MONTICELLO, KY -- A well-known pharmacist in Monticello has been sentenced to serve six months in home detention and pay $30,000 after pleading guilty in a federal drug case, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader in its Saturday edition.

Dan Daffron, also a former city council member, admitted dispensing pain pills without a prescription and obtaining painkillers for himself by fraud.

He said in a plea document that he dispensed drugs to people who had prescriptions on file, but had run short of pills before they had time to refill them. He also admitted giving pills to people who didn't have valid prescriptions on file, taking pills for himself and lying about having a prescription for some pills he dispensed to himself, according to the plea, reports the Herald-Leader.

Daffron dispensed 5,000 to 10,000 pills outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, the plea agreement said.

The Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force began investigating Daffron in 2005 after an informant said he could get drugs from the pharmacist without a prescription. Daffron did not charge the person for the pills, according to court records, the newspaper reports.

Daffron resigned from his longtime position on the city council earlier this year and has sold his pharmacy, said his attorney, Thomas E. Carroll.

U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell sentenced Daffron to the time he served on the charge before being released on bond, which was two or three days, as well as the home detention and $30,000 payment.

Caldwell also ordered Daffron not to practice as a pharmacist for six months. Daffron wants to return to work as a pharmacist someday, however, Carroll said.

Several people submitted letters of support for Daffron before his sentencing, including Monticello Mayor Kenneth Catron, council member Gregory Latham and Wayne County Judge-Executive Greg Rankin, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Copyright-The Lexington Herald-Leader