Families seeking retribution against a Kansas City pharmacist who diluted cancer drugs in an effort to boost profits received heartening news Thursday when a federal judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison. In February 2002, Robert R. Courtney pled guilty to 20 counts of drug tampering, admitting he diluted over 100,000 prescriptions, most involving the cancer medications Taxol and Gemzar. Courtney reportedly owed over $600,000 in taxes and nearly $300,000 to a local church.

As part of Courtney's sentence, U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith fined the former pharmacist $25,000 and ordered him to pay $10.4 million in restitution to his victims. Investigators believe Courtney's drug tampering affected over 4,000 patients and 400 doctors.