FARRELL — A local judge has rejected a Farrell dentist’s request to dismiss criminal charges against her.

Dr. Tamara J. Lowe, 47, of 1801 Roemer Blvd., was charged in December 2006 with three counts of insurance fraud and one count each of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud and conspiracy to commit acquiring a controlled substance by fraud.

The state Attorney General’s Office said Dr. Lowe, whose dental office is at 919 Sharon-New Castle Road, Farrell, would call prescriptions in to local pharmacies for drugs for employees, patients, her fiancé and others, and she and the employees would pick them up and pay for the drugs using their own prescription insurance. The painkilling drugs included Vicodin and Vicoprofen, which contain Hydrocodone.

Dr. Lowe would reimburse employees for the co-pays and take possession of the pills, authorities said.

She alleged that the AG’s office made her the target of a “selective and vindictive prosecution,” and discriminated against her because of her race — she is African-American — and gender.

“I have no basis for granting the motion to dismiss,” Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher J. St. John said at a hearing Wednesday.

Dr. Lowe’s attorney, Joshua D. Lock, of Harrisburg, could show no data that the AG’s office had handled similar cases differently, St. John said.

Lock presented only one witness, Chief Deputy Attorney General Julia K. Hearthway, who oversees the insurance fraud section, and she said Dr. Lowe’s gender and race played no part in her decision to refuse a plea agreement tendered by Lock.

The AG’s office will not accept a plea bargain unless it includes one insurance fraud charge and one drug charge. The major sticking point with Dr. Lowe is that pleading guilty to a felony drug charge would trigger a 10-year suspension of her dentistry license. She has been willing to enter a guilty plea — Lock said Wednesday she is willing to spend up to 90 days in jail — as long as she can keep her license.

Any charges that she is convicted of could lead to a hearing before the state Board of Dentistry but, short of a felony drug charge, the board would have discretion on imposing penalties, Lock said.

Lock said he was able to get deals for other doctors that did not include the loss of license, but two of the cases he wanted St. John to consider were handled by the York County District Attorney’s Office, and St. John ruled them irrelevant to the practice of the AG’s Office. The judge also refused to consider a Lancaster County case because the doctor was not charged with a drug offense.

The AG’s office’s insurance fraud section provided a document that showed four doctors previously were convicted of or pleaded guilty to insurance fraud and drug charges. Ms. Hearthway said she did not want to break from that precedent for Dr. Lowe.

“We strive to address the cases on a statewide basis as consistently as possible, given the factual basis in these cases,” she said.

The fact that Dr. Lowe used the drugs she allegedly illegally procured for herself or her practice, and did not sell them on the street, was not a fitting reason to deviate from the insistence in a plea to a drug charge, Ms. Hearthway said.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Scott Robinette, the line prosecutor of Dr. Lowe, said the matter of the license suspension is a “civil, collateral issue”

Lock criticized the AG’s office for not taking into consideration the license suspension in a potential plea deal, and Ms. Hearthway’s refusal to meet him face-to-face. He said he has never heard of prosecutors refusing to meet with defense attorneys.

Ms. Hearthway responded that it is not unusual for defense attorneys to request to meet with her, but “it’s not the norm.” The line prosecutors deal with defense attorneys, and supervisors rarely get involved directly in cases, she said.

She said her boss, Richard Sheetz, also agreed with her position on a plea deal, and has the ultimate authority to approve plea deals.

Ms. Hearthway did not agree with St. John’s characterization that a 10-year license suspension was a “harsh consequence,” but said prosecutors considered that in deciding how to handle Dr. Lowe’s case.

“I’m not in disagreement that some license suspension is appropriate,” she said.

Lock said guidelines provided by the American Bar Association and the National District Attorney’s Association recommend that prosecutors take into account all the potential consequences of a prosecution, and that prosecutors should be available for plea discussions.

St. John said prosecutors are granted discretion in deciding who they prosecute and how they prosecute cases, and he cannot interfere unless there is proof of discrimination.

“You’re argument really needs to be made to Attorney General (Tom) Corbett,” St. John said.

A pretrial conference in the case is set for Monday before Judge Francis J. Fornelli.

Three former employees of Dr. Lowe’s also were charged. Their cases are set for May.