Benoit Doctor, Dr. Phil Astin, Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison

Dr. Phil Astin, the former personal physician for the Benoit family and the late Mike "Johnny Grunge" Durham was sentenced to ten years in prison. Upon his release, Astin will be subject to three years of supervised release and have to perform 250 hours of community service.

Astin pleaded guilty to a 175-count federal indictment charging him with illegally distributing prescription drugs and conspiring to distribute prescription drugs.

Astin had originally plead not guilty to the charges, which included 150 counts involving 17 patients including two patients believed to be professional wrestlers who were working for World Wrestling Entertainment at the time, but later changed his plea this past January.

Astin could have received a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million on each count.

At the time of the indictment, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the patients allegedly received illegal prescriptions for Percocet, Oxycontin, Demerol, Lorcet, Ritalin, Vicodin, Xanax, Adderall and Soma.

Astin also treated former ECW and WCW World Tag Team champion Mike "Johnny Grunge" Durham. Astin was linked to 32 of 36 prescriptions written for Durham in the year prior to his passing and had written a prescription for somas just a day before Durham was found dead in February 2006 - the prescription bottle was empty. Durham's widow Penny has come out strongly against Astin for enabling her husband when he should have been treating him.

credit: wrestlingattitude.com

That is a considerable number of charges. I'm glad that he'll have to pay for his poor choices, but if he is indirectly responsible for this person's death and possibly others' I'm not sure 10 years is enough time. It's good that they are going to make him complete community service hours too as a way to help repay his debt to society.