Two South Florida doctors have been acquitted of writing prescriptions for powerful painkillers that caused the overdose deaths of several patients.
A federal jury in West Palm Beach did convict Drs. Cynthia Cadet and Joseph Castronuovo on Tuesday of money laundering conspiracy, which carries a potential 10-year prison sentence. The more serious charges of illegally prescribing painkillers leading to overdose deaths could have sent both doctors to prison for life.
Cadet and Castronuovo were arrested during a 2010 sweep of so-called "pill mills" that illegally dole out large amounts of oxycodone and other drugs. The doctors insisted they wrote prescriptions for medical reasons. More than two dozen others associated with the clinics have pleaded guilty.
The Palm Beach Post reports no sentencing date has been set.
