Notice2023-02132
Reynaldo De Los Angeles, M.D.; Decision and Order
Primary source
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Published
February 2, 2023
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 22 (Thursday, February 2, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 22 (Thursday, February 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7103-7104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02132]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Reynaldo De Los Angeles, M.D.; Decision and Order
On October 24, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration
(hereinafter, DEA or Government) issued an Order to Show Cause
(hereinafter, OSC) to Reynaldo De Los Angeles, M.D. (hereinafter,
Registrant). Request for Final Agency Action (hereinafter, RFAA),
Exhibit (hereinafter, RFAAX) 2 (OSC), at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the
revocation of Registrant's Certificate of Registration No. FD5611365 at
the registered address of 1617 W 39th Street, Ste. 1, Kearney, NE
68845-2713. Id. at 1. The OSC alleged that Registrant's registration
[[Page 7104]]
should be revoked because Registrant is ``without authority to handle
controlled substance[s] in Nebraska, the state in which [he is]
registered with DEA.'' Id. at 2 (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).
The Agency makes the following findings of fact based on the
uncontroverted evidence submitted by the Government in its RFAA dated
December 20, 2022.\1\
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\1\ Based on a Declaration from a DEA Diversion Investigator,
the Agency finds that the Government's service of the OSC on
Registrant was adequate. RFAAX 3, 2-3. Further, based on the
Government's assertions in its RFAA, the Agency finds that more than
thirty days have passed since Registrant was served with the OSC and
Registrant has neither requested a hearing nor submitted a written
statement or corrective action plan and therefore has waived any
such rights. RFAA, at 2; see also 21 CFR 1301.43 and 21 U.S.C.
824(c)(2).
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Findings of Fact
On October 5, 2022, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human
Services (NDHHS) issued an Order temporarily suspending Registrant's
Nebraska medical license based on Registrant's state criminal
conviction from August of 2022.\2\ RFAAX 3, Appendix A, at 1-4. On
December 7, 2022, NDHHS issued an Order revoking Registrant's Nebraska
medical license based on both his state criminal conviction and on his
lengthy disciplinary history with NDHHS. RFAAX 3, Appendix B, at 1, 5-
6; see also id. at 12-70
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\2\ Registrant's Nebraska medical license expired by its terms
on October 1, 2022. RFAAX 3, Appendix F.
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According to Nebraska's online records, of which the Agency takes
official notice, Registrant's license is still revoked.\3\ Nebraska
Department of Health and Human Services License Information System
Search, <a href="https://www.nebraska.gov/LISSearch/search.cgi">https://www.nebraska.gov/LISSearch/search.cgi</a> (last visited
date of signature of this Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that
Registrant is not licensed to engage in the practice of medicine in
Nebraska, the state in which he is registered with the DEA.
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\3\ Under the Administrative Procedure Act, an agency ``may take
official notice of facts at any stage in a proceeding--even in the
final decision.'' United States Department of Justice, Attorney
General's Manual on the Administrative Procedure Act 80 (1947) (Wm.
W. Gaunt & Sons, Inc., Reprint 1979). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 556(e),
``[w]hen an agency decision rests on official notice of a material
fact not appearing in the evidence in the record, a party is
entitled, on timely request, to an opportunity to show the
contrary.'' Accordingly, Registrant may dispute the Agency's finding
by filing a properly supported motion for reconsideration of
findings of fact within fifteen calendar days of the date of this
Order. Any such motion and response shall be filed and served by
email to the other party and to Office of the Administrator, Drug
Enforcement Administration at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#315554501f5055555e1f5045455e435f544842715554501f565e47"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="442021256a2520202b6a2530302b362a213d37042021256a232b32">[email protected]</span></a>.
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Discussion
Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3), the Attorney General is authorized
to suspend or revoke a registration issued under section 823 of the
Controlled Substances Act (hereinafter, CSA) ``upon a finding that the
registrant . . . has had his State license or registration suspended .
. . [or] revoked . . . by competent State authority and is no longer
authorized by State law to engage in the . . . dispensing of controlled
substances.'' With respect to a practitioner, the DEA has also long
held that the possession of authority to dispense controlled substances
under the laws of the state in which a practitioner engages in
professional practice is a fundamental condition for obtaining and
maintaining a practitioner's registration. See, e.g., James L. Hooper,
M.D., 76 FR 71371 (2011), pet. for rev. denied, 481 F. App'x 826 (4th
Cir. 2012); Frederick Marsh Blanton, M.D., FR 27616, 27617 (1978).\4\
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\4\ This rule derives from the text of two provisions of the
CSA. First, Congress defined the term ``practitioner'' to mean ``a
physician . . . or other person licensed, registered, or otherwise
permitted, by . . . the jurisdiction in which he practices . . ., to
distribute, dispense, . . . [or] administer . . . a controlled
substance in the course of professional practice.'' 21 U.S.C.
802(21). Second, in setting the requirements for obtaining a
practitioner's registration, Congress directed that ``[t]he Attorney
General shall register practitioners . . . if the applicant is
authorized to dispense . . . controlled substances under the laws of
the State in which he practices.'' 21 U.S.C. 823(f). Because
Congress has clearly mandated that a practitioner possess state
authority in order to be deemed a practitioner under the CSA, the
DEA has held repeatedly that revocation of a practitioner's
registration is the appropriate sanction whenever he is no longer
authorized to dispense controlled substances under the laws of the
state in which he practices. See, e.g., James L. Hooper, 76 FR at
71371-72; Sheran Arden Yeates, M.D., 71 FR 39130, 39131 (2006);
Dominick A. Ricci, M.D., 58 FR 51104, 51105 (1993); Bobby Watts,
M.D., 53 FR 11919, 11920 (1988); Frederick Marsh Blanton, 43 FR at
27617.
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According to Nebraska statute, ``[d]ispense means to deliver a
controlled substance to an ultimate user or a research subject pursuant
to a medical order issued by a practitioner authorized to prescribe,
including the packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare
the controlled substance for such delivery.'' Neb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 28-
401(8) (2022). Further, a ``[p]ractitioner means a physician . . . or
any other person licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted to
distribute, dispense, prescribe, conduct research with respect to, or
administer a controlled substance in the course of practice or research
in this state . . . .'' Id. at Sec. 28-401(21).
Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant
lacks authority to practice medicine in Nebraska. As discussed above, a
physician must be a licensed practitioner to dispense a controlled
substance in Nebraska. Thus, because Registrant lacks authority to
practice medicine in Nebraska and, therefore, is not authorized to
handle controlled substances in Nebraska, Registrant is not eligible to
maintain a DEA registration. Accordingly, the Agency will order that
Registrant's DEA registration be revoked.
Order
Pursuant to 28 CFR 0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21
U.S.C. 824(a), I hereby revoke DEA Certificate of Registration No.
FD5611365 issued to Reynaldo De Los Angeles, M.D. Further, pursuant to
28 CFR 0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(f), I
hereby deny any pending applications of Reynaldo De Los Angeles, M.D.,
to renew or modify this registration, as well as any other pending
application of Reynaldo De Los Angeles, M.D., for additional
registration in Nebraska. This Order is effective March 6, 2023.
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on
January 25, 2023, by Administrator Anne Milgram. That document with the
original signature and date is maintained by DEA. For administrative
purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the
Federal Register, the undersigned DEA Federal Register Liaison Officer
has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic
format for publication, as an official document of DEA. This
administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this
document upon publication in the Federal Register.
Heather Achbach,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Drug Enforcement Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-02132 Filed 2-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
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