[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 204 (Friday, October 22, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62085-62086]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23713]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


John A. Cronk, D.O.; Revocation of Registration

    On January 5, 2004, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of 
Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), issued an 
Order to Show Cause to John A. Cronk, M.D. (Dr. Cronk),\1\ proposing to 
revoke his DEA Certificate of Registration, BC2204131, pursuant to 21 
U.S.C. 824(a)(2) and (a)(4) and 823(f). Specifically, the Order to Show 
Cause alleged in relevant part, the following:
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    \1\ While the Order to Show Cause includes ``M.D.'' as part of 
Dr. Cronk's professional title, DEA investigative reports and other 
supporting documentation refer to his professional title as ``D.O.'' 
Given these references to the ``D.O.'' professional designation, the 
Deputy Administrator will refer to Dr. Cronk in a similar fashion.
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    1. On May 21, 2003, in the Criminal District of Dallas County 
Texas, pursuant to a plea agreement, Dr. Cronk entered a plea of guilty 
to unlawfully possessing methamphetamine, a third degree felony under 
Texas state law. Dr. Cronk was placed on unsupervised probation for a 
period of five years, ordered to enroll in an inpatient drug treatment 
at a treatment center in Atlanta, Georgia and to pay a $1500 fine. The 
court directed that further proceedings be deferred in the case without 
entering an adjudication of guilt. The conviction was premised on Dr. 
Cronk's arrest for possession of methamphetamine which took place at 
the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport on November 28, 2002.
    2. During April 2003, DEA diversion investigators received 
information from former and current employees of Dr. Cronk's medical 
office that he failed to maintain accountability of controlled 
substances or maintained a controlled substance log book for an 
extensive period. The employees further divulged that they suspected 
Dr. Cronk of abusing drugs during office hours and had also found on 
his office desk a vial containing a substance later tested and 
identified by a field test as methamphetamine. This test was conducted 
by a long-term patient of Dr. Cronk, who was also a former law 
enforcement officer. When confronted by that patient, Dr. Cronk 
admitted methamphetamine use.
    3. On May 7, 2003, at the request of DEA investigators, officers of 
the Northeast Area Interdiction Task Force (NADITF) recovered three 
bags of trash from Dr. Cronk's residence in Heath, Texas. Among the 
items recovered were a syringe with a brown liquid substance later 
determined to be methamphetamine, an attached needle, and discarded 
pieces of mail bearing Dr. Cronk's name and address.
    4. A state search warrant obtained to search Dr. Cronk's residence 
was then executed by NADITF officers and DEA investigators on May 9, 
2003. Recovered in that search were several vials containing residual 
amounts of methamphetamine; forty-five tabs of methadone; two vials of 
testosterone; ninety-five tabs of alprazolam; thirty-six tabs of 
Ambien; eight tabs of Vicoprofen; six bottles of Lortab elixir; five 
bottles of Histex; six tabs of ecstasy; several marijuana cigarette 
butts; $9,911.00 in cash; and, over 200 blood collection vials which 
had been converted to methemphetamine pipes, along with other drug 
paraphernalia.
    5. On May 15, 2003, DEA investigators arrived at Dr. Cronk's office 
in Quinlan, Texas (which was also Dr. Cronk's DEA registered location) 
to conduct an audit of controlled substances. Dr. Cronk was not present 
during, but his office manager nevertheless signed a DEA

[[Page 62086]]

Notice of Inspection. Because controlled substance records were not at 
this registered location Dr. Cronk was requested to come to the office 
and bring the records. Dr. Cronk responded and brought his remaining 
records to DEA investigators for their inspection.
    6. Among the records provided was Dr. Cronk's controlled substance 
log, with the last entry in the log dated August 15, 2002. Dr. Cronk 
also produced an assortment of box tops, sample boxes, and other 
assorted pieces of paper and notes, including post-its, which he 
claimed were records of what had been dispensed to patients. Several of 
those boxes had multiple entries on them.
    7. In the estimation of DEA investigators, Dr. Cronk's records were 
inaccurate, incomplete or irretrievable, thus making it impossible for 
them to conduct an audit of controlled substances. Dr. Cronk admitted 
his records were not in compliance with DEA requirements, that he was 
unaware of the requirement to conduct inventories of all controlled 
substances on hand every two years, and that he had not accomplished 
such inventories.
    The Order to Show Cause was sent by certified mail to Dr. Cronk at 
his registered location in Quinlan, Texas and was accepted on his 
behalf on January 15, 2004. Despite subsequent written and verbal 
contacts by Dr. Cronk's office to the DEA Dallas Field Division, the 
agency's Office of Chief Counsel, as well as DEA Office of the 
Administrative Law Judges, there is no record of any request for a 
hearing having been received on behalf of Dr. Cronk.
    Therefore, the Deputy Administrator of DEA, finding that (1) thirty 
days having passed since the delivery of the Order to Show Cause to the 
registrant's address of record, and (2) no request for hearing having 
been received, concludes that Dr. Cronk is deemed to have waived his 
hearing right. See David W. Linder, 67 FR 12579 (2002). After 
considering material from the investigative file in this matter, the 
Deputy Administrator now enters her final order without a hearing 
pursuant to 21 CFR 1301.43(d) and (e) and 1301.46.
    The Deputy Administrator finds that Dr. Cronk is currently 
registered with DEA as a practitioner. According to information 
received subsequent to the issuance of the aforementioned Order to Show 
Cause, on March 15, 2004, Dr. Cronk entered into an Agreed Order with 
the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners (Board). As recited in the 
Order to Show Cause, the Board similarly found that on May 21, 2003, 
Dr. Cronk ``* * * pled guilty to charges of possession of the 
controlled substance methamphetamine, a third degree felony. Conditions 
of [Dr. Cronk's plea] agreement included entrance to drug treatment * * 
*, probation for 5 years, fine of $1,300 and random drug screens.'' The 
Board cited additional concerns regarding Dr. Cronk's ``* * * 
unprofessional conduct, disciplinary action by [his] peers, and non-
therapeutic prescribing.''
    Accordingly, Dr. Cronk and the Board agreed, inter alia, that Dr. 
Cronk's state medical license be suspended until he demonstrated his 
fitness to safely practice medicine and completed various terms and 
conditions for reinstatement. Included among the Board imposed 
conditions was the requirement that Dr. Cronk complete psychological 
and neuro-psychiatric evaluations conducted by or under the direction 
of an approved psychiatrist to evaluate Dr. Cronk for substance abuse 
or an organic mental condition. More importantly, the Board specified 
that Dr. Cronk was to ``immediately cease from the practice of medicine 
in Texas.''
    There is no evidence before the Deputy Administrator that Dr. Cronk 
has satisfied the conditions of the Board for reinstatement of his 
medical license, or that the Board suspension order has been stayed or 
lifted. In light of the suspension of his authorization to practice 
medicine in Texas, the Deputy Administrator also finds it reasonable to 
infer that Dr. Cronk is also without authorization to handled 
controlled substances in that state. As a result, Dr. Cronk is not 
entitled to maintain a DEA registration in Texas. See, Miles J. Jones, 
M.D., 69 FR 40655 (2004); Saihb S. Halil, M.D., 64 FR 33319, 3320 
(1999).
    Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a), the Deputy Administrator may revoke a 
DEA Certificate of Registration is she finds that the registrant has 
had his state license revoked or suspended and is no longer authorized 
to dispense controlled substances or has committed such acts as would 
render his registration contrary to the public interest as determined 
by factors listed in 21 U.S.C. 823(f). Thomas B. Pelkowski, D.D.S., 57 
FR 28538 (1992). Nevertheless, despite findings of the Board regarding 
Dr. Cronk's felony conviction with respect to his unlawful possession 
of controlled substances, and notwithstanding the other public interest 
factors for the revocation of his DEA registration asserted herein, the 
more relevant consideration here is the present status of Dr. Cronk's 
state authorization to handle controlled substances.
    DEA does not have statutory authority under the Controlled 
Substance Act to issue or maintain a registration if the applicant or 
registrant is without state authority to handle controlled substances 
in the state in which he conducts business. See 21 U.S.C. 802(21), 
823(f) and 824(a)(3). This prerequisite has been consistently upheld. 
Daniel A. Maynard, D.O., 69 FR 22563 (2004); Dominick A. Ricci, M.D., 
58 FR 51104 (1993); Bobby Watts, M.D., 53 FR 11919 (1998).
    Here, it is clear that Dr. Cronk's Texas medical license has been 
suspended and by inference, he is currently not authorized under Texas 
law to handle controlled substances in his medical practice. Therefore, 
he is not entitled to a DEA registration in that state. As a result of 
a finding that Dr. Cronk lacks state authorization to handle controlled 
substances, the Deputy Administrator concludes that it is unnecessary 
to address further whether his DEA registration should be revoked based 
upon the public interest grounds asserted in the Order to Show Cause. 
See Rory Patrick Doyle, M.D., 69 FR 11655 (2004); Nathaniel-Aikens-
Afful, M.D., 62 FR 16871 (1997); Sam F. Moore, D.V.M., 58 FR 14428 
(1993).
    Accordingly, the Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, pursuant to the authority vested in her by 21 U.S.C. 
823 and 824 and 28 CFR 0.100(b) and 0.104, hereby orders that DEA 
Certificate of Registration, BC2204131, issued to John A. Cronk, D.O., 
be, and it hereby is, revoked. The Deputy Administrator further orders 
that any pending applications for renewal or modification of such 
registration be, and they hereby are, denied. This order is effective 
November 22, 2004.

    Dated: October 5, 2004.
Michele M. Leonhart,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-23713 Filed 10-21-04; 8:45 am]
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