Name: New York doctor charged with five murders for alleged 'depraved' prescription abuse
Brand: nbcnews.com
SKU: nbcnews-com-540
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

New York doctor charged with five murders for alleged 'depraved' prescription abuse

preview

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.SKIP TO CONTENTBy A New York doctor was charged with murder Thursday in what prosecutors describe as a “depraved indifference” to life in an allegedly reckless abuse of prescription opioids.George Blatti, 75, was charged on five counts of murder in the second degree and 11 counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office. The Long Island doctor was originally charged in a 54-count indictment in 2019 tied to criminal sale of prescription drugs.The new charges against Blatti mark the state’s first case of second-degree murder against a doctor under the theory of “depraved indifference to human life,” the prosecutor's office said Thursday.“We allege that Dr. Blatti showed depraved indifference to human life, total disregarded for the law, his ethical obligations, and the pleas of his patients and their family members when he prescribed massive quantities of dangerous drugs to victims in the throes of addiction, ultimately killing five patients who entrusted him with their care,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.Blatti is accused of prescribing drugs to patients with opioid addiction with no medical history review or exam, offering strong painkillers such as oxycodone. He saw patients at a “makeshift” office in a former Radio Shack storefront until 2019, when he lost the space, the prosecutor’s office alleged.He then began seeing patients in the parking lots of a Dunkin’ Donuts and local hotel, billed insurance and accepted cash, according to the district attorney.The murder charges are tied to five former patients — Geraldine Sabatasso, Michael Kinzer, Robert Mielinis, Sean Quigley and Diane Woodring — whose deaths were connected to opioid use. Blatti allegedly prescribed the patients thousands of pills over the years.Woodring was prescribed more than 18,000 pills before her death in 2018, including oxycodone, alprazolam, mirtazapine and valproic acid.Prosecutors said that Blatti is a general practitioner who obtained his license in 1976 but has no specialized accreditation in pain management.An attorney for Blatti did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on Thursday.The doctor faces up to life in prison if convicted of the second degree murder charges filed against him.Blatti is also facing the 2019 charges which included 22 counts of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance, 22 counts of criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the fourth degree, six counts of forgery in the second degree, two counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree, and two counts of reckless endangerment in the second degree.Doha Madani is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. Pronouns: she/her.

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.SKIP TO CONTENTBy A New York doctor was charged with murder Thursday in what prosecutors describe as a “depraved indifference” to life in an allegedly reckless abuse of prescription opioids.George Blatti, 75, was charged on five counts of murder in the second degree and 11 counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office. The Long Island doctor was originally charged in a 54-count indictment in 2019 tied to criminal sale of prescription drugs.The...

public

Doha Madani

News updates from around the 🌎, all day, every day.

nbcnews.com

Credible

Speculation

Anecdotal Evidence

Generalization

Stacking the Deck

Appeal to Authority

Straw Man

Slippery Slope

Emotional Appeal

Red Herring

False Dilemma

Illogical

Moral Equivalency

Ad Hominem

Correlation w/o Causation

Semantics

Begging the Question

Faulty Analogy

Non Sequitur

Bandwagon

Dogmatism

Failing Occam's Razor

Biased

Pure Opinion

Hit Piece

Racial Bias

National Bias

Religious Bias

Financial Incentive

Political Agenda

Gender Bias

Misused Image/Video

Study Misinterpreted

Mistake

Misused Term

Science Misrepresented

Factual Error

Satire

Surface Level

Lack of Reliable Sources

Sensational

Not Credible

Investigative

Balanced

Well Sourced

Great Context

sports

entertainment

U.S.

international

business

technology

science

culture

politics

media

health

New York doctor charged with five murders for alleged 'depraved' prescription abuse

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS