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Opioid Abuse

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Feds: Bergen Pill Mill Doc Who Called Himself 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Gets 6 Years, No Parole Feds: Bergen Pill Mill Doc Who Called Himself 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Gets 6 Years, No Parole
Feds: Bergen Pill Mill Doc Who Called Himself 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Gets 6 Years, No Parole A Bergen County doctor who called himself the “El Chapo of Opioids” was sentenced to six years in federal prison for doling out pain killers like candy and fudging medical records to cover it up. Robert Delagente, 48, of Oakland, must serve out the entire plea-bargained sentence approved by a federal judge in Newark on Thursday, May 5, because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Delagente, who’d practiced at North Jersey Family Medicine on Yawpo Avenue in Oakland, randomly wrote prescriptions for oxycodone, Percocet and more with no questions asked, then tried to cover his track…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Clifton Ortho Doc Who State Said Freely Doled Out Opioids Permanently Barred From Practice Clifton Ortho Doc Who State Said Freely Doled Out Opioids Permanently Barred From Practice
Clifton Ortho Doc Who State Said Freely Doled Out Opioids Permanently Barred From Practice UPDATE: A Clifton orthopedic surgeon who prescribed addictive opioid painkillers to patients who abused, sold or otherwise didn't need them was permanently barred from practicing medicine or prescribing drugs in New Jersey, state authorities announced Monday. Evangelos Megariotis – who owned and operated Clifton Orthopedic Associates -- told one patient that "anything that drugs can do on the street, my medications will do better and safer,” state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. "Just call me,” Grewal quoted him as saying. Megariotis also treated patient complaints of hypertension…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Oxy Doc Who Traded Drugs For Sex From NJ Patients Sent To Federal Prison Oxy Doc Who Traded Drugs For Sex From NJ Patients Sent To Federal Prison
Oxy Doc Who Traded Drugs For Sex From NJ Patients Sent To Federal Prison UPDATE: A doctor who admitted keeping patients from New Jersey hooked by trading opioids for sex was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison. Joseph Santiamo, 65, of Staten Island must serve just about all of the 57-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Santiamo, who saw several patients from New Jersey, previously admitted “knowingly prescribed dangerous quantities of oxycodone – and, even more egregiously, solicited sexual favors from certain patients” in exchange for writing them additional opioid scripts, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig sa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Northeast Opioid 'Pill Mill' Takedown Nets Paramus Pharmacy Owner, Clifton Surgeon Feds: Northeast Opioid 'Pill Mill' Takedown Nets Paramus Pharmacy Owner, Clifton Surgeon
Feds: Northeast Opioid 'Pill Mill' Takedown Nets Paramus Pharmacy Owner, Clifton Surgeon The arrests of a Paramus pharmacy owner and a Clifton orthopedic surgeon earlier this month by federal agents were part of a massive crackdown involving the distribution of over 3.25 million opioid doses in “pill mill” clinics and doctors’ offices throughout the Northeast, the Justice Department said Thursday. A total of 54 defendants – 15 of them doctors -- have been charged for their roles in submitting nearly $800 million in bogus health insurance claims, the Justice Department said. Others include marketing executives, pharmacists, and the owners and operators of a genetic testing labor…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds Grant Mahwah $300,000 To Help Fight Opioid Abuse Feds Grant Mahwah $300,000 To Help Fight Opioid Abuse
Feds Grant Mahwah $300,000 To Help Fight Opioid Abuse The federal government has granted Mahwah $299,360 for anti-opioid programs, training and initiatives, as authorities increase their attention to synthetic drugs – particularly fentanyl. The Justice Department Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery grant will help township police and the Mahwah Municipal Alliance “not only build on existing [community-based] programs but also introduce new and innovative programs to deter substance abuse,” Mayor Bill Laforet said Thursday. Those programs include prescription-drug monitoring to prevent recipients from abusing or passing on medications, he said…

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by Jerry DeMarco