Com. v. Ruth, R. ( 2015 )

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee
v.
RICHARD R. RUTH
Appellant No. 2628 EDA 2014
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence June 5, 2014
In the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-46-CR-0008015-2011
BEFORE: PANELLA, J., MUNDY, J., and JENKINS, J.
MEMORANDUM BY JENKINS, J.: FILED SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
Appellant Richard R. Ruth appeals from the judgment of sentence
entered in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas on June 5, 2014
following his jury trial convictions for nine counts of prescribing a controlled
substance to a drug dependent person,1 ten counts of unlawful prescription
of a controlled substance by a practitioner,2 and one count each of insurance
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1
35 Pa.C.S. § 780-113(a)(13).
2
35 Pa.C.S. § 780-113(a)(14).
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fraud,3 identity theft,4 conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and identity
theft,5 corrupt organizations,6 and dealing in unlawful proceeds.7 We affirm.
The trial court set forth the following factual and procedural history:
Over a nearly two-year period beginning in early 2010,
[Appellant], a then practicing physician, unlawfully
prescribed tens of thousands of pills from his office in
Souderton, Montgomery County, acting as a source of
Oxycodone and Adderall for drug-addicted patients.
[Appellant] committed identity theft during this period, as
well, by agreeing to write prescriptions in the name of a
patient’s wife for insurance purposes and engaged in
insurance fraud by billing insurance companies for medical
care he did not provide. He also dealt in the proceeds of
unlawful activity and participated in a corrupt organization
with his son/co-defendant, Michael Ruth, who served as his
father’s office manager.
A jury found [Appellant] guilty on November 22, 2013, of
nine counts of prescribing a controlled substance to a drug
dependent person, 10 counts of unlawful prescription of a
controlled substance by a practitioner, insurance fraud,
identity theft, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and
identity theft, corrupt organizations and dealing in unlawful
proceeds. Prior to sentencing, one of [Appellant’s]
attorneys, Gregory Noonan,9 was charged in Montgomery
County with possession of a controlled substance with
intent to deliver and related offenses.
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3
18 Pa.C.S. § 4117(a)(2).
4
18 Pa.C.S. § 4120(a).
5
18 Pa.C.S. § 903.
6
18 Pa.C.S. § 911(b)(2).
7
18 Pa.C.S. § 5111(a)(1).
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9
[Appellant] also was represented by John L.
Walfish, Esq.
[Appellant] appeared at sentencing with new counsel.[8]
[The trial court] sentenced [Appellant] to consecutive
terms of five to [ten] years in prison on three of the
convictions for unlawful prescription of a controlled
substance by a practitioner. The total sentence imposed
aggregated to 15 to 30 years in prison.[9] No further
penalty was entered on the remaining 22 convictions.
[Appellant] filed a post-sentence motion. He asserted his
sentence was excessive under the circumstances, the
prosecutor violated a duty to disclose that Noonan had
been under investigation at or around the time of trial and
he was denied the effective assistance of counsel because
Noonan had an alleged conflict of interest. [The trial court]
denied the motion without a hearing[.]
Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) Opinion, 11/13/14 (“Opinion”), at 1-3 (most internal
footnotes omitted). Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal. Both he and
the trial court complied with Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 1925.
Appellant raises the following issues on appeal:
Did the [t]rial [c]ourt err in denying [Appellant’s] [p]ost[-
s]entence [m]otion for an [e]videntiary [h]earing (in
support of the [p]ost[-s]entence [m]otion for a [n]ew
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8
On June 5, 2014, the day of sentencing, new counsel filed a motion for
extraordinary relief, seeking a new trial because Noonan was being
investigated for drug-related offenses at the time of Appellant’s trial.
Defendant’s Motion for Extraordinary Relief, filed June 5, 2014. On June 6,
2014, the trial court denied this motion. Order, 6/6/2014.
At sentencing and on appeal, Appellant and his son are both represented by
Francis J. Genovese, Esq. of Mullaney & Mullaney.
9
Appellant filed a motion to preclude the imposition of mandatory minimum
sentence, which the trial court granted. N.T., 6/5/2015, at 5-6. The trial
court, therefore, did not impose a mandatory minimum sentence. Id.
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[t]rial), where his request for [p]ost[-s]entence [r]elief
had at least arguable merit, on its face, thus necessitating
that a hearing be held to more fully develop the record
with respect to the violation of [Appellant’s] Due Process
rights as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the
United States Constitution?
Did the Trial Court err in denying [Appellant’s] [p]ost[-
s]entence [m]otion for a [n]ew [t]rial, where the
Commonwealth violated [Appellant’s] Due Process rights
as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution, when it failed to disclose to the Court
that the District Attorney’s Office was actively investigating
[t]rial [c]ounsel for his involvement in the illegal
distribution of narcotics while he was representing
[Appellant] at the trial in the above-captioned matter?
Did the [t]rial [c]ourt abuse its discretion in sentencing
[Appellant] to three consecutive terms of five (5) to ten
(10) years of incarceration in a [s]tate [c]orrectional
[i]nstitution, each of which constituted a sentence in the
aggravated range of the Sentencing Guidelines, where the
charges to which he was found guilty were not separate
and distinct incidents of criminality, but rather one episodic
and continuing course of criminal conduct?
Appellant’s Brief at 4.
Appellant’s first two issues are based on the same underlying claim,
that the Commonwealth violated Appellant’s due process rights under the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution when it failed to
inform the trial court and Appellant that the District Attorney’s Office was
investigating Noonan, [Appellant’s] attorney, for distribution of narcotics.
Appellant’s Brief at 16-17, 21-22, 24-25, 29-31. Appellant claims the trial
court erred when it denied his post-sentence motion raising the due process
claim and erred in failing to hold an evidentiary hearing on the claim. Id. at
24-25, 31.
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We review a trial court’s denial of a post-sentence motion requesting a
new trial for abuse of discretion. Commonwealth v. Brooker, 103 A.3d
325, 332 (Pa.Super.2014). Similarly, the trial court has discretion as to
whether to conduct a hearing on a post-sentence motion. See Pa.R.Cr.P.
720(b)(2)(B) (“The judge shall also determine whether a hearing or
argument on the motion is required, and if so, shall schedule a date or dates
certain for one or both.”). An abuse of discretion “is not merely an error of
judgment, but if in reaching a conclusion the law is overridden or
misapplied, or the judgment exercised is manifestly unreasonable, or the
result of partiality, prejudice, bias or ill-will . . . discretion is abused.”
Brooker, 103 A.3d at 332 (quoting Commonwealth v. Fortenbaugh, 69
A.3d 191, 193 (Pa.2013)).
“To constitute a due process violation, the prosecutorial misconduct
must be of sufficient significance to result in the denial of the defendant’s
right to a fair trial.” Commonwealth v. Busanet, 54 A.3d 35, 64
(Pa.2012) (quoting Commonwealth v. Hanible, 30 A.3d 426, 465
(Pa.Super.2011)).
Appellant claims the Commonwealth had a duty to disclose to the trial
court and/or Appellant that Noonan, Appellant’s trial counsel, was under
investigation for involvement in illegal drug trafficking. Appellant’s Brief at
29-30. He notes that the crimes for which Noonan was charged occurred on
November 23, 2013, the day after a jury convicted Appellant of the afore-
mentioned charges, and on December 20, 2013, and claims the investigation
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began before or during Appellant’s trial. Id. at 7. He maintains that,
because Noonan was under investigation during Appellant’s trial for illegal
activities similar to the crimes for which Appellant was charged, Noonan had
a conflict of interest, and the Commonwealth had a duty to disclose this
conflict. Id. at 16-17, 21-22, 24-25, 30-31. He maintains the
Commonwealth’s failure to disclose the conflict prevented Appellant from
receiving a fair trial. Id. We disagree.
The trial court found: Appellant did not cite any case law imposing a
duty on a prosecutor to inform the court that a defendant’s attorney was
under investigation for narcotics distribution; the Pennsylvania Rules of
Professional Conduct and the American Bar Association’s Standards on
Prosecutorial Investigations were not controlling when determining whether
a constitutional violation occurred; and a prosecutor was not constitutionally
required to disclose an attorney’s potential conflict of interest. Opinion, at
4-5.10
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10
Appellant maintains the Commonwealth violated his due process right to
a fair trial because it did not inform him or the trial court of a criminal
investigation of his attorney’s conduct, which, he alleged, the
Commonwealth was required to do because the investigation created a
conflict of interest. Because we find that, under the circumstances present
here, the prosecutor had no duty to disclose the criminal investigation, we
need not determine whether a conflict of interest existed. We note,
however, that, unlike United States v. Fulton, 5 F.3d 605 (2nd Cir. 1993),
relied upon by Appellant, no trial witness implicated Noonan in illegal
activity. Further, there is no suggestion that Noonan and Appellant were
engaged in criminal activity together, or that they were a part of the same
conspiracy. See Commonwealth v. Duffy, 394 A.2d 965, 968 (Pa.1978)
(Footnote Continued Next Page)
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The trial court acted within its discretion in denying the motion for a
new trial. The Commonwealth did not violate Appellant’s Fourteenth
Amendment due process right to a fair trial when it failed to disclose to the
trial court or Appellant that Appellant’s attorney was under criminal
investigation, particularly because no trial witness possessed information
relevant to the investigation of Appellant’s attorney, the investigation did not
implicate Appellant, and the Commonwealth had not yet established whether
Appellant’s counsel had engaged in any illegal activity. See, e.g., United
States v. Morelli, 169 F.3d 798, 812 (3d Cir.1999) (prosecutor’s failure to
inform court of conflict does not require reversal); United States v. Cerro,
872 F.2d 780, 787 (7th Cir.1989) (prosecutor not constitutionally required to
advise court of potential conflict of interest).
Further, the trial court acted within its discretion in denying Appellant’s
request for an evidentiary hearing. The trial court concluded:
Here, disposition of the post-sentence motion did not
necessitate a hearing. As discussed more fully below,
[Appellant] presented no controlling authority for his claim
that the prosecution had an obligation to disclose an
investigation into Noonan.10 Similarly, the motion did not
present a meritorious basis for [the trial court] to upset
the sentence imposed. [The trial court], therefore, did not
abuse its discretion in disposing of the post-sentence
motion without a hearing.11
_______________________
(Footnote Continued)
(conflict existed where witness claimed trial counsel and prosecutor knew
Commonwealth witness claimed counsel was to be paid for his legal services
with stolen guns, which were “fruits of the crime” ).
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10
Because [Appellant] failed to present any
controlling authority for his contention that the
prosecution owed a duty to disclose the
investigation, [the trial court] did not consider the
affidavit and other exhibits attached to the
Commonwealth’s answer to the post-sentence
motion.
11
[Appellant] also included in his post-sentence
motion a claim that Noonan was ineffective due to an
alleged conflict of interest. The reasons this court
disposed of that claim without a hearing included the
premise that a challenge to counsel’s ineffectiveness
generally must await collateral review. See, e.g.,
Commonwealth v. Britt, 83 A.3d 198, 203-204
(Pa.Super.2013) (stating that direct appeal
consideration of ineffectiveness claims not warranted
where, as here, the issue involves non-record based
claims and the defendant has not waived further
post-conviction review). It also bears mentioning
that [Appellant] did not allege a connection between
his criminality and Noonan’s misconduct, such that a
conflict existed, nor did he cite to any instance in the
trial record where he believes Noonan’s performance
was affected by a conflict of interest. Moreover,
defendant also was actively represented at trial by
John L . Walfish, Esq. In any event, [Appellant] has
not included a challenge to Noonan’s effectiveness in
his concise statement; thus, it is waived. See Pa.
R.A.P. 1925(b)(4)(vii) (stating that issues not
included in concise statement are waived).
Opinion, at 4 (internal footnotes omitted). We find no abuse of discretion
with the trial court’s determination.
Appellant’s third claim challenges the discretionary aspects of his
sentence.
“Challenges to the discretionary aspects of sentencing do not entitle a
petitioner to review as of right.” Commonwealth v. Allen, 24 A.3d 1058,
1064 (Pa.Super.2011) (citing Commonwealth v. Sierra, 752 A.2d 910,
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912 (Pa.Super.2000)). Before this Court can address a discretionary
challenge, we must engage in a four-part analysis to determine:
(1) whether the appeal is timely; (2) whether Appellant
preserved his issue; (3) whether Appellant’s brief includes
a concise statement of the reasons relied upon for
allowance of appeal with respect to the discretionary
aspects of sentence; and (4) whether the concise
statement raises a substantial question that the sentence
is appropriate under the sentencing code.
Commonwealth v. Austin, 66 A.3d 798, 808 (Pa.Super.2013) (quoting
Commonwealth v. Malovich, 903 A.2d 1247, 1250 (Pa.Super.2006)); see
also Allen, 24 A.3d at 1064.
Appellant timely filed his notice of appeal and included a concise
statement of reasons in his appellate brief. Further, he raised an
excessiveness claim in his post-sentence motion. His post-sentence motion,
however, did not raise a claim that the trial court failed to consider
mitigating factors or Appellant’s rehabilitative needs.
Appellant’s brief contains a statement of reasons relied upon for
allowance of appeal pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure
2119(f). Appellant’s Brief at 13-15. Appellant maintains the trial court
failed to properly consider the information contained in the pre-sentence
investigation report, including Appellant’s history and characteristics and his
rehabilitative needs. Id. at 14. He notes the trial court sentenced Appellant
to three consecutive, aggravated range sentences, for a total aggregate
sentence of not less than 15 nor more than 30 years’ imprisonment. Id. at
15. He argues the sentence was “manifestly unreasonable, unduly excessive
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and extremely vindictive; considering that the charges to which [Appellant]
was found guilty were not separate and distinct incidents of criminality, but
rather one episodic and continuing course of criminal conduct.” Id. at 15.
Although Appellant’s post-sentence motion and Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b)
statement challenge the sentence as excessive, they do not allege the trial
court failed to consider mitigating circumstances. See Concise Statement of
Matters Complained of on Appeal (“Did the Trial Court abuse its discretion in
sentencing [Appellant] to three consecutive terms of five (5) to ten (10)
years of incarceration; each of which constituted a sentence in the
aggravated range of the Sentencing Guidelines, where the charges to which
he was found guilty were not separate and distinct incidents of criminality,
but rather one episodic and continuing course of criminal conduct?”);
Appellant’s Post-Sentence Motion for Relief (arguing: imposition of
consecutive sentences in aggravated range was excessive and unreasonable;
sentence cruel and unusual due to age, lack of prior history and conviction
for non-violent offense; and weighing of the factors favors a lesser
sentence). Appellant, therefore, waived his argument that the trial court
failed to consider mitigating factor or his rehabilitative needs.
We next must address whether Appellant’s claim the trial court abused
its discretion when it imposed consecutive, aggravated range sentences
raises a substantial question. “The determination of whether a particular
issue raises a substantial question is to be evaluated on a case-by-case
basis.” Commonwealth v. Dunphy, 20 A.3d 1215, 1220 (Pa.Super.2011)
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(quoting Commonwealth v. Fiascki, 886 A.2d 261, 263 (Pa.Super.2005)).
A substantial question exists where a defendant raises a plausible argument
that the sentence violates a provision of the sentencing code or is contrary
to the fundamental norms of the sentencing process. Commonwealth v.
Naranjo, 53 A.3d 66, 72 (Pa.Super.2012) (quoting Commonwealth v.
Crump, 995 A.2d 1280, 1282 (Pa.Super.2010)).
A claim of excessiveness based on the imposition of consecutive
sentences does not raise a substantial question, unless the imposition of
consecutive sentences raises the “aggregate sentence to, what appears upon
its face to be, an excessive level in light of the criminal conduct at issue in
the case.” Commonwealth v. Mastromarino, 2 A.3d 581, 587
(Pa.Super.2010).11 Because the aggregate sentence imposed, 15-30 years’
imprisonment, does not facially appear excessive in light of the criminal
conduct for which Appellant was convicted, Appellant’s claim that the trial
court abused its discretion by imposing consecutive sentences in the
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11
An excessiveness claim or challenge to consecutive sentences may raise a
substantial question when raised in conjunction with a claim that the court
failed to consider mitigating factors or rehabilitative needs. See
Commonwealth v. Caldwell, --- A.3d ---, 2015 WL 3444594, at *4
(Pa.Super. May 29, 2015) (challenge to consecutive sentences as unduly
excessive, together with claim court failed to consider rehabilitative needs
raised substantial question); Commonwealth v. Raven, 97 A.3d 1244,
1253 (Pa.Super.2014) (excessiveness claim, together with claim court failed
to consider mitigating factors, raised substantial question).
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aggravated range of the sentencing guidelines does not raise a substantial
question.
Further, even if we were to address the merits of the sentencing claim,
the claim fails. “Sentencing is a matter vested within the discretion of the
trial court and will not be disturbed absent a manifest abuse of discretion.”
Crump, 995 A.2d at 1282 (citing Commonwealth v. Johnson, 967 A.2d
1001 (Pa.Super.2009)). “An abuse of discretion requires the trial court to
have acted with manifest unreasonableness, or partiality, prejudice, bias, or
ill-will, or such lack of support so as to be clearly erroneous.” Id. (citing
Commonwealth v. Walls, 926 A.2d 957 (Pa.2007)).
“A sentencing court need not undertake a lengthy discourse for its
reasons for imposing a sentence or specifically reference the statute in
question, but the record as a whole must reflect the sentencing court’s
consideration of the facts of the crime and character of the offender.”
Crump, 995 A.2d at 1283 (citing Commonwealth v. Malovich, 903 A.2d
1247 (Pa.Super.2006)). Further, “where the trial court is informed by a pre-
sentence report, it is presumed that the court is aware of all appropriate
sentencing factors and considerations.” Commonwealth v. Ventura, 975
A.2d 1128, 1134 (Pa.Super.2009) (citing Commonwealth v. Devers, 519
Pa. 88, 101–102, 546 A.2d 12, 18–19 (1988)).
The trial court found:
As for the imposition of consecutive sentences, the
aggregate sentence is not excessive given the harm
inflicted by [Appellant] upon numerous individuals, families
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and the community as a whole. While [the trial court]
considered [Appellant’s] age, along with a number of other
factors, a lesser sentence would have depreciated the
seriousness of his devastating crimes. [Appellant’s]
suggestion that his crimes were not separate episodes that
piled more and more harm upon his patients demonstrates
his continued lack of remorse for his actions and a self-
serving characterization of the ample trial evidence to the
contrary. In any event, even had [Appellant] raised a
substantial question regarding his sentence, he is not
entitled to relief.
[The trial court] amply set forth on the record the bases
for the sentence imposed. In particular, [the trial court]
stated at the sentencing hearing:
You are a danger to society if I have ever met [one].
You are more dangerous than a common criminal
because you do act like and are, in fact, the
quintessential old country doctor.
And even though I have never lived in Souderton,
I’m not exactly from the inner city. Okay? You are
the old country doctor. You are perfect at that.
There [are] two of you. There must be. Because the
person I saw in here when pressed on cross-
examination, you just didn’t have the answers.
An intelligent person like you, who is a physician,
has to look at the amount of prescriptions you have
written for the amount of pills that were given out
for the times these people came to you that were
obvious junkies. You heard them in the courtroom.
You saw them.
Doc, you got to give me another script because the
dog ate the script. My kid put the script in his
mouth. I need another one. So you just write
another one, write another one, write another one.
It was business as usual.
You and Michael, you were a criminal enterprise.
These people weren’t making it up. You are not the
victim. You are just making money off the suffering
of others.
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***
You perpetuate the agony of these people that come
in my courtroom. They’re destroying our society
because you keep the wheel turning. You are the
supplier. And that is what I find so baffling.
You know what it is like? The DA said it or alluded to
it. What you do by feeding this and fueling this
disease, these diseased people, and they commit
crime, it is like throwing a stone in a lake and you
see the ripple effect. It is generational, the
destruction it causes a family.
That one kid that came in here talking about his
mom, he came to get pills for his mom and you guys
wrote him the script. He is living in a car, he had to
give [up] his pets, this little boy, because his mom
was a junkie.
And where did she get her pills from? Dr. Ruth.
(N.T. 6/5/ 14, pp. 50-53).
The [trial court] also stated on the record that he had the
benefit of a pre-sentence investigation report, considered
the information [Appellant] gave about himself during his
trial testimony and allocution and noted the [trial court’s]
familiarity with the circumstances of the case, having been
the trial judge. (Id. at 53)
[The trial court] court further stated that it sentenced
[Appellant] in the aggravated range because there were
multiple convictions, the crimes involved drug trafficking,
[Appellant] demonstrated no remorse, there were multiple
victims and the victims were in [Appellant’s] care. (Id. at
54) [Appellant’s] claim, therefore, that [the trial court]
erred in fashioning its sentence is without merit.
Opinion, at 8-9. After a thorough review of the sentencing transcript, we
find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Appellant to
consecutive, aggravated range sentences.
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
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Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 9/23/2015
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