HARRISBURG― Attorney General Shapiro today announced the arrest of a Cambria County doctor for his role in the death of his former patient. Dr. Richard Green, of Windber, was charged with one count of Drug Delivery Resulting in Death; one count of Delivery by Practitioner in violation of the Controlled Substances, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; one count of Involuntary Manslaughter, and related charges.
“The defendant was trusted by his community to use his position as a physician to save lives, but instead, he stands charged for prescribing his patient a fatal cocktail of drugs despite knowing of and enabling her history of drug abuse,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “Communities across Pennsylvania are being ravaged by the opioid crisis that is being fueled by people like Dr. Green. My Office will continue to hold individuals accountable who recklessly put the lives of others at risk for profit, wherever those individuals are found.”
An investigation by the Office of Attorney General revealed that on May 28, 2018, a patient of Dr. Green was found dead in a hotel. Autopsy and toxicology reports showed that she died of acute drug toxicity caused by Oxycodone, Alprazolam and Quetiapine, all of which were prescribed by Dr. Green. A review of the victim’s medical file by a Commonwealth expert revealed that the patient had a history of drug overdoses, but that Dr. Green failed to take any steps to address her addiction. During the time that Dr. Green treated the patient, he learned that she was a recovering alcoholic, had mental health issues, and had overdosed four times prior to her death. Three of her overdoses were from the substances Dr. Green prescribed and the fourth was as a result of heroin. Despite his knowledge of these incidents and her misuse of prescriptions he prescribed, Dr. Green continued to provide the victim access to highly addictive drugs with fatal consequences when used together.
The arrest was conducted by Special Agent Al Rivardo of the Medicaid Fraud Control Section, and Narcotics Agent Matt Massaro of the Bureau of Narcotics Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Baxter. This investigation is ongoing.