Fla. Pill mill mogul faces sentencing

MIAMI (AP) -- A former South Florida pill mill operator who faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence is asking a judge for leniency.

Vincent Colangelo's attorney says he has been cooperating extensively with investigators looking into illegal dispending of powerful painkillers such as oxycodone. Because of that, the 43-year-old Colangelo is asking for just 14 years at a sentencing hearing Friday.

Colangelo previously pleaded guilty to drug, tax evasion and money laundering charges.

Court records show Colangelo's eight clinics in Broward and Miami-Dade counties dispensed at least 660,000 oxycodone and other pills between January 2009 and December 2010. Authorities seized cash, 50 vehicles and other assets from Colangelo.

Colangelo was one of 20 people arrested in a February 2011 pill mill sweep, one of several in a recent crackdown.

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