The trial of a former Schuylkill County doctor accused of providing drugs that caused the overdose death of a 52-year old patient, smuggling drugs in jail, and of giving her own teenage daughter Xanax, on which the child overdosed, began Tuesday in Lackawanna County court.

Stephanie A. Tarapchak, 46, who practiced in Ashland, is in Lackawanna County prison $25,000 cash bail. She is charged by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General with corrupt organizations, drug delivery resulting in death, prescribing outside the scope of practice, distribution/prescription to a drug dependent person, refusal or failure to keep records, controlled substance contraband to confined persons, perjury, endangering the welfare of children, recklessly endangering another person, insurance fraud, theft by deception and criminal conspiracy.According to a criminal complaint filed by Special Agent Douglas Hilyard, between January 2008 and August 2011, Tarapchak unlawfully prescribed and dispensed thousands of controlled substances including the highly addictive drugs Oxycodone and Hydrocodone. She dispensed drugs to herself, paramours, patients and family members from her office supplies; for no legitimate medical purpose; without performing physical examinations; in exchange for services. She also sold them.In November 2009, Tarapchak became intimately involved with a man to whom she gave testosterone shots, which she got his insurance company to pay for by submitting blood samples from a patient. She persuaded him to allow her to inject him with Benadryl to induce hallucinations while they were having sexual relations, and eventually got him hooked on Percocet and Vicodin. She would withhold the drugs to make him comply with her demands, according to the complaint.From March 2010 And May 2010, while he was unemployed, she had him sell Oxycontin to college students, giving the proceeds to her. Tarapchak herself was addicted to methamphetamines.In November 2010, Tarapchak’s 16-year-old daughter overdosed in school on Xanax supplied by Tarapchak. The child’s father sued for custody, and Tarapchak lied under oath about her involvement, and about violating previous court orders concerning her children.She was sentenced to 10 consecutive weekends in jail. During her jail time, she smuggling amphetamines, Vicodin and Ambien into jail by hiding the drugs in her rectum.On June 10, 2011, 52-year-old Thomas Kromer of Mahanoy City died of a prescription drug overdose. He had filled a total of 15 prescriptions written by Tarapchak in the four months preceding his death. An autopsy found he died of multiple drug toxicity. No illegal drugs were found in the home, and Tarapchak was the sole prescriber.Kromer had no medical conditions calling for the use of the drugs, which including Oxycodone, amphetamine, and seven others.She also billed insurance companies for patient visits and procedures that were never performed, splitting the payments with her staff and patients. Because she herself lacked insurance, she billed a friend’s medical insurance for her own personal procedures.Tarapchak graduated in 1995 from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.Her life has apparently been spinning out of control for years. On April 11, 2012, the Pennsylvania Board of Osteopathic Medicine suspended her medical license for at least three years.On Jan. 2, 2013, she was arrested by agents of the state Office of the Attorney General, and jailed under $100,000 bail.On Jan. 10, 2013, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration revoked Tarapchak’s certificate of registration. That meant she is no longer able to lawfully possess, prescribe, dispense or otherwise handle controlled substances.On April 28, 2014, bail was reduced to $25,000, and she was placed on house arrest.On Oct. 23, 2014, she was accused of violating the terms by going beyond the electronic surveillance area for several hours, and was returned to jail.On July 31, she filed a federal court petition for release. In the petition, she claims she was denied a timely bench warrant hearing, the right to have her lawyer present at the house arrest violation hearing, and given nominal bail.On Aug. 31, U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley denied her petition.