TRUMBULL COUNTY Chiropractor gets jail on drug charges

The case of a third co-defendant is pending.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- An Austintown chiropractor has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined more than $200,000 for peddling painkillers.
Dr. Charles W. Theisler, 53, of Ruby Court was sentenced Monday by Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
A jury found Theisler guilty in May of 86 charges but acquitted him of 20 counts of drug trafficking.
He was convicted of 15 drug trafficking charges, 35 counts of illegal processing of drug documents, 35 counts of practicing medicine without a certificate and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
Theisler faced up to 10 years in prison but was sentenced to three years and fined a total of $202,500.
His attorney John Juhasz asked that Theisler remain out of prison pending his appeal, but Judge Logan denied the motion.
Also indicted
Theisler and two co-defendants, Dr. William E. Masters, 72, of Genesee Avenue Northeast, Warren, and Dr. Christopher J. Sherman, 53, of Old Wagon Lane, Howland, were indicted in March 2004.
All three had worked out of Pain Management Associates, 5000 E. Market St., Warren.
The licenses of Masters and Sherman are inactive, according to the Web site of the State Medical Board of Ohio. The license of Theisler remained active as of Tuesday.
The three were indicted on charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking in drugs, illegal processing of drug documents and practicing medicine without a certificate. Sherman also was indicted on two additional counts of aggravated possession of drugs.
Some of the prescriptions were for OxyContin, a highly addictive prescription painkiller, prosecutors said.
Sherman pleaded guilty in April to two counts of aggravated possession of drugs. Masters' case is still pending, and no trial date has been set. Sherman was placed on two years' probation, fined $5,000 and ordered to make $95,000 in restitution for drug possession convictions.
Allegations
The indictment alleges that Sherman and Masters permitted Theisler to issue pre-signed prescriptions to patients for controlled substances. Theisler is not authorized to prescribe the controlled substances.
Chris Becker, an assistant county prosecutor, had noted that from July 2001 to Jan. 26, 2004, Masters billed patients $1.2 million, even though those patients actually were seen by Theisler. Likewise, Sherman billed patients $18,000 during the same time although they were seen by Theisler, prosecutors said.
yovich@vindy.com