Drug addicts call Dr. Scott Houghton the "the candy man" because he has so readily written prescriptions for controlled painkillers in exchange for cash and concert tickets, according to court documents.
Houghton accepted cash, free concert tickets and even hotel stays at casinos in exchange for drugs, often without examinations, according to the warrant for his arrest.
One high roller at Mohegan Sun would visit Houghton’s office up to three times in a day for Demerol injections, the Day of New London reports.
Tickets to shows, including REO Speedwagon and Beyonce, might have “skewed” how he viewed the patient when giving the pain killers, Houghton told an investigator.
Houghton lives in Madison and practices in Old Saybrook.
In February 2010, DEA and other law enforcement agencies raided the doctor’s 929 Boston Post Road office and hauled away boxes of evidence. His license to prescribed controlled substances was suspended the next day, but he continued to write prescriptions for controlled substances, Old Saybrook according to police.
The investigation began when the operator of substance abuse recovery houses heard that addicts called Houghton the “candy man,” the Day reports.
Local
Houghton was arraigned on Tuesday in Middlesex Superior Court in Middletown on 47 felony charges.
He remains free on $250,000 bond posted after his April 12 arrest. His case was transferred to a higher-level court and continued to May 24.
Houghton has been charged with 30 counts of illegally prescribing or selling of narcotics, 14 counts of illegally prescribing or selling controlled substance, two counts of failure to maintain controlled substance records with intent and one count of failure to maintain security for controlled substance records with intent.
Houghton’s lawyer said he intends to plead not guilty.
