Schuylkill County doctor who ran pill mill that killed patient is sentenced

March 11--A Schuylkill County doctor who ran a pill mill out of her office, eventually leading to the death of her patient, will spend up to 15 years in prison.

Stephanie Tarapchak, D.O., 47, of Ashland, was sentenced Thursday in Lackawanna County Court to 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison. She also received six months of probation.

"I want the court to be aware that I accept full responsibility for my actions and I'm very sorry to my family for this whole situation," the woman said quietly before receiving her punishment.

When one of her patients, a 52-year-old addict named Thomas Kromer, repeatedly returned to her office after finishing prescriptions early, she gave him powerful pain medication used for cancer patients. He later died of an overdose.

The doctor, whose medical license is revoked, already spent more than two years behind bars. That time will count towards her sentence, visiting Senior Judge John L. Braxton said.

In October, a jury convicted her of insurance fraud, theft by deception, perjury, child endangerment, drug delivery to a dependent person and the most serious crimes of drug delivery resulting in death and corrupt organizations, both first-degree felonies.

Some of the convictions stemmed from a 2010 incident in which prosecutors said Dr. Tarapchak's daughter, attending Scranton Preparatory School at the time, overdosed on the Xanax her mother prescribed for her.

The defendant also was accused of smuggling drugs into Lackawanna County Prison in her rectum, but Judge Braxton threw out that charge during trial for lack of evidence. The jury also found her not guilty on four other related charges.

On Thursday, the attorney general's office continued to hammer Dr. Tarapchak for recklessly prescribing thousands of powerful pain medications to many patients, including the now-deceased Mr. Kromer.

"She's worse than a drug dealer who's out on the street," Deputy Attorney General Robert LaBar said. "She has the expertise and knowledge of what these drugs do. ... It was all her actions that killed Mr. Kromer."

Three of Dr. Tarapchak's children spoke on her behalf before the sentencing. Fallon Tarapchak, the daughter who overdosed and is now in college, tearfully described her mother as someone who "always made (her children) her No. 1 priority."

Before sentencing, Judge Braxton said he believed Dr. Tarapchak has the ability to rehabilitate and redeem herself, but must first serve her debt to society.

Contact the writer: [email protected], @pcameronTT on Twitter

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