The person considered the "ringleader" in a prescription drug ring was sentenced to a state prison term on Tuesday in Carbon County court.

President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II sentenced Angela McClain, 43, of Tobyhanna, and formerly of Palmerton, to serve a total of 36 to 72 months in a state correctional institution on 55 criminal counts filed against her by the state Attorney General's office. She previously pleaded to the charges.McClain worked as a nurse for Dr. Edward Manzella of Palmerton. Authorities charged that she gave forged prescriptions to Edward Szczesny, 26, of East Stroudsburg. The prescriptions, in some cases, were made out to the other defendants in the case including Charles Daniel, 27, of Effort; Lee Daniel, 25, of Daytona Beach, Florida; and Jessica Campbell, 26, of Matamoras, Pike County. The defendants were paid between $100 and $200 to fill the prescriptions at various pharmacies in Carbon, Monroe and Northampton counties. None of the people involved in the case were patients of Dr. Manzella.McClain appeared before Nanovic earlier in the year to plead to one criminal count. Nanovic rejected the plea agreement noting that all the other defendants, except Campbell, had pleaded to all criminal counts filed against them. He stated, "there is something fundamentally wrong with this agreement."He sent the case back to pretrial status. On April 27 she appeared before Nanovic a second time and pleaded to all 55 counts filed against her. She pleaded to 25 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, 27 counts of theft and one count each of possession of a controlled substance, corrupt organization and criminal conspiracy-obtaining prescriptions by fraud.Nanovic also ordered McClain to obtain both a drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations, zero tolerance for drug and alcohol use, supply a DNA sample, have no contact with her co-defendants and pay court costs of about $1,000.All the other defendants, except Campbell, have already pleaded and have been sentenced. Campbell is scheduled to enter a plea in the case on Thursday before Judge Steven R. Serfass.