A New York doctor was charged with murder on Thursday, in what prosecutors describe as a “depraved indifference” to life in an allegedly reckless abuse of prescription opioids.
George Blatti, 75, was charged with five counts of second-degree murder and 11 counts of reckless danger in the first degree, according to the Nassau County Prosecutor’s Office. The Long Island doctor was originally charged on a 54-count charge in 2019 linked to the criminal sale of prescription drugs.
The new charges against Blatti mark the first case of second-degree murder against a doctor under the theory of “depraved indifference to human life,” the prosecutor said on Thursday.
“We claim that Dr. Blatti demonstrated depraved indifference to human life, total disregard for the law, his ethical obligations and the appeals of his patients and family members by prescribing large quantities of dangerous drugs to victims at the height of their 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 dependence without reviewing their medical history or exam, offering strong painkillers like oxycodone. He attended patients in an “improvised” office in an old Radio Shack store until 2019, when he lost his space, the prosecution claimed.
He then started seeing patients in the parking lots of a Dunkin ‘Donuts and a local hotel, collected insurance and accepted money, according to the prosecutor.
The murder charges are linked to five former patients – Geraldine Sabatasso, Michael Kinzer, Robert Mielinis, Sean Quigley and Diane Woodring – whose deaths were related to the use of opioids. Blatti reportedly has prescribed patients thousands of pills over the years.
Woodring was prescribed more than 18,000 pills before his death in 2018, including oxycodone, alprazolam, mirtazapine and valproic acid.
Prosecutors said Blatti is a general practitioner who obtained his license in 1976, but has no specialized accreditation in pain management.
Blatti’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on Thursday.
The doctor can face life imprisonment if convicted on charges of second-degree murder brought against him.
Blatti also faces 2019 charges that included 22 counts of criminally prescribing prescription drugs, 22 counts of criminal diversion of prescription drugs and prescriptions in the fourth degree, six counts of counterfeiting in the second degree, two charges of reckless danger in the first degree , and two charges of reckless danger in the second degree.