NEW CASTLE CASE Wanted doctor arrested in Ohio

The doctor contends he was returning to Pennsylvania to turn himself in.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
MEDINA -- A large amount of cash and several guns were found on a New Castle, Pa., doctor arrested here after authorities had been looking for him for several days.
The Medina County Sheriff's Department stopped Dr. Philip Wagman, 46, of Gretchen Road, New Castle, on Thursday after a manager at a Bob Evans restaurant became suspicious.
The manager had overheard the doctor on his cellular telephone talking about getting a one-way ticket, according to the sheriff's department.
Dr. Wagman is charged with 19 felony counts of violating Pennsylvania's Controlled Substance, Drug Device and Cosmetic Act, 11 counts of Medicaid fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit Medicaid fraud and one count of conspiracy to violate the drug act.
Others charged
Another physician, Dr. William Mangino, 61, who lists his address as the Comfort Inn in New Castle, and a chiropractor, Thomas Wilkins, 41, of Mount Jackson Road, also face drug and fraud charges brought by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office.
The three worked together at Work Med and Chiro Med on West State Street in New Castle when the business was brought to the attention of the attorney general's office. Suspicions were raised when large numbers of people started congregating in front of the office in the early morning, followed by brief visits inside that resulted in frequent and large prescriptions for OxyContin and other drugs.
Authorities estimated the doctors put $50,000 worth of prescription drugs on the street each day.
Waived hearings
Warrants were issued for all three Sept. 23, and Dr. Mangino and Wilkins were arrested that day. Both have already waived their rights to preliminary hearings in Lawrence County courts. Wilkins is free on $25,000 bond, and Mangino remained in the Lawrence County Jail after failing to post $50,000 bond.
Nils Fredericksen, spokesman for the Pennsylvania attorney general's office, said authorities have asked that Dr. Wagman be extradited to Pennsylvania. It's unclear how long it will be before he returns to New Castle.
The Medina County sheriff's office said it found two handguns, two shotguns and ammunition in Dr. Wagman's vehicle after his arrest.
It also found $13,086 in cash in the car, as well as a Western Bank transfer slip for $140,000 and 45 blank prescription pads.
The sheriff's arrest report said Dr. Wagman told deputies that he was heading back to Pennsylvania, where he was going to surrender to police.
Officers said Dr. Wagman was concerned about the money he had in his vehicle. He told them that $7,000 to $8,000 was in a bag that he was going to use for bail when he got to court on Monday.
Just a mistake
During their ride to the jail, deputies reported that Dr. Wagman told them the charges were all a mistake and that he ran a pain management clinic. He told authorities his patients were selling drugs from prescriptions he had written and said he did everything possible to prevent it from happening, including calling local pharmacies and telling them not to fill prescriptions.
He told authorities he worked only 10 days a month to try to cut down on the number of people pestering him for the prescriptions and spends the rest of his time in Florida, from which he was returning. Dr. Wagman told the deputy sheriffs that he had two vehicles in Florida and wanted to return there with a one-way ticket because he had some bank issues to take care of in Florida.
The sheriff's report said that deputies found bank and tax records as well as the weapons and cash in Dr. Wagman's vehicle.
They said the cash was divided into bundles of $1,000 in most cases and the bundles were held together with rubber bands. They also found $1,000 in the doctor's wallet.