Long Island doctor, 75, who saw patients in a Dunkin' Donuts is charged with MURDER 'after he wrote prescriptions for tens of thousands of opioids that led to the deaths of five people'

 A Long Island doctor accused of writing prescriptions for tens of thousands of opioids that led to the deaths of five patients on Thursday was indicted on murder charges in an unprecedented case.

George Blatti, 75, who saw patients in a hotel parking lot, a Dunkin' Donuts shop and at an abandoned Radio Shack, was also charged with endangering the lives of six other patients.

Blatti pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in Nassau County Court and was ordered jailed pending a March 30 court appearance. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the most serious charge.

Long Island doctor Geroge Blatti, 75, has been charged with five counts of second-degree murder and six counts of reckless endangerment for allegedly prescribing thousands of opioids to his patients, resulting in five deaths

Long Island doctor Geroge Blatti, 75, has been charged with five counts of second-degree murder and six counts of reckless endangerment for allegedly prescribing thousands of opioids to his patients, resulting in five deaths  

Prosecutors said Blatti would meet with patients in his car and prescribe opioids to patients without an exam (pictured)

Prosecutors said Blatti would meet with patients in his car and prescribe opioids to patients without an exam (pictured)

Blatti also would schedule appointments in a Dunkin' Donuts, in a hotel parking lot and at an abandoned Radio Shack

Blatti also would schedule appointments in a Dunkin' Donuts, in a hotel parking lot and at an abandoned Radio Shack 


'This doctor's prescription pad was as lethal as any murder weapon,' Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.

'Basically, he's a serial killer in our opinion,' she added. 

Prosecutors said they believe this is the first time a New York doctor has been charged with murder in the second degree under the theory of depraved indifference to human life. A doctor in the Rochester area was charged with last month manslaughter in connection with a patient's opioid death.

Blatti was previously arrested in 2019 on 54 charges including criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance, forgery and reckless endangerment

Blatti was previously arrested in 2019 on 54 charges including criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance, forgery and reckless endangerment

Blatti was previously arrested in 2019 on 54 charges including criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance, forgery and reckless endangerment. That case is being consolidated with the one filed Thursday.

The five patients in Thursday's indictment died between 2016 and 2018.

They included Sean Quigley, a 31-year-old volunteer firefighter from Floral Park who struggled with opioid use for nine years; Geraldine Sabatasso, 50, who suffered from acute neck pain; Michael Kinzer, a 44-year-old electrician with back pain, asthma and COPD; Robert Mielinis, 55, a smoker with a history of serious breathing problems who at one point was prescribed nine times the recommended daily maximum dose of opioid painkillers, and Diane Woodring, 53, who had four different prescription drugs in her system when she overdosed in September 2018.

According to prosecutors, Sabatasso received 4,230 pills in six-and-a-half months;  Kinzer was prescribed 1,025 pills in less than six months; Mielinis was given 10,620 pills in two-and-half years; Quigley was prescribed 10,620 pills over a little more than three years; and Woodring received 18,060 pills over the span of four years. 

Blatti, a general practitioner since 1976, had no expertise in pain management but was sought out by people seeking prescriptions to feed their opioid addictions, prosecutors said. He voluntarily surrendered his medical license after his 2019 arrest. 

'This defendant in particular has shown that, when faced with the Hippocratic oath, he decided not only to disregard it, he decided to use it to wipe his backside,' said DEA Special Agent Bryan Iula. 

Geraldine Sabatasso, 50,  received 4,230 pills in six-and-a-half months
Sean Quigley, a 31-year-old volunteer firefighter was prescribed 10,620 pills over three years

The five patients died between 2016 and 2018, among them Geraldine Sabatasso (left), 50, who received 4,230 pills in six-and-a-half months, and Sean Quigley (right), a 31-year-old volunteer firefighter was prescribed 10,620 pills over three years

Blatti wrote prescriptions for Oxycodone, Clonazepam, Percocet and other drugs without examining patients or reviewing their medical histories, took cash and had a waiver to use a paper pad, allowing him to avoid an electronic prescription system that's used to flag abuses, prosecutors said.

He continued to write prescriptions even after learning some patients had died. Families members and at least three of the patients urged him to stop aiding in their opioid dependency and pharmacies, insurers and Medicaid warned him about excessive opioid prescriptions, prosecutors said.

'In my nearly 30-year career as a prosecutor, I have never seen a case of such outrageous disregard for human life by a physician,' Singas said. 

The prosecutor revealed that following his arrest, Blatti told a detective: 'I'm smarter than you. I'm the doctor. I know what I'm doing.' 

Blatti's attorneys pleaded to keep him out jail, citing his poor health, including metastatic prostate cancer, heart problems and asthma, as well as the raging coronavirus pandemic, but the presiding judge was not swayed and ordered him held without bail. 

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