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Houston doctor to face "fake Botox" retrial |
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Thursday, 29 November 2007 |
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A doctor in Houston, Texas, whose trial last month ended in a misstated conviction, will stand trial again on charges that she bought a cheap Botox substitute and injected it into unsuspecting patients.
Dr. Gayle Rothenberg, 55, faces accusations of conspiracy, mail fraud, misbranding a drug for sale and lying to federal agents. While giving evidence in hr trial last month, she apologized repeatedly for what she called lapses in judgement.
At last month's tree-week trial, the jury foreman announced that the jury had found the doctor guilty on all 13 charges before the court. Her lawyer, Joel Androphy, immediately sought to poll the jurors, with one of the female jurors replying "That's not my verdict". The jury was sent back to deliberate, before returning to tell U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein that they couldn't reach a unanimous decision.
The earlier trial had accused Rothenberg and her husband, Saul Gower, of substituting Botulinum Toxin Type A for conventional Botox; although Botulinum Toxin Type A is similar, it is not approved by the FDA for use on humans. Under cross-examination by the prosecution, Dr. Rothenberg admitted using the substituted product:
I should have told them and I didn't. I made a mistake. Thank God, no one was hurt. - Dr. Rothenberg
Earlier this year, her husband, Saul Gower, pleaded guilty to misbranding a drug for sale and lying to a federal agent about it. He has not yet been sentenced, but faces up to eight years in prison. Dr. Rothenberg has pleaded not guilty to the charges that her husband admitted, and it is believed that he could be called to testify against her. His plea bargain includes a clause that he will co-operate with the government's prosecution, but it is thought that he could plea spousal privilege to avoid testifying.
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