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Francis Rienzo, 60, of Sea Girt, is currently "winding down" his private practice as part of an agreement with the state through which he will avoid more serious consequences, they said.
Rienzo, who also is the medical director for several treatment centers across New Jersey -- and a staff physician at Jersey Shore Addiction Services and Hackensack Meridian Health in Neptune -- "admitted having engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with a female patient he was treating for substance abuse," Acting State Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said.
Rienzo also admitted that he "engaged in questionable prescribing practices involving the same patient," Bruck said.
"To allow adequate time for the orderly transfer of patients to other New Jersey licensed physicians, the suspension will go into effect on December 17, 2021," the attorney general said.
During this “wind-down” period, he said, Rienzo is "prohibited from accepting any new patients and must ensure that patients have access to their medical records."
After that, Rienzo "cannot have any contact with patients, practice as a physician, or issue any medical prescriptions, including for controlled dangerous substances," Bruck said.
"Rienzo is also precluded from entering the premises of his medical practice when patients may be present, and may not receive or share any fee for professional services rendered by others," the attorney general said.
He'll also have to pay $85,856 in civil penalties and costs under the terms of a consent order between him and the state.
The order would require Rienzo to appear before the state Board of Medical Examiners "to demonstrate fitness to resume medical practice" if he tries to petition for a license reinstatement after two years of active suspension, Bruck said.
If he is ever reinstated, "a Board-approved chaperone will have to be present any time that he provides treatment to any female patient for any reason," the attorney general said.
Rienzo currently is the medical director for several New Jersey treatment centers, including the Comprehensive Treatment Center in Cliffwood, Endeavor House in North Kearney, Advanced Health and Education Addiction Treatment Center and Clearwater Behavioral Health in Eatontown, and Sunrise Detox in Cherry Hill, Stirling, and Toms River.
The consent order says that his "inappropriate sexual contact with a patient and his prescribing of potentially addictive medications, if proven, would constitute gross or repeated malpractice and professional misconduct," Bruck said.
The order "further notes the physician’s alleged failures to maintain an adequate patient record and to perform an appropriate patient examination prior to issuing a prescription would, if proven, provide grounds for disciplinary action," he said.
“We will not tolerate sexual misconduct by healthcare professionals towards their patients,” Bruck said. “Physicians who betray their patients’ trust and violate professional standards will be held accountable”
Investigators with the Enforcement Bureau within the Division of Consumer Affairs conducted the investigation. Deputy Attorney General Nisha S. Lakhani of the Professional Boards Prosecution Section in the Division of Law represented the state.
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