Michael LaPaglia and the Fickle Finger of Fate

It was less than a week ago that 6th Circuit Judge John Rogers wrote that the specialty of an Oak Ridge emergency room doc, Michael LaPaglia, sanitized for the opinion as digital rectal insertion at the command of police and for whatever personal reasons may have popped up, was over.  Perhaps LaPaglia took the decision hard, just as he took the order to insert his fingers into the rectums of captive suspects to heart.

Via Knox News:

An Oak Ridge physician named in a federal lawsuit over an invasive rectal examination has been arrested on drugs and weapons charges following a domestic dispute at his Knoxville home.

Police allegedly discovered more than 2 pounds of “high-grade marijuana in various strains,” along with scores of prescription pain pills and vials of assorted hospital medications during a search of Dr. Michael A. Lapaglia’s residence late Monday night, according to Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk.

Dr. Michael A. Lapaglia (Knox County Detention Facility.)<br />

It would be remarkably hypocritical to suggest that Dr. LaPaglia’s alleged affinity toward marijuana makes him a bad person, and schadenfreude is an indulgence of the petty.  Yet, it’s hard not to find comfort in karma as LaPaglia is held in lieu of $31,000 bond among the people he was always ready to violate.

The charges against LaPaglia are offered in a laundry list:

Lapaglia is charged with:

* Manufacture, delivery, sale of possession of Schedule II;

* Manufacture, delivery, sale of possession of Schedule IV;

* Manufacture, delivery, sale of possession of Schedule VI;

* Possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony;

* Possession of drug paraphernalia.

Along with the two pounds of marijuana and assortment of other drugs found in his apartment, there were two rifles and a Glock, which might otherwise be described as hardly surprising in Knoxville, but in conjunction with the drugs, weapons take on a different significance.

The stories as yet offer no background of how the police connected LaPaglia to drugs, though it seems likely that more information will be forthcoming about the investigation leading to the search and his arrest.  For the time being, I can’t help but add that it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

Thanks to the many people for the emails, twits and comments about this arrest.

8 thoughts on “Michael LaPaglia and the Fickle Finger of Fate

  1. REvers

    Somebody needs to check his ass to make sure he’s not hiding anything in there. If he is, it could kill him, you know.

  2. John Burgess

    Okay, so now the cops seize his assets, what with forfeiture and all, leaving nothing for those who are suing him, right? Those he’s already assaulted get it in the rear once again.

  3. John Jenkins

    Seems like this could explain his willingness to assist the police. What if the police already knew all of this and used that knowledge to pressure La Paglia to assist them? Then, once his assistsnce is no longer useful, the officers went ahead and busted him.

  4. jakee308

    So perhaps his evident eagerness to “dig” for evidence was just him trying to deflect attenntion ?

    Seems possible that his predilections vis a vis drugs and weapons were known to the LEOs that he was “working” for and may have been the motivation for his zeal.

    Could it be that the failure of their little game and thus his usefulness brought an end to his immunity from closer inspection?

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