Ex-Uw Softball Doctor is Hit With Felony Drug Count ; Scheyer Due in Court Today; Plea Bargain is Expected
A felony charge was filed yesterday against Dr. William J. Scheyer, accusing the former University of Washington softball team volunteer physician of illegally acquiring and possessing narcotics, painkillers and other drugs.
He is scheduled to make his initial appearance in court this morning and is expected to plead guilty after negotiating an agreement with federal prosecutors. The case has been under investigation by a secret federal grand jury.
Under the new charge, a violation of the federal prescription fraud statute, Scheyer could be sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, said Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Scheyer’s attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., would not comment on the proceedings or confirm that a plea bargain had been reached.
“I’m going to be very circumspect, because there is nothing I can say tonight,” Vance said last night.
The federal complaint stems from a state investigation that found that Scheyer obtained drugs over a period of about three years. Scheyer was called “Dr. Feelgood” and “the candy man” by some players and former athletes who reported receiving some of the drugs or saw them being distributed to others.
The charge in U.S. District Court in Seattle says the Kirkland physician did “acquire and obtain possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception and subterfuge” from August 2001 to May 2003.
In September, Scheyer, 76, reached a settlement with the state Department of Health in which he agreed never to practice medicine again. State health authorities had suspended Scheyer’s license based on allegations of improperly providing thousands of doses of prescription drugs without complete or necessary examinations or documentation.
In the settlement with the department’s Medical Quality Assurance Commission, Scheyer already permanently surrendered his license to practice medicine and surgery in Washington.
According to the state’s initial findings in the case, Scheyer dispensed controlled substances to members of the UW softball team as well as to an athletic trainer for USA Softball (the U.S. Olympic team) and other athletes.
The charges included dispensing sedatives, anti-inflammatory drugs, stimulants, anabolic steroids, legend drugs and other controlled substances while acting in his capacity as Huskies team physician.
Investigators revealed that Scheyer often distributed the drugs with little or no medical evaluation, and that he kept incomplete or had no medical records for the athletes.
Scheyer was found to have delivered prescription drugs to athletes and team trainers in unmarked white envelopes, and often prepared a supply especially for road trips. The allegations included supplying a variety of drugs to team trainers hired by or associated with the University of Washington. The trainers would dispense the drugs as they deemed appropriate.
The investigation began with a complaint against Seattle-area pharmacist Edward Matsuwaka, who was found to be filling prescriptions in the name of a UW softball player. The state Board of Pharmacy also took action against Matsuwaka, charging him with unprofessional conduct. Matsuwaka’s license was suspended, and he was placed on two years’ probation and fined $2,000 in April.
As a result of the state investigation, the UW ended its relationship with Scheyer in September 2003. UW and state records show that earlier attempts to end his association with UW athletes were overruled by former athletic director Barbara Hedges and softball coach Teresa Wilson.
The fallout from the Scheyer investigation forced Hedges to retire early after she removed Wilson as coach for her affiliation with Scheyer. Wilson filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the university in April.
Many of the state’s findings were cited again in an April 27 report when the UW conducted its own investigation into Scheyer’s tenure in the athletic department, where he served as a volunteer physician for several teams from 1986 until 1999, and exclusively for the softball team until the state investigation was revealed in the fall of 2003.
Two softball players, one trainer and two doctors told the internal UW investigative panel they believe one or more softball players were addicted to narcotics administered under Scheyer’s care.
As a freshman, a softball player told the panel, she took Vicodin and muscle relaxants two or three times almost every day. She said she could not have “played, practiced or slept without the medication.”
Eight of 18 current and former players who were contacted by the UW said Scheyer gave them some combination of narcotic pain medication, dose packs, antibiotics, birth control pills, cortisone shots, muscle relaxants and other prescription medication.
The UW Medical School now handles sports medicine for the entire UW athletic department.
P-I reporter Angelo Bruscas can be reached at 206-448-8010 or angelobruscas@seattlepi.com
UPDATE
PREVIOUSLY
Former UW team doctor William Scheyer, accused of improperly dispensing drugs, agreed to never again practice medicine.
THE LATEST
A felony charge is filed, accusing him of illegal acquisition and possession of narcotics and other drugs.
WHAT’S NEXT
He is expected to plead guilty.