Archive 10/19/2022

Ambridge Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Fentanyl 12/2020

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Possessing Fentanyl – DOJ

In early December 2020, Michael Gamble was paid a surprise visit by law enforcement. At the conclusion of their search, they found at least 90 G of Fentanyl along with a loaded handgun with an attached extended magazine. None of this looks good, and easily crosses an Offense Level of 34 (with its approximate base number of 28 or greater). Michael Gamble, age 37, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand and is scheduled sentencing for Feb. 9, 2023.

The DOJ has a case, and while everyone deserves legal representation, in the federal system 98% plea as opposed to going to trial, but I get ahead of myself.

How over the years did a medication initially develop in 1959 by Dr. Paul Janssen as an intravenous surgical anesthetic, wind up on our streets? Recalling my days as a surgical resident in the mid-1980s, this was on no one’s radar, except anesthesia. Interest came initially from large animal veterinarians, which morphed into skin patches for humans in the early 2000s to treat chronic pain. This was followed with user-friendly delivery options; a lollipop, tablet, and nasal spray.

Carfentanyl, a fentanyl analog is approximately 10,000 times more potent than morphine, 100 times more than fentanyl, and 50 times more than heroin. It is to be used as a general anesthetic for very large animals.

Fentanyl (Carfentanyl) analogs, including fentanyl-laced heroin, come in many flavors, with street names such as white heroin, Perc-O-Pops, Chiclets, Apache, China Girl, White China, Dance Fever, Jackpot, Murder 8, TNT, Tango and Cash, Friend, Goodfella, and Redrum (murder spelled backward). The sheer variety and combinations make toxicology testing and accurate death reporting extremely challenging.

Having a cogent defense, that includes sentence mitigation through presentence interview preparation is key. Should you have a question, contact us.

Former CEO of Health Clinic Convicted of Medicaid Fraud

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Former CEO of Health Clinic Convicted of Medicaid Fraud

St. Gabriel Health Clinic Inc. (St. Gabriel), a Louisiana nonprofit was contracted with the Iberville Parish School Board to provide primary care services to students as well as services related to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses.


Evidence showed that St. Gabriel practitioners provided character development and other educational programs to entire classrooms of students and followed by fraudulent billing to Medicaid, as group psychotherapy.

Victor Clark Kirk, 73, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the CEO of St. Gabriel Health Clinic Inc. and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 12, 2023, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison per count.

When facing the Federal Bureau of Prisons, retaining an experienced federal criminal defense attorney, and someone experienced in guiding you through the sentencing process, following the guilty verdict is critical to your future. Should you have any questions, contact us. 

Former Missouri Health Care Charity Executives Plead Guilty to Multimillion-Dollar Bribery and Embezzlement Scheme

By inDr. M Blatstein's Blog

Preferred Family Healthcare Inc., was a charity that provided services across Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Illinois, including mental and behavioral health treatment and counseling, substance abuse treatment and counseling, employment assistance, aid to individuals with developmental disabilities, and medical services.

Conspiracy charges included embezzling funds, bribes, and kickbacks to elected public officials against Bontiea Bernedette Goss, 63, and her husband, Tommy “Tom” Ray Goss, 66.

Several former executives from the charity, former members of the Arkansas state legislature, and others have also pleaded guilty in federal court as part of the long-running, multi-jurisdiction, federal investigation including the following:

  • Former Chief Executive Officer, Marilyn Luann Nolan of Springfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty in November 2018 to her role in a conspiracy to embezzle and misapply the funds of a charitable organization that received federal funds.
  • Former Director of Operations and Executive Vice President Robin Raveendran, of Little Rock, Arkansas, pleaded guilty in June 2019 to conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
  • Former executive and head of clinical operations Keith Fraser Noble, of Rogersville, Missouri, pleaded guilty in September 2019 to concealment of a known felony.
  • Former employee and head of operations and lobbying in Arkansas, Milton Russell Cranford, aka Rusty, of Rogers, Arkansas, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to one count of federal program bribery.
  • Political consultant Donald Andrew Jones, aka D.A. Jones, of Willingboro, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in December 2017 to his role in a conspiracy from April 2011 to January 2017 to steal from an organization that receives federal funds.
  • Former Arkansas State Senator Jeremy Hutchinson, of Little Rock, Arkansas, pleaded guilty in June 2019 to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery.
  • Former Arkansas State Representative Eddie Wayne Cooper, of Melbourne, Arkansas, pleaded guilty in February 2018 to conspiracy to embezzle more than $4 million from Preferred Family Healthcare.
  • Former Arkansas State Senator and State Representative Henry “Hank” Wilkins IV pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and devising a scheme and artifice to defraud and deprive the citizens of the state of Arkansas of their right to honest services.

When facing the Federal Bureau of Prisons, retaining an experienced federal criminal defense attorney, and someone experienced in guiding you through the sentencing process, following the guilty verdict is critical to your future. Should you have any questions, contact us.