83 FR 47351 - Sharon C. Worosilo, M.D., Decision and Order

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 182 (September 19, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47351-47352]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20384]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Sharon C. Worosilo, M.D., Decision and Order

    On February 7, 2018, the Acting Assistant Administrator, Diversion 
Control Division, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), issued an 
Order to Show Cause to Sharon C. Worosilo, M.D. (Registrant), who is 
registered in Somerset and East Brunswick, New Jersey. The Show Cause 
Order proposed to revoke Registrant's two DEA Certificates of 
Registration, Nos. BW8636219 and BW4026375, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 
824(a)(3), on the ground that she does not have authority to handle 
controlled substances in New Jersey, the state in which she is 
registered with the DEA, and to deny any applications for renewal or 
modification and any applications for any other DEA registrations. GX 2 
(Order to Show Cause), at 1.
    With respect to the Agency's jurisdiction, the Show Cause Order 
alleged that Registrant is registered with the DEA as a practitioner 
authorized to handle controlled substances in schedules II through V 
under two DEA Certificate of Registrations: No. BW4026375 at the 
registered address of 49 Veronica Avenue, Somerset, New Jersey, and No. 
BW8636219, at the registered address of 620 Cranbury Road, Suite #115, 
East Brunswick, New Jersey. Id. at 2. The Order stated that both of 
Registrant's registrations were due to expire on May 31, 2018. Id.
    Regarding the substantive grounds for the proceeding, the Show 
Cause Order specifically alleged that the New Jersey State Board of 
Medical Examiners issued an Order of Temporary Suspension ``suspending 
[her] New Jersey medical license.'' ``Consequently, the DEA must revoke 
[her] DEA registrations based on [her] lack of authority to handle 
controlled substances in the State of New Jersey.'' Id. at 2, citing 21 
U.S.C. 824(a)(3) and 21 CFR 1301.37(b).
    The Show Cause Order then notified Registrant of her right to 
request a hearing on the allegations, or to submit a written statement 
in lieu of a hearing, the procedure for doing either, and the 
consequence for failing to elect either option. Id. at 2, citing 21 CFR 
1301.43. It also notified her of her right to submit a corrective 
action plan in accordance with 21 U.S.C. 824(c). Id. at 2-3.
    On February 15, 2018, two DEA Diversion Investigators, accompanied 
by a Task Force Officer, personally served Registrant with the Order to 
Show

[[Page 47352]]

Cause at her residence at 1000 Avenue at Port Imperial, Number 706, 
Weehawken, New Jersey. GX 4 (Declaration of Service of Order to Show 
Cause) at 1-2.
    On April 13, 2018, the Government submitted a Request for Final 
Agency Action (RFAA) and the evidentiary record to my Office. The 
Government represented that ``Registrant has not requested a hearing 
and has not otherwise corresponded or communicated with DEA regarding 
the Order served on her, including the filing of any written statement 
in lieu of a hearing.'' RFAA, at 1-2.
    Based on the Government's representation that more than 30 days 
have now passed since the date of service of the Show Cause Order and 
that Registrant has not submitted a request for a hearing or any other 
reply, I find that Registrant has waived her right to a hearing or to 
submit a written statement in lieu of a hearing. 21 CFR 1301.43(d). I 
therefore issue this Decision and Final Order based on relevant 
evidence contained in the record submitted by the Government. 21 CFR 
1301.43(d) & (e). I make the following findings of fact.
    Registrant is the holder of two DEA Registrations pursuant to which 
she is authorized to dispense controlled substances in schedules II-V 
as a practitioner at the registered address of 49 Veronica Avenue, 
Somerset, New Jersey (Registration No. BW4026375), and at the 
registered address of 620 Cranbury Road, Suite #115, East Brunswick, 
New Jersey (Registration No. BW8636219). GX 1 at 1-2.
    On April 12, 2018, the Associate Chief of the DEA Registration and 
Program Support Section certified that both registrations were due to 
expire by their terms on May 31, 2018. Id. at 1-2. She further stated 
that ``[Registrant] has no other pending or valid DEA registrations in 
New Jersey or in any other state.'' Id. at 1-2. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
556(e), I take official notice of Registrant's registration record with 
the Agency. See also 21 CFR 1316.59(e).\1\
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    \1\ Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), an agency 
``may take official notice of facts at any stage in a proceeding--
even in the final decision.'' U.S. Dept. of Justice, Attorney 
General's Manual on the Administrative Procedure Act 80 (1947) (Wm. 
W. Gaunt & Sons, Inc., Reprint 1979). In accordance with the APA and 
DEA's regulations, Respondent is ``entitled on timely request to an 
opportunity to show to the contrary.'' 5 U.S.C. 556(e); see also 21 
CFR 1316.59(e). To allow Respondent the opportunity to refute the 
facts of which I take official notice, Respondent may file a motion 
for reconsideration within 15 calendar days of service of this order 
which shall commence on the date this order is mailed.
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    A review of Agency registration records shows that Registrant has 
not filed any applications for renewal, nor has she filed a new 
application for a DEA Registration. Accordingly, I find that 
Registrant's registrations expired on May 31, 2018, and that there is 
no application to act upon.
    Having reviewed the record, I hold that this proceeding is now 
moot. DEA has long held that ``if a registrant has not submitted a 
timely renewal application prior to the expiration date, then the 
registration expires and there is nothing to revoke.'' Donald Brooks 
Reece II, M.D., 77 FR 35054 (2012) (quoting Ronald J. Riegel, 63 FR 
67132, 67133 (1998); see also Thomas E. Mitchell, 76 FR 20032, 20033 
(2011), Donald Kenneth Shreves, D.V.M, 83 FR 22518 (2018). Moreover, in 
the absence of an application (whether timely filed or not), there is 
nothing to act upon. Accordingly, because Respondent has allowed her 
registrations to expire and has not filed either a renewal or a new 
application, this case is now moot and will be dismissed.

Order

    Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 824(a), as well 
as 28 CFR 0.100(b), I order that the Order to Show Cause issued to 
Sharon C. Worosilo, M.D., be, and it hereby is, dismissed. This Order 
is effective immediately.

    Dated: September 12, 2018.
Uttam Dhillon,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-20384 Filed 9-18-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-09-P