A former Bradley County medical examiner defrauded a company to obtain several prescription drugs and then unlawfully distributed them, according to a court affidavit.
Dr. Ronald Toolsie was arrested Thursday by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation after his Oct. 28 indictment by a Hamilton County grand jury. He was charged with one count of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, one count of failure to keep required records of controlled substances and one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, according to the TBI.
He was booked in the Hamilton County Jail and posted $5,000 bond. An employee in the Hamilton County Criminal Court clerk's office said Dr. Toolsie had not hired an attorney as of Thursday afternoon.
Dr. Toolsie's license was suspended earlier this year after an investigation into unrelated allegations of malpractice and unprofessional or unethical conduct. Those allegations were made in the case of 14-month-old Angel Delashmitt, who died in April 2003 in McMinn County.
TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said Thursday that her agency, the Division of Health Related Boards and Drug Enforcement Administration, received information in November 2006 that led to the present investigation and charges against Dr. Toolsie.
He is accused of obtaining and distributing tranquilizers, pain pills and diet drugs by fraud from Henry Schein Inc. between June 1, 2005, and May 1, 2006, according to the affidavit. Dr. Toolsie did not keep required records of the purchases, according to the affidavit.
The nature of the fraud was not described in the affidavit. Records show that in 2006, Dr. Toolsie surrendered his DEA registration, which is required to prescribe controlled substances.
Officials at Henry Schein, of Melville, N.Y., did not return messages Thursday.
Dr. Toolsie most recently had been working as a pathologist at Southeastern Pathology Associates on Fourth Street in Chattanooga. Attempts to reach him Thursday were unsuccessful.
Dr. Toolsie never worked for the Hamilton County medical examiner's office, officials there said. He did serve as medical examiner on cases in Bradley, McMinn and Polk counties, records show.
He is scheduled to appear in Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern's courtroom on Dec. 4.
If convicted, Dr. Toolsie could be sentenced to two to 12 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000 on each count.
Ms. Helm said the current case is not related to the Angel Delashmitt investigation that the state Board of Medical Examiners began in October, 2006.
The child's body was found in a pond near her mother's home. Dr. Toolsie did the autopsy in the case and said the child was sexually abused and died of shaken baby syndrome. Angel's father was charged with child rape and murder.
According to a complaint filed by the Health Department's general counsel, Dr. Toolsie "demonstrated ignorance of the proper diagnoses (sic) of Shaken Baby Syndrome" and was "unable to properly diagnose the presence of sexual abuse."
Later, Tennessee Chief Medical Examiner Bruce Levy and a University of Tennessee forensic pathologist reviewed the autopsy. They both said Dr. Toolsie erred and the child drowned, according to Chattanooga Times Free Press archives.
The Division of Health Related Boards suspended his license earlier this year, the TBI said.
SUBSTANCES INVOLVED
Here are the controlled substances Dr. Ronald Toolsie is accused of obtaining by fraud:
* Alprazolam (Xanax) -- used to treat anxiety and panic disorders
* Diazepam (Valium) -- used to treat anxiety
* Hydrocodone -- used to relieve moderate to severe pain
* Phentermine -- used as an appetite suppressant for weight loss
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