Los Alamos police are investigating possible prescription drug fraud out of Medical Associates of Northern New Mexico clinic.

 Alladi is no longer with the practice. His voluntary departure was unrelated to the allegations, and was simply a career boost, according to his attorney. The job change was planned long before the allegations came to light, his attorney told the Journal.

 The original news was reported on Oct. 20 on ABQjournal.com. An updated report on the investigation was printed in Jounal North on Oct. 22. That story is below:

Thursday, October 22, 2009
As published in the Journal 
By Vic Vela
Journal Staff Writer
       Los Alamos police are investigating possible prescription drug fraud out of a medical center where employees allegedly obtained prescriptions for thousands of painkiller pills over the past year, according to a court document.
    Three employees at Medical Associates of Northern New Mexico obtained numerous prescriptions for the drugs oxycodone and hydrocodone, according to a police search warrant affidavit filed in state District Court in Santa Fe last week.
    Oxycodone and hydrocodone are prescribed to relieve pain, but are also known to be sold on the street and used recreationally.
    No charges have been filed against anyone, and police say they are still investigating.
    However, the three Medical Associates employees in question -- as well as Dr. Vikram Alladi, under whose name most of the prescriptions were issued -- no longer work at the medical center, according to clinic administrator June Wall. Wall would not comment further.
    Medical Associates reported possible prescription fraud to the police in late September, after a pharmacist at a Santa Fe Walgreens called about painkiller dosing in some prescriptions submitted for an employee of the clinic being "way to high."
    A "team leader" at the clinic told police that handwriting on three of the prescriptions "looked like" the writing of another employee there, not Alladi's, the police affidavit states.
    Alladi told one of the staff members who reported the prescription problems to police that "he would not prescribe that much narcotics to someone because it would kill you," according to the police statement.
    Attempts by the Journal to reach Alladi by phone were unsuccessful Wednesday.
    One of the clinic workers under investigation is Alladi's 36-year-old medical assistant, who from October 2008 through August of this year obtained 780 oxycodone pills, according to the affidavit. One of the other staff members under investigation reportedly said, according to an account one of the reporting employees gave the police, that the medical assistant would "write her prescriptions."
    Alladi also was said to have told one of the staffers looking into the problem prescriptions that the medical assistant would give him prescriptions to sign, and he'd give them back to the assistant.
    After sifting through prescription logs, police found that a 27-year-old female employee had received 1,280 pills of oxycodone and 900 pills of hydrocodone in less than a year, beginning in September 2008 and ending Aug. 26.
    A 52-year-old male "associated" with this staffer and the medical assistant, who is not an employee there, obtained a 20-day prescription on May 13 for 120 pills of hydrocodone. A doctor at the clinic, Molly Vosburg, told police that "people can only take so much Tylenol (hydrocodone contains acetaminophen) before it starts to do damage to the liver," the affidavit states, and that the prescriptions were excessive.
    Another employee, a 32-year-old woman, obtained 736 hydrocodone pills from September 2008 through July, the document states.
    The affidavit for a search warrant, which was authorized earlier this month by District Judge Daniel Sanchez, was used to collect evidence at the pharmacy where two of the former employees got their prescriptions filled, Fairview Pharmacy in Española.
    Los Alamos police Capt. Randy Foster said Wednesday that "there are no immediate plans for charges, but there is the potential for charges" in the future.
    "We're checking to see who may have been involved, and who may not have been involved and following up to see if there was any criminal wrongdoing on anyone's part," Foster said.
    Foster also said it is premature for police to suggest that the pills were obtained for trafficking purposes.

The FBI is looking for a woman in her 60's who was armed with a handgun when she robbed an Albuquerque bank Friday afternoon.

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Darrin E. Jones said the woman hit the Bank of America at 7644 Jefferson NE in the Journal Center at about 3:20 p.m.

The woman, who displayed the weapon, passed a note to a teller demanding money and left with an undisclosed amount of money, Jones said in a news release.

The woman was described as being 60-70 years old, white or Hispanic, and about 5-feet tall, Jones said. She was wearing faded blue-jean overalls, a red long-sleeve sweatshirt, a black hat and black leather gloves.

Two grants funded by federal stimulus money will provide a total of about $2.3 million for two Early Head Start programs in New Mexico.

Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., announced in a news release Friday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had awarded the grants.

Presbyterian Medical Services, which operates statewide, will receive nearly $2.1 million and Eastern Plains Community Action Agency Inc. in Tucumcari will receive $245,202 for their Early Head Start Programs, according to the news release.

"In these challenging economic times, it is vital that our community services like Early Head Start are able to continue their work," Lujan said. "Early learning helps our kids and our communities in the short- and long-term. I'm encouraged that this investment is being made in our children's future."

The news release said Early Head Start programs were established in 1995 as an extension of Head Start and serve children from birth to 3 years old and pregnant women.

A Mesilla couple indicted on multiple misdemeanor and felony charges last year have pleaded no contest to 107 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals related to cat hoarding, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

The newspaper said that according to a news release Thursday from the District Attorney's Office, Lester Boyse, 59, and Carol Boyse, 58, entered their pleas Nov. 10. They face from five years' probation to 106 years behind bars when sentenced.

No sentencing date has been scheduled, according to the Sun-News.

The newspaper said Lester Boyse is a research assistant in the New Mexico State University agronomy and horticulture department and Carol Boyse is department head of library systems at NMSU.

The charges against the couple came after authorities went to their home following a report of a smell, which was coming from a dead horse on the property, according to the Sun-News.

About 101 cats were found inside the home, including four dead cats in the freezer, the newspaper reported. Investigators also found three live and two dead horses, a pair goats, a peacock and other animals on the couple's property.

The Sun-News reported that according to court records, Carol Boyse told investigators she tried to medicate the cats and find them homes.

The newspaper said only seven cats were healthy enough to be saved, while 96 had to be euthanized due to suffering caused by upper respiratory infections, mouth ulcers and fight wounds.

The three live horses found on the property were placed in foster care; two suffered from severe hoof problems that required at least a year of therapy, according to the Sun-News.

Thursday, 28 August 2008 23:55

Criminal charges were filed Thursday against a Mesilla couple suspected of hoarding 118 animals in their home, which one of the suspects reportedly called a "cat sanctuary," the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

The two, who face a combined 51 counts of animal cruelty, were arrested Thursday evening and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center on $50,000 bonds each, the Sun-News said.

Carol Boyse, 57, who is listed as the head of New Mexico State University's library systems, was charged with 19 fourth-degree felony counts of extreme cruelty to animals and 10 misdemeanor animal-cruelty counts, the paper reported.

Her husband, 58-year-old Lester Boyse, who works at NMSU as a research assistant in the agronomy and horticulture department, was charged with 15 felonies and seven misdemeanors, according to the Sun-News.

"There will almost undoubtedly be more charges added," Chief Deputy District Attorney Susan Riedel told the paper.

Investigators who came to the couple's home on Aug. 21 in response to a report of a dead horse found five horses on the property, two of them dead, as well as 101 cats, a pair of goats, a peacock and other animals, the Sun-News reported.

Four dead cats were found in a freezer, the paper said.

Most of the animals were euthanized because they suffered from a variety of ailments, the Sun-News reported.

6:55am 8/27/08 -- More Than 100 Animals Put Down in Hoarding Case: Criminal charges may be filed against Mesilla couple after raid last Friday.

More than a hundred animals seized in Dona Ana County's latest animal-hoarding case have been euthanized and a decision on criminal charges stemming from last Friday's raid in Mesilla was pending, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

Only 14 animals were saved of the 118 taken from the Mesilla home of Carol and Lester Boyse, Mesilla Marshal Angelo Vega told the Sun-News.

Most of the animals that were seized were cats -- about 100, officials said.

But staff members at the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley were able to save seven cats, two pigs, a peacock, a goat and three horses, and the Boyses relinquished control of the surviving animals so they can be placed in foster care, Vega told the Sun-News.

Prosecutors on Tuesday were still considering charging the Boyses with dozens of counts of misdemeanor and extreme animal cruelty, and a decision could come today, the Sun-News reported.

Animal control authorities were led to the home last week by a report of a dead horse, the paper said.

Vega said authorities actually found two dead horses on the property -- one that had been dead about four days and another for about 20 days, the Sun-News reported.

New Mexico's Democratic senators, Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, joined by Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, are pushing the notion that a new generation of much smaller nuclear reactors could play a role in our nation's energy future. It's an idea championed by Sandia National Laboratories' Tom Sanders, who is the current president of the American Nuclear Society. From a story I wrote in June:

Sanders' support of small reactors is not surprising, given his history. Before getting his degrees in nuclear engineering at the University of Texas, Sanders spent six years in the Navy, managing the small nuclear reactors used to power U.S. submarines.
        Operating small nuclear reactors, he points out, is something the U.S. Navy has been doing for half a century.
        In addition to his belief in the economic feasibility of small reactors, Sanders believes the technology offers a niche that U.S. industry can exploit. These days around the world, big nuclear reactors are the province of other nations, chiefly the French government-owned firm Areva and the Japanese company Toshiba, both from countries that provide their nuclear power industries with strong government backing.
        To the extent that new large reactors are built in the United States -- and a number have been proposed -- it will be foreign companies that build them, Sanders noted.

The new Bingaman-Udall-Murkowski bill would direct the Secretary of Energy to work with private industry to develop standard designs for modular reactors, with the goal of winning Nuclear Regularly certification by 2018 and having the first reactor running by 2021.

Bernalillo County Sheriff's detectives arrested 36-year-old Christopher Sanchez last night on suspicion of killing Luis Maldonado on Feb. 7, court records show.

Sanchez was  identified as a suspect early on, but in the last several days technicians from the Metropolitan Forensic Science Center were able to provide the definitive connection based on blood evidence found on the Sanchez's boots, BCSO spokeswoman Erin Kinnard Thompson tells ABQJournal.com.

Read the Journal's previous coverage here and pick up a copy of tomorrow's paper for more

An Alamogordo man has been convicted of raping a woman he worked with at a local restaurant, the Alamogordo Daily News reported.

Valente A. Hernandez Jr., 21, was found guilty Thursday of two counts of third-degree felony criminal sexual penetration of the 20-year-old woman, the newspaper said. Hernandez, who will be sentenced at a later date, faces six years in prison.

Hernandez's public defender argued during trial that the sexual encounter was consensual, but the prosecutor said the state never believed it was consensual sex, according to the Daily News.

The charges stem from an incident at the residence the woman shared with a roommate, who also worked at the same Alamogordo restaurant.

The newspaper said that according to testimony during the trial, the victim saw Hernandez before getting a ride home from work with her roommate on Nov. 30, 2008, and invited Hernandez to her residence. Hernandez was at the residence in the early morning hours of Dec. 1 when the victim, who admitted she had begun drinking alcoholic beverages after arriving home, said she passed out on the living room floor and woke up to find herself being assaulted by Hernandez.

Hernandez, according to a videotaped interview shown during testimony at the trial, never denied having sexual intercourse with the woman but said it was consensual, the Daily News reported.

The newspaper reported that Hernandez did say in the interview with detectives that he believed the sexual encounter went too far. "I didn't rape her," he told the detectives. "I was drunk. I apologized to her for letting it go too far."

Raton voters have turned down a proposed bond issue that would have provided money for the construction of a consolidated elementary school building, The Raton Range reported.

The election was held Tuesday and the vote was 848 against the bond issue and 546 in favor of it, the newspaper said.

The proposal would have allowed the Raton school district to issue up to $7.1 million in bonds to pay for the district's share of a new elementary school, according to The Range.

The newspaper said district officials planned to use the money and money it expected to receive from the state, if the bond issue passed, to build the new school, which was to house kindergarten through fifth grade and eliminate the need for the three aging elementary schools the district currently operates.

Raton Public Schools Superintendent Dave Wilden believes tough economic times led to the defeat of the bond issue, according to The Range.

The newspaper said Wilden noted the economy is in "terrible shape" nationally and within the state, thus "people are hesitant to put a new tax on themselves and I respect that. I don't think it was a vote against the kids -- we are just in a tough economic situation."

Monday, 16 November 2009 12:17

Voters in Raton will decide Tuesday whether to approve up to $7.1 million in bonds that would be used to build a new elementary school to replace the district's existing three aging elementary school buildings, The Raton Range reported.

The newspaper said plans call for the consolidated elementary school to be built on land in the city's Roundhouse Memorial Park, south of the aquatic center currently under construction and west of the current Longfellow Elementary School.

Students in kindergarten through fifth grade would attend the new school, according to The Range.

The are 4,794 registered voters eligible to vote. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., the newspaper reported.

Arraignments for 32 people charged with contempt of court after an outburst during a state District Court hearing Thursday evening in Taos are scheduled for Monday, The Taos News reported.

The Court Clerk's Office said the arraignments are scheduled for 4 p.m., the newspaper reported. The orders did not specify bond for the people charged with contempt of court so they will remain in jail until their bonds are set at the arraignments, according to The News.

Taos County Undersheriff Ed Romero told the newspaper that one of the people charged was not sent to jail Thursday evening but was taken to Holy Cross Hospital to be checked out for health conditions unrelated to the courtroom incident.

The News said that according to a report filed by the Sheriff's Office, the outburst occurred when state District Judge Sam Sanchez denied a motion to reconsider the 12-year sentence of Dominic Bau, 31, who pleaded guilty to criminal sexual penetration and criminal sexual contact of a minor last January for raping a 13-year-old female relative after giving her cigarettes and alcohol.

The report said Sanchez told authorities that after he ruled against Bau, members of the audience and Bau himself began yelling and shouting profanities in response to the ruling, the newspaper reported. Witnesses claimed that Bau's friends and family and the victim's family also exchanged words.

Dona Ana County says in a news release that investigators have determined improperly spliced wires providing electrical power to a mobile home in Chaparral caused a fire in the home that claimed the lives of three people, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

The newspaper said that according to the state Office of the Medical Investigator, the victims died of smoke inhalation. They were identified as Elena Diaz, 20, her brother, Rodolfo Diaz, 17, and her infant daughter, Eileen Millan, 14 months.

The fire occurred late Wednesday night. The victims were staying in the back bedroom of the single-wide mobile home and were prevented from getting out of the trailer or being rescued by firefighters because of bars on the windows and intense fire and smoke in the hallway, the Sun-News reported.

The newspaper said the owner of the mobile home, Abraham Rodriguez, and his daughter, Valerie Rodriguez, 20, were in the opposite end of the home at the time of the fire and were able to escape uninjured.

Thursday, 19 November 2009 12:14

A fire in a mobile home in Chaparral has claimed three lives, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

Authorities believe a 20-year-old woman, 17-year-old boy and 14-month-old girl were killed in the blaze late Wednesday night, according to the newspaper. Identifications were being withheld until the Office of the Medical Examiner can positively identify the bodies and relatives can be notified.

The Sun-News reported that the victims were in the back bedroom of the mobile home and bars on the windows and intense fire and smoke in the hallway prevented their escape and kept firefighters from rescuing them. A man living in the opposite end of the single-wide mobile home got out without injuries.

The newspaper said that according to a news release from Dona Ana County officials, the fire was reported at 11:25 p.m. and the first emergency responders arrived at 11:41 p.m. Investigators have not determined the cause of the fire.

• The body of former Gov. Bruce King will lie in state at the Capitol in Santa Fe until 5 p.m. today.
• The Santa Fe Archeological Review Committee agreed Thursday to cancel an easement meant to protect a segment of the Acequia de las Joyas bulldozed by a developer last summer.
• A man police say was driving drunk and slammed into a family of five in Northeast Albuquerque on Wednesday has been arrested.
• The U.S. Department of Transportation is renewing New Mexico Airlines' contract to provide commercial air service to Alamogordo.
• Is the proposed swapping of state and private land in the Whites Peak northeast of Las Vegas, N.M., a sweet deal for all involved or a one-sided stinker that will hamstring northern New Mexico's sportsmen?
• Rio Rancho has enrolled in the Public Service Company of New Mexico's program to reduce energy use during periods of peak demand.
• Sipapu will be the first ski area to open in New Mexico for the 2009/2010 ski season on Saturday.
• Officials at Bandelier National Monument have removed five unbranded, untagged feral bulls from the northern New Mexico monument.
• A lovely weekend weather-wise is on the way for New Mexico.
• Forty-one people were arrested for contempt of court after they created a ruckus in state District Court in Taos.

To vote for your favorite story, click here.

Sipapu will be the first ski area to open in New Mexico for the 2009/2010 ski season on Saturday.

Lift tickets will be $15.00 for adults and seniors - $10.00 for teens and kids. Lift No. 1 will be open with 865 vertical feet and one intermediate trail. Lift No.2 will be open with the Practice Slope.

Check out the area's web site for more details.

 KOAT-TV reports that the accident happened near Sandia Casino on Tramway. Police say Ismael Cardenas crossed into the wrong lane and slammed into a van driven by Vanessa Muller. Four young children were in the car.

The family was hospitalized and treated for minor injuries.

Officials with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department said Ismael Cardenas is facing a number of charges including DWI and drug possession. He is being held at MDC on a $5,000 bond.

Read the full story here.

Former Gov. Bruce King will lie in state at the Capitol today, and former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to attend his funeral Saturday in Moriarty, the family said.
    The three-term governor will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    The funeral will be in the Moriarty High School gymnasium on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m.

Here's the forecast for the weekend in Albuquerque:

Today

Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s to lower 60s.

Tonight

Mostly clear. Lows in the 20s.

Saturday

Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower to mid 60s. South winds 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 20s to lower 30s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the northwest after midnight.

An investigation into a structure fire on 2nd Street Tuesday night uncovered evidence that the fire was intentionally set, according to an Albuquerque Fire Department news release.

The fire originated on the back wood porch and extended into the second level of the structure located at 1015 2nd St. NW. There was a violent explosion that caused the second floor to collapse.

There are no suspects at this time and the investigation is ongoing, according to the release.

No one was injured in the fire.

Attorney Lisa Torraco, who lost to District Attorney Kari Brandenburg last year, said she converted the old home into a storage space for her campaign memorabilia. She also used it as an overflow space for her law office nearby.

The structure is a total loss.

Fire crews were able to contain the fire to the structure and prevent it from harming Torraco's law office to the north and a Napa Auto Parts business to the south.

Torraco said she suspected the fire was intentionally set and that she recently had problems with some transients.

She said she initially felt compassion for the transients and allowed them to stay on the structure's back porch. She said later told them to leave after she found needles, razors and broken bottles they left behind.

Torraco put up no trespassing signs that were either covered up with cardboard or torn up. She said the transients confronted some people from her law office on Tuesday.