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A Portage man, who used his dental practice employees to fill oxycodone prescriptions for his own use, was placed on three years’ probation Tuesday in federal court with the first six months in home confinement.
Dr. Christopher Kania, 50, has practiced in Mauston and Necedah and has had a lengthy history of substance abuse.
According to a memo Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Schlipper wrote the court:
Kania and his wife owned a dental practice for many years until 2008. During their marriage, Kania learned that his wife cheated on him which led his emotional breakdown followed by abusing cocaine and alcohol.
He was convicted for misdemeanor domestic violence which prompted the Wisconsin Dentistry Board to stay a suspension of his license.
Kania began working at Castle Rock Dental in 2014.
In the first 10 months of 2016, Kania apparently diverted five prescriptions for opioids. In November 2016, he began diverting larger amounts of oxycodone for his personal use.
He asked four employees to fill oxycodone prescriptions and give him the pills. He told them that he had knee pain but his insurance company would not cover the medication. Each employee thought they were the only one filling prescriptions for him.
Kania’s employees knew he had addiction issues and several saw suspicious activity between Kania and one patient, who the employees believed was delivering drugs that he and Kania were using in the clinic’s basement.
Kania wrote his patients about 26 oxycodone prescriptions in a two-year period.
At a December 2017 holiday party, Kania’s staff discovered that four of them were filling prescriptions for Kania simultaneously and agreed to stop helping him obtain drugs.
However, Kania wrote four more prescriptions to the patient that staff suspected of using drugs with Kania. When the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated, the agency found records that Kania had been diverting oxycodone for more than two years using staff and patients
While no employee said they were coerced into obtaining drugs for Kania, one quit because she believed he was using drugs in the office.
As a long-term addict, Kania knew which staff and patients he could use in his drug diversion scheme, wrote Schlipper, who added that Kania warranted a lengthy sentence.
Kania’s attorney, Mark Maciolek, disagreed, and wrote the court that his client has been in addiction treatment for two years and doesn’t need to be incarcerated.
“He is in the midst of a sustained, successful period of medication-supported recovery. Even when Chris was abusing opioids, there were no complaints he performed poorly as a dentist … the Government wants to punish Chris for being an addict, and the way he obtained opioid medications through diversion,” Maciolek wrote.
While in treatment, Kania has passed 175 drug screens and attended 540 Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, Maciolek wrote.
Maciolek wrote that Kania took oxycodone after his shift at the dental office and would work thought the next day before feeling withdraw symptoms.
“Chris worked hard at Castle Rock dentistry, enough that he earned $520,000 a year. He was on his feet in the clinic day after day, and suffered from knee pain,” Maciolek wrote.
Kania not only takes responsibility for his actions, he is operating the first opioid-free dental clinic in the state, Maciolek, wrote.
“Chris hopes to share his opioid-free pain management techniques with new and established dentists. He, of all people, understands the risks opioids present, especially to people who are in opioid recovery,” Maciolek wrote.
The sentencing was conducted via conference call which concluded without the audio transmitted to a reporter leaving any remarks made by District Judge James Peterson or Kania unavailable for this report.
While Kania’s license is valid until Sept. 30, 2021, Maciolek writes that the Wisconsin Dental Board is planning to place Kania under a five-year monitoring order that will require him to attend AA meetings, submit random samples for drug testing, and continue in addiction therapy.
Maciolek said he anticipates at its July meeting that the Dental Board will suspend Kania’s license and a stay of suspension will be entered after four months.