Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 204 / Friday, October 22, 2004 / Notices 62085

1While 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.

registration. As a basis for revocation, 

the Order to Show Cause alleged that 

Respondent had been mandatorily 

excluded from participating in Federal 

health programs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 

1320–7(a). 

By letter dated March 18, 2004, 

Respondent, through legal counsel, 

requested a hearing. On April 20, 2004, 

Administrative Law Judge Gail A. 

Randall (Judge Randall) issued an Order 

for Prehearing Statements, requiring the 

Government and Respondent to file 

prehearing statements by May 12 and 

June 2, 2004, respectively. The 

Government filed a timely prehearing 

statement, however, Respondent failed 

to file his prehearing statement by the 

deadline. 

On June 29, 2004, Judge Randall 

issued a sua sponte Notice and Order to 

Respondent allowing him a limited 

extension of time, until July 21, 2004, to 

file his prehearing statement. The 

Notice and Order cautioned Respondent 

that if he failed to meet this deadline, 

Judge Randall would deem his 

inactivity to be a waiver of his hearing 

entitlement and that she would issue an 

order terminating the case. Respondent 

did not file a prehearing statement and 

on August 10, 2004, Judge Randall 

issued her Order terminating the 

proceedings. On August 26, 2004, the 

Office of Chief Counsel forwarded the 

record to the Deputy Administrator for 

entry of a final order based on the 

investigative file. 

Therefore, the Deputy Administrator 

finds that Respondent, having requested 

a hearing but having failed to participate 

in the matter after being apprised of the 

consequences, is deemed to have 

waived his hearing right. See Bill Lloyd 

Drug, 64 FR 1823–01 (1999); Vincent A. 

Piccone, M.D., 62 FR 62074 (1997). After 

considering material from the 

investigative file, 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 

Respondent currently possesses DEA 

Certificate of Registration BP3441475. 

The Deputy Administrator further finds 

that as a result of Respondent’s 

fraudulent activities, pursuant to his 

guilty plea, he was convicted in the 

United States District Court, District of 

Puerto Rico of one count of conspiring 

to solicit and receive kickbacks in 

relation to Medicare referrals for durable 

medical equipment, in violation of 18 

U.S.C. 371, in addition to one count of 

providing false declarations before the 

grand jury, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 

1623. 

As a result of Respondent’s conviction 

of the Medicare related count, on March 

31, 2003, he was notified by the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services of his five-year mandatory 

exclusion from participation in the 

Medicare program pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 

1320a–7(a). Exclusion from Medicare is 

an independent ground for revoking a 

DEA registration. 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(5); 

see Johnnie Melvin Turner, M.D., 67 FR 

71203 (2002). The underlying 

conviction forming the basis for a 

registrant’s exclusion from participating 

in federal health care programs need not 

involve controlled substances for 

revocation under 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(5). 

See KK Pharmacy, 64 FR 49507 (1999); 

Stanley Dubin, D.D.S., 61 FR 60727 

(1996). 

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 BP3441475, issued to Juan 

Pillot-Costas, M.D., be, and it hereby is, 

revoked. The Deputy Administrator 

further orders that any pending 

applications for renewal 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. 04–23712 Filed 10–21–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–09–M

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:

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 

62086 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 204 / Friday, October 22, 2004 / Notices 

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] 

BILLING CODE 4410–09–M

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration 

[Docket No. 03–05] 

Express Wholesale Denial of 

Application 

On September 27, 2002, the Deputy 

Assistant Administrator, Office of 

Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement 

Administration (DEA), issued an Order 

to Show Cause to Express Wholesale 

(Respondent) proposing to deny its 

application for a DEA Certificate of 

Registration as a distributor of list I 

chemicals. The Order to Show Cause 

alleged in relevant part that granting the