Former Greensburg doctor to plead guilty to attempting to possess teen pics
GREENSBURG (AP) – A former Western Pennsylvania physician who lost his license in an alleged sex-for-pills scheme in 2002 is set to plead guilty to attempting to possess explicit cellphone pictures of a 15-year-old girl earlier this year.
The defense attorney for 60-year-old Robert Franzino says he’ll plead guilty before a federal judge in Pittsburgh Monday, provided the judge approves a plea deal calling for a 6-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
Franzino was arrested by state authorities in March for allegedly setting up a sexual encounter with the 15-year-old girl. The feds took over the case in May and indicted him on a charge of enticing the girl into an underage sexual relationship, which carried 10 years to life in prison.
Defense attorney Stanton Levenson says Franzino will plead guilty to a lesser related charge.