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Pharmacist gets eight years in scam to sell oxycodone pills
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MAYS LANDING - A Pleasantville pharmacist convicted of making fraudulent claims for pills that were then sold for profit was sentenced to eight years in prison Friday.
Paola D'Ottavio, 42, used her position to set into motion at least two conspiracies to distribute a total of about 7,000 oxycodone pills to associates of hers who sold them, according to Deputy Attorney General Eric Daab.
The CVS pharmacist was convicted in May of four counts of health care claims fraud and one count each of Medicaid fraud and distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.
She also must pay nearly $24,000 in restitution, with more than $19,000 going to Medicaid.
Two Atlantic County women testified at D'Ottavio's trial that they separately conspired with her to sell the pills, then split the profits. Daab said there were more people involved, but they could not be found.
About two dozen people packed the courtroom in support of D'Ottavio on Friday, and several others sent letters to the judge on her behalf. Her attorney, Stephen Funk, also presented the court with a petition signed by nearly 200 supporters.
Five people, including the defendant's mother, spoke. Two blamed the corporation for not putting in place measures to combat fraud, a sentiment Superior Court Judge Albert Garofolo said was shared by many of the letter writers.
D'Ottavio's mother also told the judge she had offered her daughter an out after her conviction, reminding her they have family in Venezuela, which - according to the older woman - apparently would not extradite her daughter.
"Notice, I didn't say Italy," the woman said in a thick Italian accent. "They would return her here."
Before imposing sentence, Garofolo denied Funk's motion for a new trial.
The defense attorney said he has new information about one of the cooperating witnesses, Vicky Guld, of Galloway Township, that could have raised questions about her reliability at trial. Although Guld, 48, has no prior convictions, she does have a history with law enforcement, Funk pointed out.
But those approximately 40 arrests that amounted to disorderly persons offenses committed within an 18-month period between 1978 and 1980 were too old to have been considered, Daab argued. Garofolo agreed they would not have been admissible, nor would claims that Guld had used several aliases during that time.
Funk then asked that the light terms given to Guld and the other cooperator, Terry Gatto, should be considered when sentencing D'Ottavio.
But Daab pointed out that both women admitted to their crimes early on and then aided the state's case.
Guld received three years' probation, while Gatto, 54, of Egg Harbor Township, was sentenced to probation for one year.
D'Ottavio's position also made the crime worse, Daab said.
"(Guld and Gatto) relied heavily on the defendant to commit this crime," he said. "Neither one could have done it on their own. She was, for all intents and purposes, the kingpin here."
And, while Daab agreed with Funk that it was technically D'Ottavio's first crime in an otherwise upstanding life, she committed the acts 70 to 86 times during an 18-month period in 2004 and 2005 before she was caught.
She was sentenced to five years on the two counts against Medicaid, and a consecutive three years on the distribution. Garofolo also gave her a five-year sentence - to run concurrently - on the remaining health care claims fraud charges.
Funk asked Garofolo to wait to take D'Ottavio into custody so she could have time to sell her house, which will be used to pay the restitution. But Garofolo said the law did not allow for that.
"Medicaid knows how to put a lien on a house," Daab said. "They'll get their money back."
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Posted in Atlantic on Saturday, August 8, 2009 3:05 am
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