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Tag: Prescription Drug Abuse
Nassau County Doctor Sentenced For Overprescribing Opioids, Leading To 5 Deaths
A Long Island doctor – who once ran his office out of an old Radio Shack and his car – may now spend over a decade behind bars for prescribing his patients thousands of opioid pills at a time, leading to five overdose deaths.
George Blatti, age 78, of Nassau County, received his sentence of five to 15 years in prison for the deaths on Monday, Jan. 22, according to the Nassau County District Attorney.
According to the investigation and his guilty plea, between 2016 and 2018, Blatti prescribed patients addicted to opioids thousands of pills – such as oxycodone, morphine, clonazepam, alprazo…
Drug Dealer Busted With Cocaine, Pills, $1,400 In Cash, Firearms In North Jersey Motel
A drug dealer was found with prescription pills, a stolen handgun, and suspected drug money at the Red Roof Inn in Secaucus Thursday night, July 27, police said.
Police initially saw Ridgefield's Anthony Cuccia sell a 24-year-old Maywood resident 10 Oxycodone Pills, Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said.
Officers investigated further and arrested 26-year-old Cuccia, after searching his room at the Red Roof Inn, Miller said.
Cuccia had cocaine, 75 Xanax pills, 15 Oxycodone pills, 90 Adderall pills, Suboxone, Cyclobenzaprine, $1,400 in cash, and a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun stolen…
Chesco Drug Dealer Had Fentanyl Pills Disguised As Oxycodone, Say Feds
A Chester County drug dealer will face jailtime after prosecutors say he bought hundreds of fake prescription pills filled with fentanyl.
Ryan Menkins, 37, of Malvern, pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday, Nov. 14, said US Attorney Jacqueline Romero in a statement.
In May 2018, Menkins bought 900 pills of cyclopropyl fentanyl — a "dangerous fentanyl analogue" and Schedule I drug, say investigators — for $5,600 from Kevin Swing of West Chester, according to the statement.
The pills were imprinted with a mark reading "ETH 446," which is commonly found on legitimate…
Yonkers Doctor Admits To Prescribing Over 100K Oxycodone Pills Knowing They'd Be Resold
A Westchester County doctor could spend decades in prison after admitting that he illegally prescribed opioid pills knowing they’d be resold on the street.
Marc Laruelle, age 65, of Yonkers, pleaded guilty to one count of distributing Oxycodone, amphetamines, and Xanax in federal court in Manhattan Wednesday, Oct. 19.
Prosecutors said Laruelle, a licensed psychiatrist, illegally prescribed more than 100,000 doses of Oxycodone “outside of the usual course of professional practice” between September 2016 and October 2021.
Highly potent and addictive, the drug often commands a high price in …
Authorities: Ring Got 30,000 Painkiller Pills With Prescription Blanks Swiped From NJ Hospitals
Using prescription blanks stolen from hospitals in Bergen and Passaic counties, a crew used a single pharmacy to get its hands on 30,000 high-dose oxycodone pills, including a year’s worth of painkillers prescribed to a dead man, authorities charged.
The volume eventually gave them away, state and federal law enforcement officials said.
Milagros Santiago, 43, of Haledon, was working as a pharmacy technician at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson when she swiped prescription blanks, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
The forged blanks were then filled at Panther Vall…
Police: DWI North Jersey Ex-Con With Heroin, 30, Crashes Into Rock Wall In Morris County
A North Jersey man with several prior criminal convictions was intoxicated when he crashed into a rock wall in front of a Morris County home earlier this week.
Kevin R. Fenty, 30, was driving a Nissan Altima on Drakestown Road in Long Valley when he struck the wall shortly before 1 a.m. Jan. 5, Mount Olive police said.
Officers arrived and immediately saw glassine folds on the passenger’s side of the car, police said.
During questioning, Fenty, of Port Murray, showed signs of intoxication and subsequently failed a series of field sobriety tests, police said.
A search of Fenty’s car turned…
Lodi Member Of All-Female Drug Ring Admits Selling Thousands Of Oxy Pills
LODI, N.J. -- A Lodi resident was one of four women who told a federal court judge Wednesday that they sold thousands of oxycodone pills obtained through prescriptions.
Marie DeJulia, 42, admitted that she collected pills for sale from her co-conspirators: Michele Call, 63, and Nelida Rios, 55, of Flemington, NJ, and Call's daughter, 35-year-old Alicia Balaban of Wellington, FL.
All four pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Trenton to possession and conspiracy to sell the drug.
Balaban, the accused ringleader conspired with Call, Rios and others to secure prescriptions for oxycodone, w…
