Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 135 / Monday, July 14, 2008 / Notices 40383 

1The Government also attached a copy of a 

webpage maintained by the N.Y. Department of 

Health, entitled ‘‘Professional Misconduct and 

Physician Discipline.’’ This document indicates 

that the Interim Order precludes Respondent from 

the clinical practice of medicine in New York State 

‘‘until the final disposition of the current 

investigation being conducted by the New York 

State Office of Professional Medical Conduct.’’

2 I further note that there is no evidence that 

Respondent has surrendered his DEA registration. 

handle controlled substances who is 

without authority to handle controlled 

substances in the State in which he 

practices’’ medicine. Id. at 2 (citing 21 

U.S.C. 823(f)). 

In support of its motion, the 

Government attached a copy of the 

Interim Order. The Interim Order 

specifically stated that Respondent 

‘‘shall be precluded from all patient 

contact and any practice of medicine, 

clinical or otherwise. Licensee shall be 

precluded from diagnosing, treating, 

operating, or prescribing for any human 

disease, pain, injury, deformity, or 

physical condition.’’ In re Chait, 

Stipulation and Application for an 

Interim Non-Disciplinary Order of 

Conditions Pursuant to N.Y. Pub. Health 

Law § 230, at 3. The Interim Order also 

directed Respondent to ‘‘surrender [his] 

Controlled Substance Registration 

Certificate to the United States 

Department of Justice, Drug 

Enforcement Administration, within 15 

days of the effective date of this Order.’’

Id. at 4.1

Although the ALJ ordered Respondent 

to respond by November 20, 2007, he 

did not. The ALJ then granted the 

Government’s motion. 

The ALJ observed that while the 

Interim Order did not ‘‘make any 

findings of misconduct as to the matters 

under investigation, it does prohibit the 

Respondent from having any patient 

contact and from practicing medicine.’’

ALJ Dec. at 3. The ALJ also explained 

that ‘‘the Board’s Order clearly states 

that the Respondent is barred from 

diagnosing, treating, operating, or 

prescribing for any human disease, pain, 

injury, deformity, or physical condition, 

and is required to surrender his DEA 

Registration * * * within 15 days of the 

effective date of the Board’s Order.’’ Id. 

The ALJ thus ‘‘conclude[d] that * * * 

Respondent currently lacks authority to 

practice medicine in the State of New 

York or to prescribe controlled 

substances in that State.’’ Id. Because 

DEA lacks authority under the 

Controlled Substances Act to register 

(and to continue an existing registration 

of) a practitioner who lacks authority 

under state law to handle controlled 

substances, the ALJ recommended that 

Respondent’s registration be revoked. 

Id. at 4–5 (citing cases). The ALJ then 

forwarded the record to me for final 

agency action. 

Having considered the record as a 

whole, I adopt the ALJ’s decision in its 

entirety. I find that Respondent holds a 

current registration which does not 

expire until August 31, 2009. I further 

find that effective May 17, 2007, the 

New York State Department of Health, 

State Board for Professional Medical 

Conduct, issued an Interim Order which 

precludes Respondent from practicing 

medicine and prescribing drugs, Interim 

Order at 3, and that this Order remains 

in effect. Therefore, even though 

Respondent’s state medical license has 

not been suspended or revoked, it is 

clear that he is not permitted to handle 

controlled substances in the State of 

New York, the State in which he holds 

his DEA registration.2

Under the Controlled Substances Act 

(CSA), a practitioner must be currently 

authorized to handle controlled 

substances in ‘‘the jurisdiction in which 

he practices’’ in order to maintain a 

DEA registration. See 21 U.S.C. 802(21) 

(‘‘[t]he term ‘practitioner’ means a 

physician * * * licensed, registered, or 

otherwise permitted, by * * * the 

jurisdiction in which he practices * * * 

to distribute, dispense, [or] administer 

* * * a controlled substance in the 

course of professional practice’’). See 

also id. § 823(f) (‘‘The Attorney General 

shall register practitioners * * * if the 

applicant is authorized to dispense 

* * * controlled substances under the 

laws of the State in which he 

practices.’’). As these provisions make 

plain, possessing authority under state 

law to handle controlled substances is 

an essential condition for holding a DEA 

registration. 

That the State has not formally 

revoked or suspended Respondent’s 

state license is not dispositive. Because 

Respondent is not ‘‘authorized under’’

state law, ‘‘or otherwise permitted[] by 

* * * the jurisdiction in which he 

practices’’ to handle controlled 

substances ‘‘in the course of 

professional practice,’’ and is in fact 

currently precluded from engaging in 

the practice of medicine, he is not 

entitled to hold a registration under the 

CSA. See Julian A. Abbey, M.D., 72 FR 

10788, 10788–89 (2007) (revoking 

registration of practitioner who had 

entered into a voluntary agreement with 

the State to cease the practice of 

medicine). Accordingly, Respondent’s 

registration will be revoked. 

Order 

Pursuant to the authority vested in me 

by 21 U.S.C. 823(f) & 824(a), as well as 

28 CFR 0.100(b) & 0.104, I hereby order 

that DEA Certificate of Registration, 

BC2825151, issued to Michael Chait, 

M.D., be, and it hereby is, revoked. I 

further order that any pending 

application of Michael Chait, M.D., for 

renewal or modification of his 

registration be, and it hereby is, denied. 

This order is effective August 13, 2008. 

Dated: July 2, 2008. 

Michele M. Leonhart, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E8–15938 Filed 7–11–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–09–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Foreign Claims Settlement 

Commission 

[F.C.S.C. Meeting Notice No. 6–08] 

Sunshine Act Meetings 

The Foreign Claims Settlement 

Commission, pursuant to its regulations 

(45 CFR part 504) and the Government 

in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b), 

hereby gives notice in regard to the 

scheduling of meetings for the 

transaction of Commission business and 

other matters specified, as follows: 

DATE AND TIME: Thursday, July 31, 2008, 

at 10:30 a.m. 

SUBJECT MATTER: Issuance of Proposed 

Decisions, Amended Proposed 

Decisions, and Orders in claims against 

Albania. 

STATUS: Open. 

All meetings are held at the Foreign 

Claims Settlement Commission, 600 E 

Street, NW., Washington, DC. Requests 

for information, or advance notices of 

intention to observe an open meeting, 

may be directed to: Administrative 

Officer, Foreign Claims Settlement 

Commission, 600 E Street, NW., Room 

6002, Washington, DC 20579. 

Telephone: (202) 616–6988. 

Mauricio J. Tamargo, 

Chairman. 

[FR Doc. 08–1431 Filed 7–10–08; 3:20 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4410–01–P 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES