The Region - News from April 11, 1986

Noting the defendant’s “deteriorating psychological condition,” U.S. District Judge William D. Keller sentenced Dr. Alvin Smolin, 62, to three years in prison, suspended the sentence and placed the Beverly Hills physician on five years’ probation for his participation in a scheme to illegally prescribe and dispense drugs on the streets of Los Angeles. The judge said he was not minimizing the seriousness of Smolin’s crimes, but he said he believes in fashioning a sentence to the individual. Keller warned Smolin, however, that if he violates the probation he will be sent to jail “in a minute.” Smolin also was ordered by Keller to participate in a mental health treatment program under the care of a psychiatrist. Twenty other counts against Smolin were dropped by the government as part of a plea agreement.