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DEA Busts Escambia County ‘Pill Mill’
June 28, 2012
A Pensacola “pill mill” that used roadside signs to advertise across North Escambia was busted Wednesday by federal agents.
The JPB Medical Clinic in the 4200 block of Davis Highway, next door to a Bailey’s Farmer’s Market, was raided by the DEA along with about dozen other clinics across Florida.
Joseph Patrick Buffalino, 64, and Jeffrey Reiter were arrested at the Pensacola clinic Wednesday.
“These are drug dealers, traffickers, they are selling very, very lethal doses, very, very intense and addictive narcotics,” DEA agent Rusty Payne, told NorthEscambia.com’s news partners WEAR TV 3.
The DEA said the clinic was prescribing drugs like oxycodone to those that did not have a medical need.
“It’s going into the hands of both addicts and street level traffickers. They can easily get a prescription without having to illustrate a medical need,” said Payne.
Buffalino remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $600,000, while Reiter is jailed with bond set at $560,000.
Numerous roadside signs advertising the clinic popped up across the North Escambia area earlier this year. They simply stated “Pain Management” and provided a photo number for the clinic.
The DEA is expected to release more details about the statewide operation sometime on Thursday.
Pictured top: The DEA raided this medical clinic on Davis Highway in Pensacola Wednesday morning (courtesy WEAR 3). Pictured below: Signs advertising the clinic were placed all around the North Escambia area, including the sign seen in this June 8 photo at Highway 97 and Nokomis Road in Davisville. The sign was gone by Wednesday. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
14 Responses to “DEA Busts Escambia County ‘Pill Mill’”
These doctors are greedy and in turn, their greed has made anyone who lives in chronic pain suffer! I have had two spinal fusions with screws and plates and wires as well as a decompression of the spine. I am a veteran who has lived with constant pain for over 20 years. As a younger person, I managed to work and get a college education. I had to leave the job that I loved because of pain. I have a marriage and a home and a life but I also suffer from debilitating pain!
I fight everyday to just get up and move.
We make choices to battle every day with a positive attitude but there are days that the pain gets the best of us–even on meds.
I believe those who know exactly what I am saying- have true pain problems.
Maybe the medical community should find new pain control measures and make it less profitable for the pharmaceutical companies???
I wish all of you who have true pain to trust in God and yourselves–that you are not an addict–and that you deserve to be treated with dignity!!
Shut the clinics down and sentence these pigs to life!!! God Bless!
This is horrible for ppl that really hurt. I was ran ovr…drug through the parking lot ….beat in the head with a mag light ….and left for dea. Now how would the DEA GO ABOUT HELPING LIGITIMATE PPL WITH CHRONIC PAIN?
I’m sorry but I disaggree with yhhr ppl that think all pain mngt is BAD. I was ran over..drug thru a parkinglot…beat with a mag lite…and left fot dead. Tuck to b alive I have several damaged organs and from crushed pelvis and back I’m all titaniun. I kno @ dr buffalinos office they did collect all info needed. Now since its sounding so bad to idiots that don’t need meds ppl who nd it AS NEEDED CAN’T DO ANYTHING. I feel srry for him an debra cody
Ironically, just last week, my husband & I saw these “Pain Management” roadside signs, & I commented that I didn’t believe I would go see a doctor that advertises that way. My husband & I discussed that it was probably a Pill Mill….I’m sure those signs had ‘red flag” written all over them for the DEA.
This is not Buffalino’s first charge on this, he was arrested in south florida for about the same thing. Google his name!!
wow
so many mixed views. seems like everyone is defending themselves (as users) and their personal take on medication (non users).
The doctor in question has been practicing since 1973. Medical school is tough and he obviously passed. he also held a med. lic. in at least (2) other states (California and New York)
if you have never attended med school then you have no idea. doctors make bad decisions just like anyone else. I think it is silly to judge a doctors choice of payment accepted. I know several providers that deal in cash only. HMO’s make forms and payment very difficult. for a person that does not want to hire a entire staff to process paper work, cash is the way to go. this docotr is not the only one who deals with cash only!
we should let the jury and judge make the decisions on this case.
WOW, this article is a reason why I REFUSE pain medication!
In 09′ I was rear ended at 60 mph as I was turning right. It was at that time I had to have right rotator cuff surgery. Several months later I had to have neck surgery with a {2} plate fusion. About three months the disc below gave out due to pressure, therefore, I had to go back in to have another fusion. During that same time my lower back was giving me major problems. I opted out of surgery at that time and tried other methods, which failed. Therefore, I had to have a {2} plate fusion. Since tthen scar tissue has built up around my sciatic nerve, and there is no fix for that. Since early 11′ I have been treated by pain management.
Since 09′ I have endured a great deal for my age of 37, due to a senseless act of stupidity. From the second surgery I didn’t rely on pain medication and I REFUSE to do it now. My daily activities are very limited due to disabling pain. To me that is NO reason to need pain medication on a daily basis 3 to 4 times a day.
I made it VERY clear to my pain management doctor I do NOT want pain medication for relief. He has been nothing but wonderful and has made every other opportunity available for me. The sad part of it all….my health covers requires PT and pain medication first, before any other option is covered. He fought for me because I REFUSED any kind of pain medication. Since then I have endured shots in my lower back every {4} months. Does the shots take 100% of the pain away, NO, but it does help manage where it is tolerable.
Everytime I hear this happen I say thank you Jesus. These people are not doctors,they don’t give a crap what is wrong with the patient, thay don’t care if there isn’t nothing wrong with them. You got cash you get pills. To the concerned grandparent I know how you feel. What is sad though is as James Litter says real pain patients that have to go through he__ to get into see a good pain management doctor, half the doctors are on the drugs themselves and the other half don’t accept your health Ins. for pain management. This crazy scenario has got people doing all kinds of things to try to get pills. Alot of them are hooked and will pay the outrageous fees these crooks charge to get the pills. Family practice doctors are scared to give you a Tylenol because they think they are gonna be busted. They need to keep looking cause there are plenty more like them and because of them the real pain patients have to pay the price. I wonder how much money they just pocket and don’t count as income, I have heard some of these places won’t even write receipts for the cash paying people.
On the televised news, it stated they only dealt in cash, with an armed guard at the door. These are not doctors, they are crooks! A real pain management clinic files on insurance and only takes co-pays! And most of the time, will try other forms of relief (injections at pain site) (therapy),before prescribing any narcotics.
As a concerned grandparent, helping raise a grandchild, because of drugs and visits to the south florida pill mills by the parents, I know what this can do to a family! They pay out a certain amount to get hundreds of pills, keep what they want to take, sell enough to pay a few bills, live off the government for food and health care and just lay around all day. So why would they want to get a job, the sense of pride is gone for that generation (well alot of that generation), so someone has to teach the children the right way. What we all really need to do is PRAY that the LORD will take control of it and get to them, because we sure can’t!
Let it be known, The people that use pain medications because of legitimate disableing pain problems are NOT drug dealers, are NOT drug addicts and do not sell their pain medications. They are also NOT as someone just said “Still doing drugs” We are NOT using drugs for recreation. The truth is we would much rather be out of pain so we did not have to take drugs at all.
The people that start and run these “Pill Mills” and hand out these very powerful drugs to almost anyone with a headache need to be put away for ever as they are corrupting our society and our youth simply to make a buck.
However a “real pain management clinic” requires full documentation from several sources to properly understand the physical limitations of the patient. This is the only way to treat a patient with legitimate pain issues. Also every pain management patient is different and must be evaluated thoroughly to properly prescribe the right medications. When it is properly done it provides the patient with a decent quality of life.
Again legitimate pain management patients are NOT recreational drug users, are NOT drug dealers and are Not drug addicts.
People who have never had disableing pain just simply cannot understand what it is like and therefore condem any use of these drugs. I truly hope they never have to feel this type of pain because it sucks ! But they need to be open minded enough to accept there is a reason for these drugs and that is to allow pain patients to have a decent quality of life. That is what they are for !
It’s scum bag doctors like this that make it so hard for people like me to get something for real pain issues without going to pain management. Years ago my primary care physician would have no issues giving me something for my spinal pain. Now I can’t find one doctor who will without referring me to pain management, and all they want to do is put me on morphine, which is too extreme in my case, I think. Some people would jump on that, but I’m not a doper looking for a fix. I just want something to ease me off so I can get a good nights sleep.
I hope they go to prison, and I hope these street dealers and junkies are feeling it today.
Our community and the greater Pensacola area has some real serious problems with drugs. The bulk of our youth have no jobs, don’t know how to work, have no incentive to work and want to be high and entertained.What is so sad is that these guys here are feeding the problems to make a easy buck instead of being the kind of example at their ages they need to be to our youth. I say ” throw the book at them” because when they get out they will go back to corrupting the younger generations because that is what they do. I have lived in this area most of my life and have never seen our youth so messed up as they are now. They will steal from family,friends, and strangers to be entertained and do drugs with their friends. The economy is so bad here because of the powers in this country sold us out in 1993 with NAFTA and we are just now reaping the full results and it has made us a lazy nation with alot of people in this country having an attitude of “entitlement”. If our country had a bustling economy where our youth could be working 60 to 80 hours a week to use up some of their youthful energys, they wouldn’t need to to be entertained 24/7 because they would need some rest.What is even sadder is to look in here and see the older adults who are in on this site who are still doing drugs themselves. They never seem to figure things out.
Well good they bust these bogus “pain management” sites. However I am a legitimate “pain management” case with full documentation. I suffer with extreme neck and back pain on a daily bassis. I do take as prescribed pain medication for my problem. I hope and pray these bogus “pill mills” do not ruin the pain management relief legitimate patients like myself receive.
Will you please print something about legitimate patients that without pain medications cannot function to do just simple every day chores like grocery shopping, laundry etc. You need to print something positive about the real world help pain medications provide for so many of us out here that really do need this type of help. We are NOT drug addicts, We do NOT sell our medications on the street, We are NOT drug dealers. We are simply patients that have a serious problem with disableing pain on a daily bassis due to major injuries or illnesses.
Thank you for listening, this is a serious problem and needs to be addressed properly.
One down, how many to go? Glad they are busted!