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Reporter Says Suspended Montana State Hospital Doc Has Criminal Past

A sign pointing to the entrances of the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs, MT.
Courtesy Montana State Hospital
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Montana State Hospital
Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs.

New details are emerging about a doctor who has just been suspended from the State Hospital at Warm Springs and Montana Chemical Dependence Center in Butte.

Last Friday Montana Television Network broke the news the Dr. Mark J. Catalanello was placed on paid administrative leave for alleged drug use. Now a website called The Lowdown is reporting that prior to being hired by the state, Dr. Catalanello had two felony drug arrests in Montana on his record, and that his medical license had previously been suspended in Montana and revoked in California.

The Lowdown is the work of former Great Falls Tribune capital reporter John Adams. Adams says he started digging into Dr. Catalanello's past after being contacted several months ago by a patient who had voluntarily withdrawn from the Montana chemical dependence Center.

Attempts by Montana Public Radio to reach Dr. Catalanello have so far been unsuccessful. You can read more about this story on Adams' blog MT Lowdown.

Eric Whitney is NPR's Mountain West/Great Plains Bureau Chief, and was the former news director for Montana Public Radio.
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