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Manhattan Doctor Running Oxycodone Pill Mill Sentenced to More than 12 Years in Prison
Edited by: TJVNews.com
The wheels of justice move slowly, but ultimately justice is meted out. On Wednesday, a Manhattan doctor who operated a massive oxycodone pill mill from his Midtown practice was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. He exchanged prescriptions for cash, sex and drugs.
According to a report in the New York Post, Dr. Howard Adelglass, 67, was convicted of supplying some 1.3 million oxycodone pills to addicts and drug dealers from his practice near Central Park after a Manhattan federal court trial in November. He was found guilty following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, according to a statement put out in November by the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.
“Adelglass ran his Columbus Circle Clinic as a drug dealer, rather than a doctor. He maintained a cash-only business, receiving a fee for every visit,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing submission in the case, according to the Post report.
On November 4, 2022, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Doctor Howard Adelglass was a drug dealer, but instead of peddling drugs on the street corner, he distributed drugs with a prescription pad from his Central Park South ‘pain-management clinic.’ For years, the defendant prescribed enormous quantities of highly addictive and deadly opioids to people he knew were suffering from substance abuse disorders or were dealers. By distributing mammoth quantities of oxycodone pills to people without a legitimate medical purpose, the defendant destroyed lives and families. Along with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to hold accountable those responsible for fueling the opioid crisis that is ravaging our community and nation.”
Starting in 2017, Adelglass staffed the office with inexperienced young women, some of whom he addicted to oxycodone. Between in or about November 2017 and in or about September 2020, Adelglass prescribed more than 1.3 million oxycodone pills, according to the statement from the SDNY.
He also used cocaine at the office, groped one of his staffers and propositioned her for sex, prosecutors charged, as was reported by the Post.
The Post also reported that in 2018, Adelglass hired his primary patient source, Marcello Sansone, as his office manager, who in turn raked in cash in that role.
According to the statement issued in November 2022 by the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, it stated, “in exchange for cash payments, and in some instances for cocaine, Adelglass wrote thousands of prescriptions for large quantities of oxycodone, and many he wrote to individuals whom he knew did not need the pills for a legitimate medical purpose. When they occurred, Adelglass’ examinations were perfunctory. His purported patients included individuals addicted to opioids and, in some cases, who sold oxycodone on the street. Even when faced with clear evidence of his purported patients’ drug abuse and diversion, Adelglass continued to prescribe large quantities of oxycodone to them.”
Both men solicited and engaged in sex acts with patients in exchange for oxycodone prescriptions, federal prosecutors said, the Post reported.
Prosecutors wrote that Adelglass raked in some $2 million in profits over three years and blew the cash on “drugs, luxuries, and vacations” until his arrest in 2020, the Post reported.
“Adelglass did not simply betray his medical oath; he destroyed lives and families and helped fuel the opioid epidemic gripping the nation,” US Attorney Damian Williams added.
