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TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that the ring leader of a major pharmaceutical diversion operation has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for her involvement in the operation. Dione Lylo pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to traffic 28 or more grams of illegal drugs. She and 10 co-defendants were prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Lylo, 37, and her co-conspirators created fraudulent prescriptions, forged legitimate doctors’ signatures, and had runners fill these prescriptions throughout Central Florida. Lylo’s organization illegally obtained, distributed and abused more than 65,000 tablets of Oxycodone, with an estimated street value of $975,000. Over the course of at least 3 years, the operation expanded beyond the boundaries of Brevard County and encompassed Brevard, Volusia, Seminole, Alachua and Orange counties. Evidence showed that the drug ring was responsible for the diversion of nearly 65 pounds of Oxycodone products while operational.

The joint investigation into the ring’s criminal activities was coordinated by the Titusville Police Department with assistance from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Lylo, of Titusville, and the other co-conspirators were arrested in October 2007.

Co-defendant Aneatra Pogar was convicted of similar charges by a jury in February 2008 and was sentenced to 25 years prison. The remaining co-defendants have also pleaded guilty to similar charges and are scheduled to be sentenced in November. Lylo’s sentence was handed down by Judge Charles Holcomb of the 18th Judicial Circuit.