A Lehigh County doctor was sentenced to a state prison term Monday in Carbon County court for his part in a prescription painkiller scheme.

Judge Steven R. Serfass sentenced Dr. John R. Manzella, 48, of Salisbury Township, to serve 24 to 72 months in a state correctional institution.Serfass rejected a request from Manzella's attorney, Glenn M. Goodge, to place his client on probation or house arrest so he can continue his drug counseling sessions.Manzella previously pleaded to one count each of administration of a controlled substance by a practitioner and acquisition or obtaining possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation.He was originally charged with 99 criminal counts. All the counts were felonies.Serfass, in imposing sentence, said he received the largest number of letters from friends and family of Manzella, he ever received in a criminal case since he has been on the bench.Serfass said he read all the letters, the presentence investigation report prepared by the adult probation office, and listened to the testimony of family and friends.He said a common thread in the letters and statement was for leniency for the defendant because of his children.Serfass said, "You did all this yourself, sir."He said it was difficult for the court to reconcile what was said in the letters and testimony to the facts of the case.Serfass said while the country is battling an opioid epidemic, Manzella was distributing oxycodone pills.Officials said Manzella was part of a scheme that resulted in more than 10,000 oxycodone pills being distributed in multiple counties. The street value of the pills distributed was estimated at $300,000.Doctor's statementManzella read a prepared statement admitting that what he did was not only wrong but put a lot of people in danger.Manzella, who admitted to alcohol and drug abuse problems, also said he was "high" many times while prescribing medications to his patients putting them at risk. Testimony from a defense witness, Dr. Robert Gordon, a licensed psychologist, said his examination of Manzella resulted in his opinion that the defendant had a bipolar disorder which contributed to his criminal activity.Manzella said he would take Adderall in the morning and then opiates in the afternoon and alcohol at night.He added, "If I was not caught I probably would not have stopped."He entered a rehabilitation program shortly after his arrest in 2013.Serfass said the case took four years to reach a conclusion because of continuances while the defendant attended rehab programs. Court records show there were 18 continuances in the case.Deputy Attorney General Christie F. Bonesch, who prosecuted the case, said Manzella was not honest in his initial treatment program. She said Manzella was involved with Robert J. Kosch, of Newark, New Jersey, in the scheme. She said Manzella would give the phony prescriptions to Kosch, who then distributed them.She said Manzella knew that Kosch was a convicted drug criminal but still participated in the illegal acts.Bonesch said, "He is here because of the choices he made."Manzella had his medical license suspended in August 2013.Case historyManzella was charged on July 23, 2013, by agents of the narcotics bureau of investigations of the AG's office.According to Bonesch, the incidents occurred between January 2011 and October 2012.The charges against Manzella stem from a case against Kosch, who was charged in June 2013 with using fraudulent prescriptions to obtain 17,740 oxycodone pills from three Carbon County pharmacies in 2011 and 2012.Manzella helped Kosch by creating fictitious patients for whom the drugs were "prescribed," according to an affidavit of probable cause in the Kosch case.According to the Kosch affidavit, filed June 26, 2013, with District Judge Carl Balliet of Allentown, detectives in Sussex County, New Jersey, found text messages between Kosch and Manzella that "show a conspiracy involving fraudulent prescriptions between Kosch and Dr. Manzella."In the affidavit, it was noted that "numerous" oxycodone prescriptions from Manzella were filled in Bucks, Carbon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton and Schuylkill counties. Pharmacies in those counties verified several of the prescriptions with Manzella, and "more importantly, many of these names were found on Kosch's notepad."In May 2013, agent Jose Collazo of the AG office executed three search warrants on Manzella's offices. His Carbon office was located in Jim Thorpe. Of the 35 patient files sought by the warrant, only nine existed, even though physicians are required to maintain records of controlled substances they prescribe.State narcotics agent Brian Rimple, assisting Collazo, then visited Northeast Pharmacy in Lehighton. Although the pharmacy fills prescriptions for nursing homes and other institutions and does not do business with the public, the manager told Rimple she had spoken with Manzella, who asked her to fill oxycodone prescriptions for a John Houle, a Fred Sacco and Robert Kosch as personal favors to Manzella.Rimple showed her a picture of Kosch, and she verified it was he who had picked up the oxycodone.10,230 pillsAccording to the government's Prescription Monitoring Program database, between Feb. 7, 2011, and May 7, 2012, Northeast Pharmacy dispensed about 10,230 oxycodone pills in the names of Houle, Sacco and Kosch. No patient file was found for Sacco, and although one existed for Houle, Manzella had not seen him as a patient since 2010.Later in May, Collazo visited the Mauch Chunk Pharmacy in Jim Thorpe, where the pharmacist recognized Kosch as a customer who claimed to be "John Molina," and to whom the pharmacy dispensed 3,600 oxycodone pills between January 2011 and July 2012, all prescribed by Manzella.Manzella did not have a patient file for "John Molina," who apparently does not exist, according to the affidavit.On June 4, 2013, Collazo went to Walter's Pharmacy in Allentown, where the pharmacist said she had a customer who claimed to be "Thomas Lembo," and for whom she had filled numerous oxycodone prescriptions written by Manzella.The pharmacist said that on Oct. 4, 2012, she had spoken with Manzella by phone because "Lembo had arrived early to pick up his pills. She emailed a photo of "Lembo" to Manzella, who told her the man was a contractor who had done some work in his office and had apparently taken a prescription pad. Manzella told the pharmacist not to fill any more prescriptions for 'Lembo.' "She also showed Collazo the photo, and the agent recognized the man as Kosch. Manzella had no patient file for "Thomas Lembo," for whom Walter's Pharmacy had dispensed 2,910 oxycodone pills between May 2011 and October 2012.According to the affidavit, "Robert Kosch and Dr. John Manzella conspired to unlawfully obtain oxycodone through misrepresentation and fraud. Over a 22-month period, a total of 13,000 pills were dispensed by (the three pharmacies) to Robert Kosch, for an approximate value in excess of $400,000."The pills were obtained, Collazo wrote, "with intent to deliver to another/others."Serfass deferred sentencing and ordered the adult probation office to prepare a presentence investigation report.Serfass ordered Manzella to get both drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations, supply a DNA sample, zero tolerance for drug and alcohol use and when released on parole, render 250 hours of community service.Manzella began the prison term immediately.