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Local doctor charged with trafficking in prescription drugs (video)

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By Shemir Wiles

INVERNESS — A Homosassa family doctor was arrested Tuesday for allegedly trafficking in large amounts of hydrocodone, officials announced Tuesday during a press conference in Inverness.


Capt. Mike Richie with the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, who stood on the steps of the sheriff’s operation center in downtown Inverness, said the sheriff’s office, along with Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Citrus County State Attorney’s Office, the newly-formed statewide drug strike force and the Florida Department of Health assisted in the arrest of Dr. Gordon Bunker, 71.

Bunker, a doctor of osteopathy, was taken into custody at his Sugarmill Family Practice offices located at 5311 S. Suncoast Blvd., in Homosassa. Richie said Bunker voluntarily forfeited his medical license to the Drug Enforcement Administration and he was charged with two counts of trafficking in hydrocodone and one count of criminal conspiracy to traffic in hydrocodone.

His bond was set at $1.5 million. Each count carries a 25-year minimum mandatory sentence if Bunker is convicted.

The investigation is still ongoing, and Richie explained there could be additional arrests.

During the arrest, Richie stated 9,000 pills were seized from Bunker’s offices, though he was supposed to have around 18,000.

Since January 2010, law enforcement believes he has been responsible for dispensing about 42,000 pills. However, the Department of Health, which Richie said dug back into Bunker’s records, believes Bunker may be responsible for dealing close to 300,000 pills since 2005 with a street value of $1.8 million.

According to Richie, Bunker was selling the drugs to street-level dealers, who would then sell the pills for as much as $5 to $6 a pill. A press release stated CCSO members, along with Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agents, were able to make multiple undercover controlled purchases of prescription hydrocodone pills throughout the county.

Thousands of pills were reportedly exchanged during these transactions and using various investigative techniques, these pills were tracked back to Bunker and his medical offices.

FDLE Special Agent in Charge Jim Madden said during the press conference that this arrest illustrates just how large the problem of prescription drug trafficking is in the state of Florida. He also said the Tampa Bay region leads the state in the number of deaths linked to prescription drugs. Though the region only accounts for 17 percent of the state’s population, it accounts for 29 percent of the prescription drug deaths in the state.

“There are way too many people dying in this state,” he said.

Madden also said this particular arrest was unique due to the fact Bunker was not a pain management doctor or operating a “pill mill.”


“He’s a drug dealer who happens to have a medical license and is wearing a lab coat,” he said.

Referring to Jeffrey Allen Ware, a Spring Hill man who received life in prison in March for trafficking oxycodoone, Richie said the sheriff’s office will continue to fight to stop the illegal trafficking of prescription drugs.
“We’re not going to stop,” he said. “We’re going to keep pursuing this.”

Chronicle reporter Shemir Wiles can be reached at (352) 564-2924 or swiles@chronicleonline.com.

Video

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YOUR ALL ANONYMOUS BAGS OF SHIT!

See that name up there??? Thats my REAL name. Not some BS I made up because I wanna run my ignorant hillbilly mouth like most of you. This state has become a haven for ignorance. To see that people actually take the time to make an account and come here and post with such moronic tones and suggestions just enforces that statistics that show what FL has become.

Im not going to even engage you about Dr. Bunker because you hide behind your corny ass fake names. You dont deserve to BE engaged in real debate.

Now go watch Fox News and enforce your ignorance and ridiculous secular views based on NOTHING plausible.

I can NOT wait to leave this cesspool of morons and never return.

THATS MY REAL NAME YOU ANNONYMOUS PUSSIES!

JUST MORE INCOME FOR CIRCUS COUNTY

they arrest 1 doctor out of god only knows how many others
are out there.and they have capt richie who is the 1 internal affaris officer in ccso do the press conference at 5:00 o,clock.where was yates.i thought she did media relations.anyway.where was dawsey scared bunker would say he has ties to ccso or he must pissed dawsey off some how !!!cause there are way worst doctors than this guy!mostely doctors from other countrys and once there charged they fly back to there home country where there is no extradition laws between the us and CERTAIN eastern countrys.just check the dea website of docs convicted or report any thing to the tampa where the department of justic and the office of the diverson control also the drug inforcement agencys. plus i think there is a certain pharmacy that supplys most of the oxycodone for CASH ONLY for roxycontin insane but true. if the people of citrus county want real justice they need to go above dawsey and call 813 2875160 that is the DEA tactical deversion squad they will handle the problem with all of these bad doctors or legeal drug dealers as i call them.people of citrus county stand up to the unjustice that takes place here.it is 2011 people we have rights by LAW FREEDOM OF SPEACH!!!!!!!!!!! THIS PROBLEM CAN BE STOPED no more thugs with badges,try reporting a ccso officer into internal affaris and you will be speaking with capt richie but the good ol boy justice is still land of the law they dont want ccso great name tarnished....so they will not fire or repermand other ccso officers they say they were just doing ther jobs.but at what caust to the public
STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHT WWW.STREETLAWS.ORG rate a cop

U SAID A MOUTH FULL.....AND I'M GLAD U R NOT SCARED..

Every word u said is true, and before some childish,law breaking,liar and professional trouble maker says some smart remarks...I think your typo's are cute. Your work has always been labor so I think despite the fact that you have bad spelling and punctuation, it makes up for it with the braveness in you to actually assert your AMMENDMENT RIGHT and speak out the truth. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND GOOD LUCK..... GOD CAN SEE EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING TO YOU AND YOUR CHILD AND WIFE.It may be hard to belive right now but, nothing illegal last forever, not for ANYONE!! Some people may think they can break the law and keep getting away with it, by bullying, making false police reports (proof), making false dcf reports (proof) and by the way how did LT.WILEY let that false report slip through the cracks when we had about 5 different ways to proove who did it and it was of course not true!! You will get caught for all these wrongs and you will pay.I don't know when or how but i pray each night that it is soon! Then you will be wishing you would have spent all that time with your children instead of trying to lie or destroy other homes and take away innocent people's lives. The court system is so small here i can't understand how you keep getting away with criminal acts! Haven't u destroyef enough Families? Sorry yours was broken and must still be since you can't leave others alone! HALF A BRAIN CAN FIGURE OUT THAT IF , LET'S SAY THE SAME "2" PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS MAKING POLICE REPORTS AGAINST MANY PEOPLE, FALSE ONES THAT IS, LYING TO A JUDGE THAT KEEPS GIVING THE TWO PEOPLE INJUNCTIONS, JUST ALWAYS IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYTHING, ....BUT IT ISN'T THEM THAT IS THE PROBLEM RIGHT? GIVE ME A BREAK. AT LEAST I HAVE SELF RESPECT AND 1 CHILD BY MY 1 HUSBAND OF 15.5 YEARS, SO.............................Lady Justice..............THIS 1'S FOR YOU. yOUR PERSONAL ATTACK AGAINST ME ACTUALLY HURT YOU AND HELPED ME, SO THANK U FOR BEING WHAT YOU REALLY ARE, A HORRIBLE PERSON WITH VERY LOW SELF ESTEEM OT SELF WORTH! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME AND MY FAMILY BUT YOU SEEN TO KNOW THINGS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO EXPLAIN HOW YOU KNOW.
P.S,
THANK U SO MUCH Denise. THANK YOU FOR STICKING UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT. YOU REALLY LIFTED MY SPIRIT. THANKS SO MUCH. MAYBE YOU WOULD LIKE TO VISIT
WWW.STREETLAWS.ORG I FEEL YOU WOULD LIKE IT. YOU CAN RATE A COP AND BE PEOTECTED BY A LAWYER WITH ANYTHING YOU WRITE.

I CAN'T WAIT TILL ALL THESE BACKWOODS COUNTY WORKERS GET WHAT THEY DESERVE FOR ALL THE ILLEGAL ACTS THAT GOES ON IN CITRUS!! TO THOSE OF YOU WHO REALLY DO YOUR JOBS HERE, I AM SORRY YOUR NAMES ARE BEING TARNISHED BY THE BAD SEEDS!!

dr bunker

FIRST OFF I WAS A PATIENT OF BUNKER FOR A YEAR AND REGARDLESS HE IS AN EXCELLENT DR THAT SPENT TIME WITH HIS PATIENTS AND CARED HE HELPED ME WHEN NOONE ELSE WOULD HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING NOW ITS BACK TO DRS THAT DONT GIVE A CRAPYA SOME PEOPLE ABUSE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS BUT WHAT ABOUT ONES THAT REALLY NEED THERE MEDICINE AND DONT ABUSE IT THAT NO DOCTORS WILL PRESCRIBE BECAUSE THEY DONT WANT YOU BETTER ALL ABOUT MONEY I ONLY HAD TO PAY 5 10 DOLLARS EACH MONTH WITH NO INSURANCE BECAUSE HE CARED ABOUT HIS PATIENTS IM GOING TO DO WHAT I CAN TO GET SOME ATTENTION ON THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM IN CITRUS COUNTY THERE IS NONE THERE IS NO MENTAL HEALTH HELP HERE 1 CLINIC THAT HAS 90 DAY WAITING LISTS WHAT IF SOME ARE ON MEDS THAT CANT BE STOPPED COULD CAUSE SEIZURES EVEN DEATH WHY DONT THE SHERIFFS OFFICE OR ANY OF THESE PEOPLE CARE ABOUT THAT LETS DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT IN CITRUS COUNTY THEN SO MANY MIGHT NOT HAVE TO USE PRESCRIPTION MEDS TO COVER UP THE ANXIETY,DEPRESSION PAIN WHATEVER THIS STATE SUCKS AT MEDICAL,DENTAL,MENTAL HEALTH UNLESS YOUR RICH.HE IS A GOOD CARING DOCTOR YOUR NOT IN HIS OFFICE FOR 5 MIN HOWEVER LONG U NEED TO SPEAK WITH HIM AND HE SEES SICK PATIENTS FOR FREE OR LITTLE COST.

Innocent until proven guilty still the law of the land?

The excitement of the authorities that they've gotten a "scalp" in the person of Dr. Gordon Bunker, as also reflected in the Chronicle's news coverage, must be balanced against a more careful consideration of the facts, hopefully to come, as well as the injustice and inconveniences already imposed on his loyal patients.

Although the Sheriff's "dog and pony" show highlighted some 9,000 pills, there was nothing to suggest that Dr. Bunker did not possess those pills legally -- in fact, a careful reading of the story suggests officials claim there should have been even more.

And if the Florida Department of Health records are to be believed, Dr. Bunker's medical license was not voluntarily surrendered but suspended on a "emergency" basis. The distinction is important for two reasons. First, it represents a repugnant "punishment before conviction" applied to Dr. Bunker that is inherently against our claimed system of justice and due process. But perhaps even more importantly, the "emergency suspension" also punishes Dr. Bunker's legitimate patients who are suddenly no longer able to get prescribed prescription refills. If one of more of Dr. Bunker's patients die, what will the state bureaucrats have to say then?

We long for the days of physicians who truly care about their patients and spend the time necessary getting to know them and their conditions and Dr. Bunker was one of those physicians. And although Dr. Bunker and his innocent patients have already been subjected to punishment by the state bureaucracy, hopefully he will still be allowed to present his defense to a jury of his peers. Does anyone really believe that a 71 year old physician from the old school who spends a lot of time with his patients is really just a "drug dealer with a medical license"?

BUNKER

NO I DONT THINK HE WAS JUST A DRUG DEALER WITH A MED LICENSE HE WAS A GOOD CARING DR HE HELPED ME WHEN NOONE ELSE COULD IT ONLY TOOK 1 VISIT HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WAS WRONG AND HOW TO TREAT IT I WAS DOING GREAT BUT NOT NOW CAUSE THERES NO DR IN CITRUS LIKE HIM THAT UNDERSTOOD AND KNEW HOW I SHOULD BE TREATED HE SEEN ME SOME MONTHS FOR FREE OR A FEW DOLLARS IF I HAD IT DIDNT MATTER HE STILL SEEN ME THIS COUNTY SUCKS AT GETTING HELP AND IM SURE ALOT OF HIS PATIENTS WILL BE AT THE ER I TRIED TO GET MY SCRIPTS FILLED YESTERDAY NO WAY I UNDERSTAND WHAT HE DID WAS WRONG BUT THIS COUNTY COULD USE DRS AS SINCERE AND CARING AS HE WAS.

Serving a place in the community

and I have been in Dr Bunker's office and have seen very old, poor, sick people needing medical attention. He would see them, then send them on their way. If they could pay,they did...if they couldn't, he wished them to feel better and stop back next week. I've seen them bring in $5.00 to pay him. This man tried to take care of people. He is caring. If he got caught up in bad place, I am sorry. Lets hope he does get to say his peace. Sad to see a 71 yr old man spend his remainig days behind bars.

FINALLY..SOME1 IN LAW WHO IS HERE TO GET THE REAL DEALERS

WHERE DO I START...THANK YOU GOVENOR SCOTT FOR BRINGING SOME TRUE JUSTICE AND MEDIA TO THIS HUGE ISSUE IN CITRUS COUNTY. DO YOU THINK HE IS THE ONLY DOCTOR BREAKING THE LAW HERE, OR SHALL WE SAY "QUACKS"? WELL, THE ANSWER IS NO!! HE IS NOT ALONE, I ABSOLUTELY KNOW 100% ABOUT A DOCTOR IN BEVERLY HILLS THAT DOES THE SAME THING THIS DOCTOR DID AND ONE IN CRYSTAL RIVER THAT LIKES TO FEEL HIS FEMALE PATIENTS UP BEFORE THEY CAN HAVE THEIR MEDICINE NOT TO MENTION THE FIRST ONE TAKES MEDICAID BUT REFUSES TO TAKE MEDICAID IF YOU WANT NARCOTICS, THOSE VISITS ARE CASH ONLY AND YOU CAN BUY YOUR PILLS RIGHT THERE. I BELIEVE CCSO LEAVES THESE BAD DOCS HERE SO THEY CAN CONTINUE THE CYCLE OR PARTNERSHIPS.MANY RESIDENTS FEEL THE SAME WAY BUT ARE AFRAID TO SPEAK UP, THE REASON THEY STAY IS TO GET PEOPLE ADDICTED AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT CITRUS COUNTY NOW HAS A HUGE PILL ABUSE PROBLEM, WHICH LEADS TO HEAVY ADDICTION, THEN CRIME AND OF COURSE TONS OF FEE'S AND FINES TO BE PAID AT THE CLERK, OH AND BY THE WAY THEY TAKE PAYMENT PLANS. I THINK THE BUDDY SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN HERE AND COPS WHO DESERVE TITLES SUCH AS SGT., LT. AND ECT..SHOULD REPLACE THOSE WHO ARE JUST WAY TOO COMFORTABLE USING THAT BADGE ILLEGALY. IF I WORKED FOR CCSO RIGHT NOW I'D MAKE SURE TO BE DOING MY JOB LEGALLY BECAUSE IT'S TRUE,YOU HAVE "LOCAL" INTERNAL AFFAIRS BUT NO-ONE EVER KNOWS WHO IS WATCHING WHO AND THIS STORY IS THE OBVIOUS HUH? I HOPE CITIZINS GET BRAVE AND START TO SPEAK UP IF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT CLEANING UP CITRUS FOR REAL.

I CAN'T WAIT TILL ALL THESE BACKWOODS COUNTY WORKERS GET WHAT THEY DESERVE FOR ALL THE ILLEGAL ACTS THAT GOES ON IN CITRUS!! TO THOSE OF YOU WHO REALLY DO YOUR JOBS HERE, I AM SORRY YOUR NAMES ARE BEING TARNISHED BY THE BAD SEEDS!!

WHERE DO I START....

...First, I don't think this is the result of Gov. Scott's actions, but, rather the awesome work of OUR Sheriff's Dept. right here in Citrus County. Secondly, I'm SURE this is not the only Dr. breaking the law...there are MANY professionals who act unprofessionally and break the law, this just happens to be one of the many who are caught...I guess the real question here is how do YOU "know 100% about a doctor in Beverly Hills that does the same thing..."??? How?? I also find it funny that you refer to what these 'Doctors' are dispensing as "medicine" rather that what it truly is: illegal narcotics...it sounds as if you have been receiving YOUR 'medicine' by illegal means for some time...AND by means of MY tax dollars (ie: your reference to the doctors NOT accepting medicaid). You sound REALLY MAD that these doctors won't accept your Medicaid (or rather, my tax dollars) so you can receive your "medicine" for FREE...
Do you really think that "CCSO leaves these bad docs here so they can continue the cycle or partnerships" when this whole article is about a local doctor that has been taken off the streets??? I think not. Thank you CCSO for doing your job so well!!
To educate you a bit, it's not the doctors somehow luring the patients into "staying" that gets people addicted...it's LOSERS who hunt for doctors that will write fraudulent RX's because they are already addicts and don't have enough self control (or self worth) to stop using. When all the patient's hunts turn up with no results, the patients decide to attempt to write the RX's themselves...and when they get caught..blame it on a doctor who have tried to 'feel them up'.
Thank GOD you DON'T work for CCSO (I don't think they hire convicted felons anyway) because as you said "...citizens get brave and start to speak up.." and before you know it..you're looking at ALOT more prison time than you are now.

Lady Justice

Where do I start

@ Lady Justice: Why are you so angry? And what gives you the right to call the other poster a felon? Do you know that person? If he isn't, I'd be taking you to court really quick if I were him. He is very correct in what he says about Dr's and the disgusting things they do. Twenty years ago I heard about certain Dr's that would give female patients pain pills for a "quick feel". And I have NEVER taken illegal drugs, so don't go assuming what you don't have a clue about.Which is quite a lot if one is to judge what you totally misinterpret to be the means to which to judge your lack of knowledge.You twisted everything the other poster had to say so that you could attack him. And yes, I hate to burst your bubble, but there are BAD cops too! And judges and lawyers, etc... etc That's why it isn't a matter of how guilty you really are(if you're even guilty to start with), but how much money you can afford to pay for all those crooks to divvy up!

THANK YOU FOR SAYING EVERYTHING U DID! TRUTH!

Thank you so much for sticking up for me. I am not 100% yet on who Lady Justice is, the feature that was on here that allowed us to see the user info has been taken away, but since that message was so personal toward me I am working on finding out who it is, due to statements made directly at me are very slanderous and if it is who we think it is, many ways to trace, they have also said some very interesting statements that makes me have to ask, "how does this person know people's sentences before even a pre-trial has happened?" That wanna be Wonder Woman aka Lady Justice, i believe may be attacking my friends client. Of course, she seems to know everything about their case. just thanks alot. God bless you and your family.

I CAN'T WAIT TILL ALL THESE BACKWOODS COUNTY WORKERS GET WHAT THEY DESERVE FOR ALL THE ILLEGAL ACTS THAT GOES ON IN CITRUS!! TO THOSE OF YOU WHO REALLY DO YOUR JOBS HERE, I AM SORRY YOUR NAMES ARE BEING TARNISHED BY THE BAD SEEDS!!