzella’s office had verified the prescriptions when Kosch went to pharmacies to have them filled, allowing him to obtain more than 10,000 oxycodone pills. Kosch intended to deliver the pills to others, court records alleged.
Kosch, 60, is also charged with 300 offenses including conspiracy, identity theft, drug possession, possession with intent to distribute and unlawful dispensing of controlled substances. His case is marked inactive in Carbon County Court records. New Jersey Department of Corrections show Kosch is serving up to 15 years in state prison for theft, identity theft and forgery. He is also sentenced to six years in prison for drug possession.
Public records show Manzella’s medical license was suspended because he was diagnosed with substance dependency, charged with diverting prescription medication and violated the medical board’s regulations by having sexual relationships with patients he was treating.
Manzella is scheduled to be sentenced July 3.