Miami doctor got his license suspended this week. He’s been in prison since September
The emergency suspension order signed by the Florida surgeon general on Wednesday means Miami-Dade Dr. Manuel Barbeito legally can’t play doctor — for now. The suspension order is for the same reason that Barbeito has been in federal prison since September.
Barbeito, 59, slung pills at General Care Center, an all-cash pill mill at 7805 Coral Way that landed several folks in federal prison, led by owner Habib Palacios. After pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and dispense a controlled substance, Barbeito got sentenced to five years and 10 months last year.
Court documents say Barbeito’s sentence got reduced to three years, six months. His release date is June 7, 2025. His government stay got reduced after he was prepared to testify against General Care’s shadow owner Habib Palacios. Palacios is scheduled to be in federal prison in downtown Miami until Dec. 4, 2034, serving time for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and distributing a controlled substance.
READ MORE: The owner who ran a $3 million pill mill and the doctors who prescribed for him
Court documents say Barbeito also cooperated against Dr. Bruno Gallo, who signed a plea bargain before taking his own life. Barbeito also helped the prosecution of Lisset Martinez and Adriana Benedi. Each pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and dispense a controlled substance. Marianna federal prison has Martinez, 55, until Jan. 30, 2029 and Benedi, 61, until July 7, 2026.
Illegal treatment at General Care?
Online records say Barbeito has been licensed in Florida since June 20, 1997. He lost that license for $1,500 to $2,000 per week plus $120 cash bonus for every opioid prescription Barbeito wrote from March 2018 through November 2019.
That’s in Barbeito’s admission of facts with his guilty plea. Palacios hired Barbeito to be one of the doctors prescribing oxycodone for $250 to $300 per prescription.
“While employed at GCC, Barbeito knowingly prescribed oxycodone hydrochloride 30mg to patients who did not have a legitimate medical need for the medication,” the admission says. “For example, Barbeito prescribed oxycodone to patients who appeared young and healthy, and to patients whose requests for oxycodone were inconsistent with their medical history, their descriptions of their pain, and/or their patient files.
“Nevertheless, Barbeito prescribed oxycodone to all or nearly all of the patients he saw at GCC because Palacios directed him to do so.”
Palacios has never held a medical license. By the time Barbeito gets out or prison, he won’t have one, either.
