Phila. M.D. guilty of running pill mill

A Philadelphia physician has been convicted of running a "pill mill" where he doled out prescriptions for highly addictive painkillers to customers without a legitimate medical purpose.

Laurence T. McKinney, M.D., 54, operated the McKinney Medical Center at 7514 Frankford Ave. in Northeast Philadelphia.

The practice, which opened in 2004, ostensibly provided physical therapy and rehabilitation services. But in 2007, McKinney began to sell prescriptions for Percocet and Xanax - two of the most frequently abused controlled drugs - for $100 a pop, prosecutors said.

A jury Tuesday convicted McKinney on 30 of 49 counts of distribution of controlled substances. He faces up to nine years in prison when he is sentenced on July 14.