Nearly three decades ago, Dr. A. Scott Devous was convicted on drug distribution charges.

Now leaders of the Crow Tribe want him out of his job as head of the Crow/Northern Cheyenne Hospital. And they want an audit by the federal Indian Health Service, which runs the hospital, citing resistance to reforms proposed by the new CEO.

As Matthew Brown of the Associated Press reports:

Records show the doctor voluntarily relinquished his license to practice medicine in Wyoming in 1983, just before his indictment on federal drug charges. He was incarcerated after a jury found him guilty of abusing the painkiller Demerol and passing the drug to a girlfriend.

Devous was released in 1984 and his license was reinstated three years later. But he ran into trouble again after returning to Wyoming in 1990, according to records obtained by The Associated Press. After failing to notify officials that he was resuming work in the state — a condition of his re-licensing — Devous’ license was suspended for 90 days.

Gwen Florio

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