Witness recounts sex-for-drugs deal with doctor
Nancy Mickey testified Tuesday that she regularly exchanged sex for drugs with Dr. Mark Fremd over a four-year period. Mickey testified she went to see Fremd, 48, “sometimes, once or twice a week” to get more of the drug Percocet, a pain killer, from the doctor. Because she couldn’t pay him the $45 fee per visit, Mickey testified she paid him with sex.
She was the first witness to directly testify that Fremd abused his privileges as a physician, as alleged by the attorney general’s office. Fremd, of 205 N. Carnegie St. in Connellsville, is charged with 17 violations for allegedly doling out prescriptions in exchange for sex or guns and insurance fraud.
Mickey, who didn’t give her age or address, testified in Fayette County Court that she was addicted to the pain medication, and Fremd, she said, was the path of least resistance.
“He was the easiest to go to – that’s why I went to him,” she testified under questioning by Deputy Attorney General Andrew Demarest.
At times, Fremd would give her 12 or 14, pills, testified Mickey. But as her addiction grew and she could not come to his office more often, she testified that Fremd started giving her prescriptions for 20 at a time.
Fremd’s attorney, Paul Gettleman, asked Mickey if she had a problem with pills before. She initially testified she did not, but then said she had bought them once or twice.
“So for lack of a better word, you weren’t a virgin to acquiring pills illegally, were you?” asked Gettleman.
“No,” replied Mickey.
Gettleman also cross-examined Mickey on grand jury testimony offered against Fremd in April 2000, when the investigation into his alleged illegal activities was beginning. At that time, Mickey testified she had sex with Fremd about 20 times for pills.
Gettleman pointed out, however, that her testimony in court Tuesday was that she had sex with Fremd weekly for four years, putting them in sexual contact about 250 times.
“I didn’t know I had to add it up,” Mickey said of her grand jury testimony.
After more questions about her prior testimony, Mickey testified that she was getting off drugs around April 2000, and was still, at times, strung out.
“So basically what you’re saying is everything in this (grand jury testimony) could be inaccurate because you were coming off drugs?” asked Gettleman.
“I was pretty strung out,” testified Mickey.
She also testified that she never sold any of the drugs that Fremd allegedly supplied her.
“Why would I sell drugs I wanted to use for myself?” testified Mickey.
Jurors also heard testimony from Sherry Banks, a Highmark Special Investigations Representative. Banks testified that claims submitted by Fremd or his office, indicated that some patients had approximately 40 trigger point injections per day.
As a former emergency room nurse, Banks testified that she felt that amount was excessive. She testified that the insurance company had paid out more than $1 million in claims to Fremd for those injections.
The trial is scheduled to pick up this morning with additional testimony before Judge Steve P. Leskinen.