ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A former champion wakeboarder is accused of operating two pill mills in Orange County with his father and brother, and on Thursday, he tried to get a judge to dismiss the case against him.
Prosecutors said the three owned two of the most notorious pill mills in the state, but Darin Shapiro's attorney said they were legitimate pain clinics.
Shapiro is now charged with trying to ride the pill mill wave.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators said Shapiro, his father and brother masterminded a drug trafficking enterprise that put millions of prescription pills on Florida streets.
"Prosecutors can say whatever they want," said defense attorney Mark Blechman.
"Parents will sometimes give their children medications. We don't really know what they are talking about there," said defense attorney Stuart Hyman.
The Shapiros managed two clinics, each named Pain Relief Center. One was located on South Orange Avenue and the other was on Woolco Way.
Agents raided them last summer and arrested two doctors who worked at the clinics in February.
The Shapiros were arrested in Hawaii, where they moved after the raids.
"We are going to attempt to establish that this was a normal medical practice authorized by statute with a doctor who believed he was complying with all the laws up until he was arrested," said Hyman.
"How profitable were these businesses?" WFTV's Lori Brown asked.
"Not more profitable than any medical business. Doctors are known to make substantial money. Florida Hospital probably makes a lot of money," said Hyman.
The attorneys argued the case should be dismissed because there is no basis for a statewide prosecutor to bring the charges since the clinics operated in Orange County.
Judge Jennifer Davis said she will make her decision later.
Prosecutors do have a glitch to work through after 66 minutes of testimony from one of the clinic's doctors disappeared.
An agent testified that he accidentally erased the tape.
WFTV
