Richard Keller's Response to Felony Charges

While Lake County Coroner Richard Keller pleaded guilty to two felonies and resigned his position today, he claimed to be only working to help people.

Keller was charged with obstructing justice and unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, according to Lake County State's Attorney Michael Waller. Keller pleaded guilty to both charges and immediately resigned.

"Because of today's legal judgment, I am ending my term as Lake County Coroner," said Keller in a release. "The personal actions involved should not reflect upon the office, its employees, or its mission. I am proud of what we have accomplished during my 6 years as Coroner, including my personal commitment to calling family members of the deceased myself whenever possible, and raising community awareness of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse."

His statement went on to say: "I have sought to provide comfort to victims' family members, assist victims of abuse, and assist people in getting treatment."

It was in that role that the problems allegedly occurred, when Keller was director of Green Dragonfly Methadone Clinic in Waukegan. When under an investigation by  federal, state and county investigators, Keller did not provide proper clinic records, and Keller was found to have prescribed methadone to patients and employees of the clinic.

Medical experts were consulted who determined that Keller failed to perform required medical examinations and mandatory testing before issuing the prescriptions, according to the Lake County State's Attorneys office.

Keller's attorney, Christopher Kennedy, said that Keller should still be remembered for his good works.

"Dr. Richard Keller has been a physician for 30 years, dedicating his career and his life to helping people who need medical care, often without pay," said Kennedy in a statement. He noted several of Keller's outreach attempts to serve people who could not otherwise afford care.

"As part of his commitment to serving the public, Dr. Keller also sought to assist patients seeking to recover from heroin and other substance addiction," Kennedy said. "In doing so, he made mistakes in 1)prescribing pain medication, and 2) recordkeeping. He does not wish to put his family or anyone else through a lengthy adversarial process and has taken full responsibility for his actions."