Fayette man gets house arrest in prescription painkiller scheme

July 31--A Fayette County man who is one of seven people accused in a painkiller scheme was sentenced on Thursday to 24 months in a probationary program, with 18 months to be served on house arrest.

Scott E. Bloom, 43, of Hibbs, apologized prior to sentencing before President Judge John F. Wagner Jr.

A 12-year veteran of the Navy and Army Reserve and father of four children, Bloom testified he is now sober.

"I'm not the man who did this three years ago, standing here today," said Bloom. "I care about my family, and I have really let them down, through all of this. I let my fellow veterans down with this situation."

Bloom was being treated by Dr. William Ainsley, 39, of North Union, who investigators allege routinely conspired with patients by prescribing them thousands of hydrocodone tablets and receiving up to half the tablets in return.

Bloom in June pleaded guilty to insurance fraud, acquisition of a controlled substance by misrepresentation and conspiracy.

Terms of a plea agreement with state prosecutors require Bloom to testify against the other defendants. Wagner said prosecutors might have a credibility problem because Bloom told an adult probation officer "he was thrown under the bus and didn't do anything."

Wagner sentenced Bloom to 24 months of intermediate punishment, with 18 months to be served on house arrest with electronic monitoring. If Bloom successfully completes the nine months of house arrest, Wagner said he will consider letting him remove an electronic ankle-monitoring bracelet at that time.

Bloom's attorney, Thomas Shaffer of Uniontown, said Bloom became addicted to the painkillers when he sought treatment from Ainsley for an undisclosed injury. He said he has known Bloom, who works on Marcellus shale pipelines, for a decade. He described him as "not a bad guy, but he's made some mistakes."

Shaffer blamed Ainsley for Bloom's predicament.

"I wouldn't be surprised if patients such as my client pursued a civil action against Dr. Ainsley for prescribing such strong doses of medication when it was unwarranted, and then engaging them to complete a crime that he manufactured," Shaffer said.

Deven L. Saghy, 46, of Menallen pleaded guilty to the same charges and was to be sentenced Thursday, but he was granted an emergency continuance because of a death in his family, according to court documents.

Ainsley and the others, Robert C. Woleslagle, 56; Carl E. Santavicca, 62; and Randell Keith Rice Jr., 28, all of Uniontown, are awaiting trial.

On Wednesday, Ainsley testified during a hearing for one of the other defendants, Palmer Frank Sabatine, a former Laurel Highlands elementary school teacher whose state certification has been temporarily suspended.

Sabatine has a motion pending in which he is seeking to have the charges dismissed and his statements to police suppressed.

In April, state authorities suspended Ainsley's podiatrist license for three years.

Documents attached to the suspension indicate he was practicing podiatry on a probationary status because he was convicted in 2006 in Los Angeles County of workers' compensation fraud and ordered to make $45,000 in restitution.

Pennsylvania revoked the probationary license and imposed the suspension because Ainsley failed to notify them of the criminal charges connected to the alleged Uniontown prescription pills scheme, according to the documents.

Liz Zemba is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-601-2166 or [email protected].

___

(c)2015 Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.)

Visit Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) at www.triblive.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.