Doctor accused of prescribing opioids out of car, abandoned store on Long Island

Wednesday, October 30, 2019
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, Long Island (WABC) -- A doctor on Long Island is accused of illegally prescribing massive quantities of opioids from the trunk of his car and a makeshift office.

Dr. George Blatti is accused of selling Roxicodone, Methadone and Dilaudid out of the trunk of his car while parked in a Dunkin Donuts parking lot in Baldwin.
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Officials say he also sold the drugs out of an abandoned RadioShack he rented as his makeshift office in Franklin Square.

The 74-year-old doctor was arrested after investigators noticed he was writing an unusually large number of prescriptions.
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The District Attorney's Office said he prescribed more than 1.8 million doses of addictive opioids over a five-year period.

Two of his prescriptions were linked to overdoses last August - including one that was fatal.

Prosecutors say the buyers allegedly asked for drugs, in specific quantities, and were issued prescriptions by Blatti for those drugs - and in those quantities - without ever being examined or referred to specialists for their condition or were told to get further testing for their conditions.



"The defendant - a longtime doctor - allegedly wrote multiple prescriptions for dangerous opioids and amphetamines in exchange for cash," DA Madeline Singas said. "Based on our investigation, Dr. George Blatti was not operating a legitimate medical practice, did not examine his customers and was selling scripts to drug-addicted individuals in parking lots across Nassau County."

Blatti voluntarily surrendered his medical license to authorities after his arrest.

He was arraigned Wednesday on charges of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance, forgery, reckless endangerment and criminal diversion of prescription medications.

If convicted of the top count, Blatti faces a maximum sentence of 14 to 59 years in prison.

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