Marshall Adklins

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Frank Lewis

PDT Staff Writer

The owner and operator of Scioto County’s last pain clinic has been sentenced to a decade in prison.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, Scioto County Prosecutor Mark Kuhn, Ohio Board of Pharmacy Director Kyle Parker, and Scioto County Sheriff Marty Donini said Friday Scioto County Common Pleas Judge William T. Marshall sentenced George Marshall Adkins, also know as Marshall Adkins, to 10 years in prison.

The West Portsmouth man was the owner of Greater Medical Advance, Inc. in Wheelersburg and was convicted of operating the clinic as a pill mill from June 2009 until December 2011.

“George Adkins allowed an overwhelming amount of prescription drugs to leave his clinic knowing those pills would only be abused,” Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, said. “Those pills are believed to have contributed to the massive rise in overdoses and overdose deaths in southern Ohio.”

Adkins pleaded guilty last month to charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy to engage in a pattern of corrupt activity, permitting drug abuse, aggravated trafficking in drugs and forgery.

Adkins’ case represents one of the first convictions on the state level against a non-prescriber for the management and activities connected to a pill mill. Investigators found that Dr. Victor Georgescu, of Centerville, Ohio, illegally prescribed many of the clinic’s prescription medications. Georgescu was facing similar charges, but was found dead in a motel prior to his trial.

“I think this case demonstrates how serious we are about stopping prescription drug abuse in Scioto County and in Ohio,” Scioto County Prosecutor Mark Kuhn said. “Sometimes it only takes one pill to end someone’s life, and we need to do everything we can to stop overdose deaths.”

Tammy Newman, who at one time owned part of the clinic, was also sentenced Friday to spend nearly five years in prison on charges of conspiracy to engage in a pattern of corrupt activity and permitting drug abuse.

“The key to our success in this case was the diligent cooperation between our local and state law enforcement along with the patience from our community as this case developed and was successfully prosecuted,” Scioto County Sheriff Marty V. Donini said. “Hopefully we can now move on and focus on the more positive aspects of our community.”

Special prosecutors with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office assisted the Scioto County Prosecutors Office with the case. The Portsmouth Police Department, Scioto County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Medical Board, Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Lawrence County Major Crimes Task Force, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and RANGE Taskforce, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources-Division of Watercraft, the DEA, the FBI, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio were also involved in the investigation.

Frank Lewis may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 232, or at flewis@heartlandpublications.com