5 in US, 2 in Italy Charged with Running Opioid "Mills"

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two people in Italy and five U.S. residents have been charged in a fraud and drug trafficking conspiracy to distribute opioids in Florida and Tennessee, leading to hundreds of deaths, federal prosecutors said Friday.
The indictments were unsealed by federal officials Friday in Knoxville but handed down earlier. They allege the defendants were involved in a widespread scheme to operate "pill mills" in the U.S.
Prosecutors say defendants ran the Urgent Care & Surgery Center Enterprise, which distributed enough oxycodone, oxymorphone and morphine to generate clinic revenue of at least $21 million.
About 700 center patients are dead, prosecutors said. A Justice Department news release says a "significant percentage of those deaths, directly or indirectly, were the result of overdosing on narcotics" prescribed by the center. The scheme involved illegal kickbacks and money laundering, prosecutors said.
"Throughout this country, and certainly in Tennessee and Florida, the illegal and unconscionable mass-distribution of prescription opioids through the operation of illegal pain clinics has taken a heavy toll on our citizens, families and communities," U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in the news release. "This sort of profiteering effectively trades human lives for financial riches."
Two Italians, Luca Sartini and Luigi Palma, were arrested Friday in Rome by Italian authorities. U.S. officials are seeking e...

Source: JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services News - January 19, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Associated Press Tags: Patient Care News Source Type: news