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Raymond Catania, 60, of Warren, must serve at least two years before being eligible for supervised release because there's no parole in the federal prison system.
Catania churned out scripts for 8,600 30mg Oxycodone pills in a little over 14 months from his Watchung office not only for his patient but for the man's wife, as well, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
He did so "without a legitimate medical purpose and outside of the usual course of professional practice," Sellinger said.
"Oxycodone – a Schedule II controlled substance – has a high potential for abuse that can lead to severe psychological and physical dependence and can result in fatal overdoses," the U.S. attorney said.
Rather than risk trial, Catania pleaded guilty in March 2021 to dispensing Oxycodone outside of the usual course of professional practice "and not for a legitimate medical purpose," Sellinger said.
In addition to the prison term, he said, U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp fined Catania $25,000 and sentenced him to three years of supervised release in Trenton late last week.
Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI with the investigation leading to the plea and sentence secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Senior Litigation Counsel Leslie F. Schwartz of his Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
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