Ex-Gov. Mandel’s Son, 41, Indicted on 8 Drug Counts

The 41-year-old son of former Gov. Marvin Mandel has been indicted on eight federal drug counts in an alleged scheme to use forged prescriptions to obtain the narcotic painkiller Dilaudid, officials said.

Gary Mandel could face a maximum 61-year prison sentence and up to $195,000 in fines if convicted of one count of conspiracy, four counts of illegally obtaining drugs and three counts of distributing the synthetic opiate.

At an arraignment today, U.S. Magistrate Daniel Klein released Mandel, a lawyer, on personal recognizance and ordered him not to leave the country.

Mandel and an acquaintance, Katherine Harris, were accused of acquiring “thousands of Dilaudid tablets during the course of the conspiracy” between August, 1982, and September, 1984. It also accuses them of distributing “quantities of these tablets” to others “in return for money and other considerations.”

Prescription forms allegedly were forged with the name of a Chevy Chase physician and used to buy the drug from several pharmacies in Washington and Maryland.

Paul R. Kramer, Mandel’s lawyer, said his client had become “clinically addicted” after a series of back operations but denied that Mandel was ever involved in selling or distributing drugs.

Mandel’s father, governor from 1969 until his 1977 conviction on charges that included mail fraud and racketeering, served 19 months in a federal prison in Florida. The former governor was released on Dec. 4, 1981.