A doctor who lives in Drums, Butler Township, has been charged by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office with redirecting fentanyl and Dilaudid by changing records and reports while serving as an anesthesiologist at medical centers in Berks and Columbia counties.
Richard Lemaster Hubbell, 60, faces 32 felony charges related to acquiring or possessing a controlled substance, as well as associated misdemeanors.
Hubbell appeared in court on Thursday before District Judge James M. Dixon of Hazle Township and was released on $150,000 unsecured bail.
“This defendant pledged to safeguard his patients, but instead misused his authority to redirect hundreds of potentially deadly doses of substances,” stated Attorney General Michelle Henry in a news release. “No level of power or influence justifies breaking the law, and my office will uphold its obligation to safeguard the public without exceptions based on position or rank.”
During a search of Hubbell’s home on Long Run Road, agents from the Attorney General’s Office allegedly discovered numerous used and unused vials and syringes containing fentanyl and Dilaudid, as stated in the news release.
According to the allegations, the investigation uncovered that Hubbell was redirecting the substances by falsifying records to indicate that the substances were given to patients, including some who did not even need them.
Hubbell allegedly diverted the substances while working at Pennsylvania Eye and Ear Surgical Center in Berks County and Berwick Hospital in Columbia County.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Michelle Hardik is handling the prosecution.
