A former western Pennsylvania physician who lost his license in an alleged sex-for-pills scheme in 2002 has pleaded guilty to attempting to possess explicit cellphone pictures of a 15-year-old girl earlier this year.
Monday's plea agreement calls for Robert Franzino, 60, to receive six-and-a-half-years in prison when he returns for sentencing Feb. 27 before a federal judge in Pittsburgh.
Franzino was arrested by state authorities in March for allegedly setting up a sexual encounter with the 15-year-old girl. The feds took over the case in May and indicted him on a charge of enticing the girl into an underage sexual relationship, which carried 10 years to life in prison.
Defense attorney Stanton Levenson says Franzino agreed to plead guilty to the lesser, related charge to avoid a potentially longer sentence.
