Appeals court to hear oral arguments in diluted drug case

ST. LOUIS -- A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday is scheduled to hear oral arguments in former Kansas City pharmacist Robert Courtney's appeal of his 30-year sentence for diluting cancer drugs.

Courtney, 50, pleaded guilty last year to 20 counts of misbranding, tampering with and adulterating cancer drugs he prepared and dispensed from his Research Medical Tower Pharmacy in Kansas City.

He was sentenced in December to 30 years in prison, the maximum sentence, even though his plea agreement with prosecutors set a sentencing range of 17 to almost 22 years.

However, the agreement allowed the judge to sentence Courtney to up to 30 years if the crimes warranted the time.

Federal prosecutors have said the sentence was "more than warranted."

In a brief challenging Courtney's appeal, they said the crimes for which he pleaded guilty represented only a fraction of the potential victims.

Courtney said in his plea agreement that he began diluting drugs in 1992, possibly affecting as many as 4,200 patients and 98,000 prescriptions.