After about five days of deliberations, a Stark County jury convicted Dr. Frank Lazzerini of involuntary manslaughter, Medicaid fraud and aggravated drug trafficking.

CANTON Frank Lazzerini, once a respected doctor with a thriving Jackson Township practice, left the Stark County Courthouse Tuesday afternoon as a felon.

After hearing testimony for nearly five weeks, a Common Pleas Court jury backed the prosecution's stance that Lazzerini irresponsibly prescribed medications, documented exams that never happened and defrauded Medicaid.

Lazzerini, 41, of Barberton, was convicted of 187 out of the 272 charged he faced from his February 2018 indictment. The jury found Lazzerini guilty of:

Involuntary manslaughter, for prescribing drugs that the jury found killed Jaimie Hayhurst of Canton in 2014.Medicaid fraud, for seeking higher reimbursements than he was entitled to from Medicaid.Tampering with records, maintaining medical records with fake diagnoses and documentation for exams that never happened.Grand theft for stealing as much as $150,000 from Medicaid.Engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiring with his medical practice to commit the above crimes.Dozens of aggravated drug trafficking and drug trafficking counts, for prescribing medication to patients for an illegitimate medical purpose and beyond the standard medical care. Because the amount prescribed was large in many cases, the jury also found him guilty of the specification of being a multiple drug offender nine times, which could add significantly to his prison sentence.Illegal processing of drug documents, for writing illegitimate prescriptions.

Several of the convictions are first-degree felonies that each carry a potential sentence of three to 11 years in prison.

Reaction

Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Toni Schnellinger thanked the jury, investigators for the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, the Ohio Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud unit, Jackson Township police and others.

She said Lazzerini prescribed medications to suit his greed and that she hoped Stark County doctors "prescribe based on medical need and take care of their patients properly. If anyone's not doing that then it's a different story."

Schnellinger said the convictions "did take out an individual that was prescribing opiates and opioids to individuals and then, as you saw during the trial, a lot of those turned to heroin afterwards... "

Stark County Prosecutor John D. Ferrero said Lazzerini's actions took place during the opiate crisis.

"I think we needed to send a message to the public that we have a rogue doctor out there, former doctor, prescribing these pain killers that led to the opiate crisis so I think everybody said, 'Isn't that a little bit of overkill, all these charges?' No, in this case it had to been done."

"He threw his Hippocratic oath out the window for the love of money. Because of his greed, many lives have been affected ...."

The jury acquitted Lazzerini of 76 felony charges, mostly aggravated drug trafficking, drug trafficking and illegal processing of drug documents. Attorneys noted that most of the acquittals were for non-pain medications.

Judge Kristin Farmer scheduled Lazzerini's sentencing for 9 a.m. July 3.

Lengthy process

It took the jury about five work days to reach unanimous verdicts on 263 felony charges. The prosecution without explanation dismissed eight charges before the trial began and dismissed a ninth charge on Tuesday morning.

It took Farmer about an hour and 40 minutes to silently review all 263 verdict forms while jurors ate pizza in the jury assembly room. It then took more than three hours to read the verdicts (count by count) aloud in the jurors' presence.

Farmer, after polling the jurors to ensure they all agreed that the verdicts reflected what they had decided, praised them for their dedication.

The judge told the jurors that the Lazzerini trial, which began May 6 and ended June 18 with a few days off, was the longest criminal trial in Stark County history. She said their deliberations were the longest of any jury and involved the highest number of verdict forms ever in the courthouse.

"I don't think words can accurately describe the admiration you have from this court and the parties involved in this case. The time, the attention, the dedication that you've given to this case have been impressive to say the least," Farmer said.

The jurors, a panel of nine men and three women along with five alternates, sat through more than a 100 hours of testimony, much of it repetitive and mind numbing. They never showed any indication of disagreement, anger or weariness at the length of the trial. One juror even rescheduled his June vacation after he was selected to serve.

Lazzerini showed no signs of anxiety as he quietly but cheerfully chatted with his attorney Brian Pierce at the defense table as Farmer reviewed the verdict forms. While Farmer read the verdicts, Lazzerini appeared stoic and kept his composure. His attorney Donald Malarcik gave him a supportive pat on the back at one point.

No comment from defense

Malarcik and Pierce declined to comment.

The crux of the aggravated drug trafficking, drug trafficking and illegal processing of drug documents cases against Lazzerini rested on the credibility of Dr. Theodore Parran, a drug addiction expert who testified over three days for the prosecution. He examined the medical records of 47 of Lazzerini's patients. In 44 of the cases, Lazzerini's prescriptions did not have a legitimate medical purpose and were beyond the scope of standard medical care, he said. Parran said the prescriptions were not responsible treatments for their conditions.

Pierce and Malarcik called to the stand a pain management doctor from Rochester, N.Y., who testified Lazzerini's steps were reasonable. Nine former patients also testified that he treated them for bonafide medical issues.

Police and agents from several agencies raided Lazzerini's Premier Family Practice in Jackson Township in February 2016. He then surrendered his medical license, filed for bankruptcy and was arrested in February 2018. Since then, he's been held at the Stark County Jail on bond of $5 million.

Reach Robert at 330-580-8327 or robert.wang@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @rwangREP