Local news in Brief : Surgeon Arrested on Drug Charges
A Hollywood surgeon who lost his medical license in April for drug use was arrested Tuesday by agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the California State Board of Medical Quality Assurance for continuing to practice medicine without a license and possession of “massive quantities of morphine,” DEA spokesman Ralph Lockridge said.
Robert W. Soontag, 55, was arrested after searches at his home in Corona del Mar and his office in Hollywood. Lockridge said the former surgeon is being held on $100,000 bail pending prosecution on state charges of practicing medicine without a license, possession of controlled substances for sale and maintaining a place for the use of controlled substances.
“The guy got 4,000 morphine tablets in one month,” Lockridge said.
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