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Affidavit Describes Seffner Doctor's Clinic As Prescription Mill

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 17, 2008

Updated: 07/17/2008 02:34 pm

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• Read The Affidavit

  John Mubang

TAMPA - The atmosphere in the waiting area of John Mubang's clinic in Seffner was "a social event with everyone involved in conversations about how easy it was to get prescriptions," according to an affidavit filed in Hillsborough County Court.

Mubang, 57, the former medical director of Hillsborough County Jail, was arrested Wednesday and charged with three counts of prescribing drugs for monetary gain and one count of trafficking in controlled substances. Now an inmate being held without bail, he declined a request to be interviewed.

Mubang worked for a private company that provided medical services for county jail inmates from Nov. 13, 1995, through July 27, 2004, said Debbie Carter, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Since early 2007, Mubang had a contract to provide medical services for juveniles housed in treatment centers operated by Sunshine Youth Services, according to Gene Magrini, director of administration for the company that contracts with the state to run five centers.

Magrini said today that Mubang's contract has been suspended and the organization is looking for someone to provide medical services on a temporary basis until officials can figure out what to do. Magrini said the organization runs specialized treatment centers for juveniles who have committed crimes but need treatment for things such as substance abuse and mental health issues.

Magrini said Mubang could have written narcotics prescriptions for the juveniles, who are 14 to 18 years old, but "that wasn't in the normal course of his duties."

Patients outside Mubang's Seffner office Wednesday praised him as a caring and dedicated doctor who had been there for them when they needed him.

Four undercover detectives visited Mubang a total of nine times from February through May, paying $110 to $135 cash for each visit, receiving narcotics prescriptions with no medical proof of need, according to the affidavit filed in connection with a search warrant application. The affidavit describes the visits as involving virtually no medical testing.

One time, Mubang asked a detective why he was taking Xanax. "You seem very calm," Mubang was quoted as saying.

"I like them!" the detective responded, according to the affidavit. "Dr. Mubang then handed Detective #2 his refills and said, "I'll see you next month.' "

One time, an undercover detective waiting in the office lobby had a conversation with a patient who told the detective he would sell her some of his roxycodone when he got them from Mubang, the affidavit states.

Two detectives were told by a nurse that cash patients were seen first, the affidavit states. In the lobby, a woman identified only as Miranda told the undercover detectives she had come from Clearwater to get an "easy" prescription because she had failed her probationary urine test and needed to show her probation officer a written prescription.

Another detective "observed patients on cell phones appearing to make drug deals on the phone," the affidavit states.

Another time a detective missed an appointment, and when he came in on another date, he noticed prescription forms filled out with the date from the previous appointment. The detective asked Mubang whether he could change the medications because he didn't like them. "What do you want?" Mubang is quoted as saying. "What can I do for you?"

The detective told Mubang he "really likes Xanax bars and Vicodin," the affidavit states. "Dr. Mubang then walked the detective up to the receptionist area" and told a woman there to rewrite the detective's prescriptions for Xanax and Vicodin.

Detective Karen Cain, who oversaw the investigation, consulted with an expert witness, Oregon Hunter, who specializes in pain management. Hunter reviewed information from the investigation and concluded that Mubang did not meet the "standard of care in prescribing pain medications, nor was there evidence to support the medical necessity for the prescriptions of narcotics in the cases reviewed," the affidavit states.

"The investigation was concluded due to concerns for public safety," the affidavit states.

Reporter Thomas W. Krause contributed to this report. Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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