YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A Canfield doctor has entered a special type of plea to a fraction of the 78 charges he faced following an investigation into his practices involving prescription painkillers.

Dr. William Paloski, 73, appeared in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Friday and entered what is known as an Alford Plea to five felony charges including attempted illegal processing of drug documents, possession of dangerous drugs, and trafficking in drugs.

The plea also includes eight misdemeanor counts of possessing the dangerous drug.

Under the agreement, the remaining 65 charges are being dismissed.

According to Assistant County Prosecutor Martin Desmond, Paloski illegally prescribed painkillers such as Tramadol and Codeine for no legitimate medical reason from his office at 3100 Market Street in Youngstown.

Tramadol is an opiate-based drug used for treating moderate to severe pain in adults, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

According to the Legal Information Institute of the Cornell University Law School, someone agreeing to an Alford Plea accepts all the ramifications of a guilty verdict, such as sentencing, without first admitting to having committed the crime.

Under the plea agreement, Dr. Paloski faces a maximum sentence of six months to one year in prison on each of the five felony charges, and up to six months on each of the eight misdemeanors.

The investigation spanned a time period from 2012 to 2015, resulting in Paloski losing his privileges to write prescriptions for controlled substances until he completes a course in prescribing those drugs.

Paloski, who has been practicing medicine since 1974, will be sentenced on May 23.