Medical Examiner Indicted

Doctor Accused of Drug Fraud

by John Pless

A former medical examiner known for working on many high profile cases across the Tennessee Valley has been charged with fraudulently getting and giving prescription drugs.

Dr. Ronald Toolsie left the Bradley County medical examiner's office back in December 2006. Before he left he was the subject of a federal investigation by the U.S. Attorney's office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, but no federal charges ever surfaced. Now he's practicing as a pathologist and those same four-year-old accusations have come back.

"But I simply did not keep records," Dr. Toolsie said Thursday.

Dr.Toolsie and his attorney said they are stunned that the accusations he once faced, and was cleared of by the feds, have come back.

TBI agent Bryan Freeman went to the Hamilton County grand jury and got an indictment on three criminal counts. The indictment says Dr. Toolsie "...did unlawfully distribute or dispense a controlled substance." It goes on to say Dr. Toolsie got the drugs "Alprazolam, Diazepam, Hyrdrocodone and Phentermine from Henry Schein, Inc., by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception and subterfuge..." It also reads Dr. Toolsie did not keep proper records of drugs he handled.

"There was absolutely no fraud, it's a pharmacy that I ordered drugs from and dispensed to people that I believe had medical necessity," Dr. Toolsie said.

Dr. Toolsie surrendered his D.E.A. registration, needed by doctors to prescribe drugs, in 2006. Since then he has been practicing pathology at Southeastern Pathology Associates.

The owner of the practice, Dr. Xiao Mu, said Dr. Toolsie has been an excellent employee. Dr. Mu said the accusations from several years ago against his employee have no bearing on his practice or Dr. Toolsie's performance.

"This matter has been thoroughly investigated by both the U.S. Attorney's office and the D.E.A. and they both have filed special reports saying there was no criminal activity," Dr. Toolsie said.

We tried to speak with T.B.I. agent Freeman but our call to him has not been returned.

Dr. Toolsie turned himself in at the Hamilton County Jail and is free on a $1,000 bond. He's scheduled to appear in Hamilton County Criminal Court for arraignment December 4.