Two others charged in the case waived their right to a preliminary hearing.

Two others charged in the case waived their right to a preliminary hearing.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A New Castle physician wanted on drug and fraud charges has been found in Medina, Ohio.
An arrest warrant was issued Sept. 23 for Dr. Philip Wagman by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office after authorities announced charges against Dr. Wagman, another physician and a chiropractor on allegations they distributed massive amounts of OxyContin and other prescription drugs.
Dr. Wagman, 46, of Gretchen Road, was arrested at 4:30 p.m. Thursday after police got a tip from someone in an eatery, said Nils Fredericksen, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office.
He is being held by local police until he can be extradited to Pennsylvania.
Manager became suspicious
The Medina sheriff's office said the manager at Bob Evans Restaurant on state Route 83 and Interstate 71 became suspicious after overhearing a conversation Dr. Wagman was conducting on his cellular telephone. The manager told deputy sheriffs that Dr. Wagman was saying he wanted a one-way ticket and that it sounded as if he was on the run from the law.
Deputies stopped Wagman a short distance from the restaurant in his vehicle.
The two other men charged last week with Dr. Wagman waived their rights to preliminary hearings Thursday.
Dr. William Mangino II, 61, who listed his address as the Comfort Inn in New Castle, and chiropractor Dr. Thomas Wilkins, 41, of Mount Jackson Road appeared Thursday before District Justice J.V. Lamb.
The three men worked together at Work Med and Chiro Med, located at 2017 W. State St., New Castle, in 2003 when the business was brought to the attention of the Pennsylvania 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 estimate the doctors put $50,000 worth of prescription drugs on the street each day. They were seeing about 100 patients each day.
Patients would first visit Dr. Wilkins, the chiropractor, and pay him $25 cash. They would then go to Dr. Wagman or Dr. Mangino and pay $40 for an office visit, according to the attorney general's office.
Dr. Wilkins and Dr. Mangino were arrested Sept. 23.
Both petitioned for and received reduced bonds Thursday. Dr. Wilkins' bond went from $1.5 million to $25,000 and Dr. Mangino's bond was reduced from $1 million to $50,000.
Dr. Wilkins was released from jail after making bond, but Dr. Mangino remained in the Lawrence County Jail this morning.
Surrendered DEA license
Jeff Baxter, senior deputy attorney general, said Dr. Mangino surrendered his U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency license after his appearance in Lamb's courtroom Thursday. Without the license he cannot write prescriptions for narcotics such as OxyContin, Baxter said.
Both men are expected to be formally arraigned in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court in about two months and then a trial date will be set.
It is unclear when Dr. Wagman will be returned to Pennsylvania. New Castle police reported this morning that Dr. Wagman's neighbors called to complain that his cat appeared to have been left home alone for the past week. Neighbors saw the animal sitting in the window every day and were concerned about its welfare. City animal control officers executed a warrant and took the cat to the Lawrence County Humane Society.
cioffi@vindy.com