Del Mar Doctor Took Designer Handbags, Fine Wines for Giving Pain Pills, Feds Say

Dr. William Joseph Watson of Del Mar is accused of accepting thousands of dollars in cash or luxury items—including designer handbags, jewelry and fine wines—in exchange for writing Oxycodone prescriptions.

Watson was arrested and charged Tuesday with selling prescriptions for thousands of Oxycodone pills and other highly addictive painkillers without any legitimate medical purpose, authorities said.

A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in San Diego alleges that Watson accepted thousands of dollars in cash or luxury items, such as designer handbags, jewelry and fine wines, in exchange for the Oxycodone prescriptions.

“Prescription drug abuse and overdoses have reached alarming levels,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy.  “We are going after those who traffic pharmaceuticals with the same passion we have shown for dismantling the ruthless cartels that deal in cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.”

On June 25, 2012, the complaint says, a confidential informant introduced an undercover DEA agent as his girlfriend, saying she was “hurting” and needed some treatment. 

“Watson introduced himself to the so-called girlfriend and said he heard that she needed to come in for some treatment, winking at her while he said the word ‘treatment,’ ” according to the complaint.

During the appointment, Watson never asked to review the DEA agent’s medical records. Nor did he inquire about any tests, X-rays or other diagnoses. 

To the contrary, Watson simply wrote her a prescription for 120 Oxycodone pills, the complaint said.    

Oxycodone has become one of the preferred opioid drugs of choice by pharmaceutical drug addicts because the tablets can be crushed, snorted, injected or smoked for a quick, intense high, according to authorities.

According to the complaint, Watson’s prescription-writing habits raised the suspicions of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents, who monitor the type and quantity of medications prescribed through a state tracking system.

The complaint alleges that Watson, 58, wrote a high volume of prescriptions for Oxycodone, Hydrocodone and Xanax, three of the most highly abused medications on the market.

The complaint also alleges that during medical appointments with confidential informants and an undercover DEA agent, Watson demonstrated his willingness to write a prescription for Oxycodone even though there was no legitimate medical purpose for doing so.

—City News Service contributed to this report.