Doctor loses license to practice in Nevada

Monday, Dec. 6, 1999 | 11:35 a.m.

A Nevada doctor has lost his license to practice medicine after allowing a Logandale man who was involved in a 1998 nationwide anthrax scare to use his name to perform alternative medical treatments.

The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners, meeting Saturday in Las Vegas, voted 9-0 to revoke the license of Dr. William O. Murray on the charge of aiding and abetting the unauthorized practice of medicine.

Murray was accused of allowing William Leavitt Jr., who is not a doctor, to practice techniques such as colon irrigation and chelation therapy -- a cleansing of the cardiovascular system -- without supervision.

In all, the board found that Murray committed 59 violations, including taking 25 percent of the money Leavitt collected in fees. The board can take no action against Leavitt because he is not a licensed doctor.

Leavitt and Larry Wayne Harris were arrested in suburban Henderson in February 1998 on charges that they intended to test vials of deadly military-grade anthrax bacteria.

The incident sent a shudder across America as people began to question just how available anthrax was and consider the widespread damage it could cause.

Two weeks later federal charges of conspiracy to possess deadly anthrax for use as a weapon were dismissed against the two men when tests found that the vials they possessed contained a harmless anthrax vaccine for animals, not the bacteria that could kill thousands of people.

"It's over. It's done. I want to get on with my life," Leavitt, then 47, told a news conference before entering the Foley Federal Court building on the day the charges were dismissed. He apologized to everybody from the Mormon Church, of which he once was a bishop, to the U.S. government.

Leavitt at the time insisted his actions were motivated by his desire to help others, noting: "It was always my desire, and has been and continues to be, to help mankind."

It is believed Leavitt became involved with alternative medical treatments with Murray after the anthrax scare, Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners executive director Larry Leslie said, noting Murray was not involved in the anthrax incident.

The alternative medical practice involving Murray and Leavitt was brought to the medical board's attention by the attorney general's office, Leslie said.

Had Murray supervised Leavitt while he performed the medical treatments -- some of which, according to testimony, were done in Leavitt's Logandale home -- Murray would not have violated state laws, Leslie said.

Other charges against Murray included failure to keep adequate records.

In addition to losing his license to practice medicine in Nevada, Murray was fined $5,000 and will receive a public reprimand.