Sentencing on local charges was postponed Tuesday for a former Morgantown pharmacist who is already serving time in federal prison on drug charges.
As previously reported, Scott Tingler, 41, was sentenced to 10 years and one month in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a conspiracy to illegally distribute 250,000 oxycodone pills in Monongalia County and southwest Pennsylvania.
Tingler owned Bruceton Pharmacy in Bruceton Mills and American RX Pharmacy located inside the Venture Drive Price Cutter in Morgantown. He also owned Core Holdings, DB Construction and Tingler Rental Properties.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website, he could be released from prison Sept. 21, 2028.
Earlier Tingler pleaded guilty in Monongalia Circuit Court to forgery for signing his wife’s name to loan papers to get $16,000 from the bank. A sentencing hearing in February was halted because Tingler’s attorney, Jason Wingfield, did not receive a victim impact statement in time to review before the hearing.
At that hearing, Tingler and his brother addressed Judge Phillip Gaujot. Tingler said he knew he had erred and mostly wanted to apologize to his ex-wife.
On Tuesday, Mon Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Fitz summarized who had testified earlier. Gaujot said he did not recall all the details.
“I have too many of them to remember,” he said of the prior hearing. He gave the attorneys the option of putting Tingler to address the court again and he would review a transcript of the prior hearing.
Gaujot said he had not reviewed the transcript because he thought Tuesday’s hearing was to enter a plea.
The attorneys and Tingler agreed not to take statements Tuesday, and the judge will review the transcript. A new hearing was set for Aug. 6.
Tingler’s ex-wife, Amy, has given the court a victim impact statement, in which she said that he took out four loans in her name, totaling $2 million. Since learning of his crimes, she said, she has had to deal with the IRS and struggled to salvage her credibility.
She asked that he serve time for the forgery separate and above his federal sentence. Wingfield earlier asked for an alternative sentence, such as home confinement or probation, or for the forgery sentence to run concurrently with the federal one.
“He is truly only sorry that he got caught and he may be punished for what he has done,” Amy Tingler wrote in her statement.
