A former Great Neck-based doctor was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison on Monday for opioid overprescription that led to five deaths between 2016 and 2018. He faces a minimum of five years in prison.
George Blatti, 78, pleaded guilty before Nassau County Judge Fran Ricigliano to five counts of second-degree manslaughter.
“This doctor prescribed massive quantities of dangerous drugs to victims exhibiting clear signs of addiction and other health emergencies,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. “His actions ultimately led to the deaths of five patients from drug overdose. We entrust doctors with our care every day, assuming that their medical expertise and ethical oath to do no harm will ensure our health and safety. George Blatti did not live up to his oath. He failed his patients and caused inconceivable suffering to their families.”
Donnelly said that the Nassau County Police Department’s (NCPD) began an investigation into several opioid overdoses, both fatal and non-fatal, in 2018, and the investigation found that several individuals had received an “inordinate” amount of prescriptions for opioids from Blatti.
NCPD worked with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on this investigation.
The investigation showed that between 2016 and 2018, Blatti prescribed thousands of pills for drugs like oxycodone, morphine, clonazepam, alprazolam, and oxycontin with no medical history or exam – in some cases, prescribing them to patients he had never met.
“Today’s sentencing underscores the defendant’s blatant disregard to a doctor’s oath to do no harm,” DEA Agent Frank Tarentino said. “Dr. Blatti’s irreversible crimes have led to five deaths and hurt countless other people. DEA and our law enforcement partners have and will continue to bring to justice those who do the most harm, like Dr. Blatti and other drug traffickers.”
The five individuals that died of drug overdoses attributed to Blatti are Geraldine Sabatasso, 50, Michael Kinzer, 44, Robert Mielinis, 55, Sean Quigley, 31, and Diane Woodring, 53.
