Protopappas Denied Parole

A state review board Thursday denied parole to Tony Protopappas, an Orange County dentist convicted of killing three patients with lethal doses of anesthesia during treatment.

Protopappas, 46, who operated a clinic in Costa Mesa, was convicted in 1984 of second-degree murder in the deaths of two women in their early 20s and a 13-year-old girl. The deaths occurred between September, 1982, and March, 1983. He was sentenced to 15 years to life imprisonment.

At the hearing Thursday in San Diego, where Protopappas is serving his sentence, a three-member panel of the Board of Prison Terms denied parole because of the seriousness of the crimes, because the doctor was motivated by greed and because he “was heavily involved in cocaine” at the time, a board spokeswoman said.

Protopappas was not accused of deliberately killing the patients but of using procedures that he knew endangered their lives. He will not be eligible for parole again for at least five more years, authorities said.