Judge: Money seized in pain clinic raid must be returned

His wife had more than $132,000 in cash in luggage in her closet.

He had nearly $74,000 in a backpack in his car trunk and nearly $9,000 more in a plastic bag in the trunk.

Overall, Tampa police seized about $222,000 last month from the pain management clinic's manager and his wife.

Authorities might not have the cash for long, though; a judge has ordered police to give it back.

Jorge M. Gonzales-Betancourt is manager of 1st Medical Group, a pain management clinic at 2314 N. North Dale Mabry Highway. The clinic's money came through writing prescriptions for painkillers, primarily Oxycodone, and the business dispensed and distributed the drug "outside the scope of professional practice," police said last month.

But Judge Robert Foster's order last week to return the money said police "failed to establish probable cause to believe that the clinic was engaged in criminal activity."

Police are determining whether they will appeal the decision, police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

Gonzales-Betancourt, 50, was arrested July 26 and charged with money laundering of $100,000 or more in connection with the activities at 1st Medical Group. Police said an investigation into the clinic is ongoing.

His attorney, Dale Sisco, said the clinic was "operating in a professional manner, consistent with the standard of care in the state of Florida." Sisco declined to comment about Foster's order.

Attorneys for Gonzales-Betancourt and his wife sought to get back the $221,898 seized, which included $5,050 from a safe at the clinic and the $1,654 Gonzales-Betancourt had on him when he was arrested.

In his order, Foster said police took Gonzales-Betancourt's house keys and entered the man's Odessa home without consent or a search warrant. After police found money in the luggage in his wife's closet, they got a search warrant and seized the luggage, which contained $132,584, Foster wrote.

McElroy said probable cause for the search warrant at Gonzales-Betancourt's home was developed during the investigation at the clinic.

Police argued funds were seized last month because the money "was either used to commit, or was the proceeds from, the crime of drug trafficking or money laundering," Foster wrote. "The department alleges that the clinic operates to divert controlled substances such as Xanax, Oxycodone and Oxycontin toward illegal uses by writing prescriptions for the drugs which have no sound basis in medical practice."

But doctors at the clinic are licensed to prescribe the drugs, and there was insufficient evidence admitted to determine how many patients came to the clinic seeking pain medication, Foster wrote.

"Although some of the prescription pads contain the rubber-stamped name of either Oxycodone or Oxycontin, neither the dosage of the pill nor the number of pills was similarly filled out beforehand," Foster wrote. "The clinic has an extensive random urinalysis program in place to ensure that its patients are taking the medicines as they are prescribed."