The State - News from May 4, 1986

A San Francisco physician and his wife were sentenced to prison for running a large LSD manufacturing and sales operation. U.S. District Judge William Schwarzer sentenced Dr. Paul Stepak, 40, to seven years in prison; his wife, Diane, 50, who has a prior record of drug-related convictions, was sentenced to 10 years. The Stepaks, who wept aloud during the sentencing, were accompanied by 30 friends and relatives who had written the court urging leniency. But the judge said the couple used their “highly respected and well-regarded positions in the community” as a cover for a sophisticated operation that supplied millions of acid trips for almost 20 years.