Ill. doc gets 4 life terms in Ohio pill mill case

FILE - This undated file photo released by the U.S. Marshals Service shows Dr. Paul Volkman, of Chicago. Lawyers for the Chicago doctor convicted of running a pill mill in southern Ohio want off the case, saying the doctor is too unhappy with them to continue. The request raises questions about the sentencing for Volkman on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2012, who faces 20 years in prison for causing the death of four patients who overdosed on pain pills. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshals Service, File)

By Andrew Welsh-Huggins

AP Legal Affairs Writer / February 14, 2012

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COLUMBUS, Ohio—A judge has sentenced a woman who operated a southern Ohio pill mill linked to several drug overdose deaths to more than 12 years in prison.

Denise Huffman also faces three years of supervised release after she serves her time.

Judge Sandra Beckwith sentenced Huffman in federal court in Cincinnati Tuesday shortly after sentencing the doctor who worked at one of Huffman's clinics to four life terms.

Huffman pleaded guilty in 2010 to one count of operating Tri-State Health Care and Pain Management as a place whose primary purpose was the illegal distribution of prescription drugs.

Her daughter, Alice Huffman Ball, pleaded guilty to the same count and was sentenced last year to five years in prison.