LAWRENCE COUNTY New Castle doctors, chiropractor are facing charges over OxyContin

One of the physicians called himself the 'Pablo Escobar of New Castle.'
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Thomas Wilkins had a failing chiropractic practice until he met Philip Wagman, a medical doctor.
They formed a partnership where chiropractic patients would first see Wilkins and then be sent to another room in their State Street office to see Dr. Wagman and later a third medical doctor, William Mangino.
At the height of their partnership, one of the doctors bragged that they were putting about $50,000 worth of OxyContin on the streets of New Castle each day, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Jerry Pappert.
Numerous drug, fraud and conspiracy charges were filed against all three Thursday by the attorney general's office. Wilkins, 41, of Mount Jackson Road, and Dr. Mangino, 61, who listed his address as the Comfort Inn in New Castle, were arrested early that morning. Police were still searching for Dr. Wagman, 46, of Gretchen Road, late Thursday.
Pappert said it is possible that Dr. Wagman left the area knowing he was to be arrested.
Wilkins and Dr. Mangino were arraigned before District Justice J.V. Lamb, who set bail for Wilkins at $1.5 million and Dr. Mangino at $1 million. Pappert said they don't expect to charge any of the more than 100 patients per day who were visiting the doctors.
"Some of these people were there for legitimate injuries," Pappert said. "What makes this particularly repulsive was that these doctors were hooking people on these drugs to make sure they came back again and again."
Court documents say patients had to pay cash for each visit, and Wilkins was given $25 and Dr. Wagman and Dr. Mangino got $40 per office visit. Some patients visited daily or more than once a day.
The practice's office manager Shelly Mae Hudson told the state grand jury that on a good day they would see 118 patients, and on a bad day it was 65. Dr. Wagman was offering patients a $20 discount if they referred another patient to him, she said.
Statement to police
Dr. Mangino told police that Dr. Wagman's regular comment was, "Is this a script mill or is this a script mill!"
Wilkins told authorities that Dr. Wagman often referred to himself as the "Pablo Escobar of New Castle." Escobar was a Colombian drug lord.
Dr. Mangino told police that Dr. Wagman said he made $60,000 to $70,000 cash per month, according to court papers. Dr. Wagman also told Dr. Mangino he could hide his money in Canadian banks so that the federal government couldn't track it, court papers say.
The practice was all walk-ins, and there were no referrals from other patients, authorities said.
The three doctors remained in practice at Work Med Chiro Med at 2017 W. State St., until a search warrant was executed by the attorney general's office Oct. 14, 2003. Dr. Mangino went out on his own after that point and was most recently practicing on Croton Avenue, said Jeff Baxter, senior deputy attorney general. The other two continued to work together in the State Street office, Baxter said.
At his arraignment, Dr. Mangino asked Justice Lamb to release him for one week on his own recognizance so he could continue to work.
"If I don't work this week and next week, I'm not going to make my malpractice insurance payment," he said. Dr. Mangino told the judge he had only $1,900 in the bank and he needed $5,000 for the payment.
The doctor also told the judge that he suffers from and takes medication for heart problems and manic depression.
Dr. Mangino and Wilkins are scheduled for preliminary hearings at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Justice Lamb's office.
cioffi@vindy.com