WARREN Doctor gets sentence in drug-trafficking case

The doctor said he was duped by former patients.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A 67-year-old Newton Falls family physician, who pleaded guilty to 19 counts of drug trafficking, has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Dr. Pedro Yap, who lives in Warren but practiced in Newton Falls, was sentenced during a 90-minute hearing Wednesday in the courtroom of Judge W. Wyatt McKay.
The Trumbull County Common Pleas courtroom was packed with family members and friends of the doctor, who described Dr. Yap as "an excellent person who will do anything for his patients."
"This is completely out of character," said longtime friend William Zamarelli, a local Realtor. "I met him 30 years ago when he first came here, and I helped him locate a home. His wife passed away several years ago, and he has done a beautiful job raising two sons and a daughter. He is a very, very caring man."
Prosecutor's charge
Atty. Chris Becker, an assistant county prosecutor, said Yap wrote prescriptions of OxyContin for two patients he saw on a regular basis and for others he had not seen.
Becker said the majority of those receiving the prescriptions did not have a medical reason to obtain the addictive painkiller.
"He completely disregarded the law and wrote prescriptions for this drug like it was candy," Becker said.
Aceology Medical Review says OxyContin is a pain medicine approved for patients who have to be on a painkiller for an extended period.
OxyContin is made by Purdue Pharma L.P. of Connecticut and is the controlled release form of oxycodone. Swallowing broken, chewed or crushed OxyContin tablets could lead to a toxic dose of oxycodone, authorities said.
Becker, who had asked the judge to sentence Dr. Yap to five years in prison, said the doctor had been paid to write the prescriptions.
Doctor's contention
Dr. Yap, however, told the judge that the two men who came to his office for the prescriptions paid only the $25 office visit. Dr. Yap said the patients told him they were in pain and needed the drug. He said the men also said they had friends and family members that also were in severe pain and needed the medicine.
"I was duped," Dr. Yap said. "I trusted my patients. Money was not an object at all. I worked every day and devoted all my time to my patients. I was not aware that people were using me. I don't know what else to say."
Jeff Orr of the Trumbull County Sheriff's Department, who investigated the case, said he does not believe Dr. Yap made a lot of money.
"Dr. Yap is a man who tries too hard and does too much for his patients," said Atty. John Pyle of Cleveland, who represented the physician. "In the human equation, there are people who will exploit a trusting man like Dr. Yap."
Pyle noted that one of Dr. Yap's former patients was convicted of selling the OxyContin and received "only a six-month" sentence.
Judge McKay said during sentencing that he was convinced that money was not a motivating factor in Dr. Yap's decision to write the prescriptions.
"What you did caused a lot of grief and heartache for a lot of people," Judge McKay said. "All you had to do was say no."
sinkovich@vindy.com