Wednesday, May 8, 2002
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Wednesday, May 8, 2002 |
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Family Pharmacy wasn't, according to investigators
By JOHN
MUNFORD
A Fayetteville pharmacy was actually a front for a drug-running operation that allowed a local man to live a lavish lifestyle, according to local law enforcement investigators. Alvin McDowell, 44, owner of the Family Pharmacy off Ga. Highway 314, was arrested recently by the Fayette County Drug Task Force on four counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances by a pharmacist. Investigators are working to seize his extravagant $857,000 home along with approximately $600,000 in mutual funds they contend were profits from the illegal sale of prescription medication, said Lt. Mike Pruitt of the task force. Records indicate that over the last eight months, McDowell only filled one prescription and that was for himself, Pruitt said. State law requires pharmacies to maintain copies of all prescriptions they fill, Pruitt noted. "The only ones who are allowed to distribute drugs without a prescription are physicians," Pruitt said. Witnesses from nearby businesses told investigators that Family Pharmacy didn't have much "traffic" but people were seen coming and going, often leaving the pharmacy with large brown bags, Pruitt said. The investigation was tipped off by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, which noted that Family Pharmacy was receiving an unusually large quantity of prescription medication, Pruitt said. The types of medication ranged from a prescription form of Tylenol and hydrocodone, otherwise known as Vicadin. The task force is working the investigation along with the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency. If the house seizure is approved, McDowell's home in the Northridge subdivision would be auctioned off by the county.
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