GRANVILLE COUNTY, N.C. — A man known across metro Atlanta as an expert in his field, who was later convicted of trading drugs for sex, has died in federal prison.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirms that Dr. Joseph L. Burton, a former state and county medical examiner and forensic pathologist, died on Nov. 22 at Federal Corrections Institute Butner Low in Granville County, North Carolina.
Burton pleaded guilty in the summer of 2018 to two counts of racketeering, fraud in obtaining controlled substances and violations of the Georgia controlled substances act. He was roughly one year into an eight-year sentence on the charge.
According to U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak and information presented in court, Burton operated as a consulting pathologist to determine medical causes of disease and death. But agents began investigating him after a 2017 visit.
That's when they discovered he was prescribing opioids in exchange for sexual favors. Their investigation uncovered more than 66,000 30 milligram oxycodone pills being distributed to patients he was not seeing regularly, since he wasn't operating a medical facility.
In addition to the numerous oxycodone pills, investigators discovered more than 1,100 opioid prescriptions and 108,000 individual doses that also included other drugs like hydrocodone and methadone.
Authorities haven't released details regarding Burton's death.
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