Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Writing Illegal Prescriptions

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho physician who was found guilty of more than 60 counts of illegally dispensing opiates will serve 16 years in prison. The Coeur d'Alene Press reports a federal judge Wednesday indicted Dr. Rafael Beier on 71 counts of conspiracy, drug distribution and distributing opiates to people under the age of 21, for writing illegal prescriptions from 2011-14.Several of the counts were dismissed in the course of the proceedings. Baier says he is not the "monster" prosecutors made him out to be. The defense and family wanted the judge to consider Beier's medical record, and the number of people he had served over his career, and asked for a five-year sentence.