DR. KNOX'S ASSISTANT ENTERS GUILTY PLEA

She Admits To Knowing Activities Were Criminal Dr. Knox's Assistant Enters
Guilty Plea Four Other Defendants Face Federal Trial On Charges Ranging
From Racketeering To Fraud To Illegal Distribution Of Narcotics.

The woman who ran a prescription refill line for a Roanoke pain specialist
pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to knowing that criminal activity
was going on at the doctor's practice and not informing law enforcement
authorities.

Tiffany Durham, 29, of Blue Ridge is the only person who worked at
Southwest Virginia Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation on Second Street
Southwest to plead guilty in the case. Four other defendants - Dr. Cecil
Knox, his office manager Beverly Gale Boone and two other associates,
Willard Newbill James and Kathleen O'Gee - are scheduled to stand trial in
federal court Sept. 8. Knox and Boone face racketeering, conspiracy, drug
and fraud charges, while James and O'Gee face racketeering, conspiracy and
fraud charges. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Durham's plea also marks the first time one of the employees at Southwest
Virginia Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation has admitted that there was
criminal activity going on at the practice.

Durham's attorney, Jeff Dorsey of Salem, said Durham had assisted federal
prosecutors during their investigation and added that he expected Durham
would be called to testify against her former boss and colleagues at their
trial. A summary of evidence against Durham put forward by a federal
prosecutor also revealed some new facets of the prosecution's case against
the other defendants.

Durham was Knox's medical assistant and was assigned to track the "pill
counts" of Knox's patients, according to the summary of evidence against
Durham put forward by Assistant U.S. Attorney Pat Hogeboom.

She pleaded guilty to two felony counts for knowledge that narcotics, such
as the opiate painkillers OxyContin and methadone, were being illegally
distributed from the practice and that narcotics were also being
distributed for no legitimate medical purpose. As part of the charge,
Durham also acknowledged that she did not share what she knew with law
enforcement authorities.

Durham faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on
each count, though her final sentence will likely be less under federal
sentencing guidelines.

With her guilty plea, Durham avoided the risk of going to trial, where she
faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison if she had been
convicted on any of the original charges she faced, Dorsey said.

Durham was originally charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to
distribute narcotics for no legitimate medical purpose resulting in death
or serious bodily injury of at least one patient, 17 counts of distribution
of narcotics that led to death or serious bodily injury and 39 counts of
distribution of narcotics for no legitimate medical purpose.

Hogeboom's recounting of the prosecution's evidence against Durham also
included the information that Durham had gone to Knox with concerns that
some of his patients were abusing or reselling the prescription painkillers
Knox was prescribing. Knox would tell Durham she did not have enough
information to form opinions, according to Hogeboom's summary.

Other allegations also surfaced as part of the prosecution's summary of
evidence, which Durham did not dispute:

Knox continued to prescribe the same dosage of high-potency opiates to
patients with histories of drug abuse even after one patient's parents
expressed concern about the dosage. The patient later died of an overdose
that was attributed to medicine prescribed by Knox.

Certain patients of Knox's could go to a side door and get a prescription
directly from Knox.

Durham and Knox often got phone calls from law enforcement officers in the
New River Valley about certain patients who they said were abusing or
selling their prescriptions and in some cases had gotten arrested in
connection with the prescription. Knox continued to prescribe narcotics to
these patients.

Knox continued to prescribe high doses of painkillers to a patient who was
pregnant. The baby was born addicted to painkillers and suffered from
severe withdrawal.