California: A non-white doctor saw enough from an X-ray to prescribe pain killers to an undercover cop but missed the tail showing it was a scan of a dog

The undercover deputy showed Dr. Rolando Lodevico Atiga an X-ray to prove that she needed pain killers. Despite the scan of her German shepherd clearly showing the dog's tail and the fact the X-ray had the name of an animal hospital on the back, Atiga wrote out a drug prescription. Atiga examined the X-ray and asked if she wanted Vicodin, oxycodone, Valium or Xanax. Glendora police Capt. Timothy Staab says that Atiga is well known among drug addicts to dish out prescribed medication and was considered the doctor to go to. Police and Los Angeles County deputies raided the Glendora urgent care clinic of Atiga after a two-month investigation that included three undercover deputies posing as patients. Atiga, 69, was arrested. Atiga wrote prescriptions to all three deputies who posed as patients. The doctor asked patients, who shelled out between $200 and $400 for prescriptions, to pay a $50 tip to his receptionist. Medical board records show that Atiga was previously convicted of taking illegal payments after referring Medicare patients for home health services. In 1996, Atiga’s medical license was placed on probation after accusations that he excessively prescribed, records show. The medical board also required him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in which doctors suggested he might have early signs of dementia.