93-year-old Las Vegas doctor responds to allegations of involvement in illegal prescription drug ring

Dr. Henri Wetselaar hobbled to the witness stand Wednesday and reminisced about his days as a resistance fighter in Nazi-occupied Holland as he tried to persuade a jury that he is innocent of running an illegal prescription drug ring.

It was not immediately clear how the wartime stories — of narrow escapes and heroic rescues — related to the charges that are the focus of Wetselaar’s ongoing drug trial. But his lawyer hinted later in questioning that the doctor’s behavior is not evidence of a crooked medical practice but instead reflects a professional education that predates the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Does the lack of patient history on his charts reveal that he was blindly writing prescriptions for pill seekers who coughed up enough cash? Not according to Wetselaar, 93, who took the witness stand in his own defense.

“I remember every detail of what [a patient] told me, and what he told me was in absolute confidence, so I don’t write it down. … Sometimes I put a line in the charts, and I know precisely what that line means,” he testified. “It’s adequate for me and according to my thinking based on going to medical school back in 1952.”

The doctor said he was wary of keeping detailed patient notes because when he leaves the office, “a cleaning lady can go in and pull any chart and get the most secret secrets of any of the patients.”

Wetselaar used his testimony to respond to nearly all of the allegations prosecutors have presented in their two-month case against him, his medical assistant and a local pharmacist. The men are accused, in a 13-count indictment, of sending large supplies of opioids onto the streets of Las Vegas.

Why did he prescribe patients powerful prescription painkillers before ordering an MRI, physical therapy or other tests?

“Our patients had no insurance,” Wetselaar said. Also, “there are cases, clearly, in the literature, saying that people who have tests done and have surgery have more pain now than they did in the beginning.”

Wetselaar’s trial has faced several delays due to his health, which has put him in and out of the hospital over the past several weeks. He appeared lively on Wednesday, smiling at jurors and the court official who swore him in as a witness. As he testified, he leaned back in his chair, clutched his court-issued hearing device in one hand, and gesticulated with the other as if he were engaging in casual, fireside conversation.

He often had to ask lawyers to repeat their questions, and he struggled with his memory — especially when asked to recall details about phony patients for whom he is accused of writing scores of prescriptions that were filled by drug dealers and sold on the streets.

When his lawyer asked why he remembered some details and not others, Wetselaar replied: “That’s life. That’s nature when you have problems with your memory. … God knows the reason.”

Wetselaar was composed on the stand, but he grew snarky during withering cross-examination from Assistant U.S. Attorney Cristina Silva. Silva interrogated Wetselaar about his decision to prescribe oxycodone, rather than Advil, to the dozens of patients who came in with complaints of lower back pain.

“Are you trying to teach medicine or something?” the doctor snapped.

Wetselaar had not finished his testimony before court adjourned Wednesday. His wife carried his portable oxygen unit as he walked from the witness stand back to the defense table, his small frame supported by a sparkling silver cane.

Contact Jenny Wilson at jenwilson@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Follow @jennydwilson on Twitter.