NJ Opioid Ring: Doctor, 17 Others Busted, AG Says

A New Jersey doctor and 16 others have been busted in a statewide drug ring involving the distribution of tens of thousands of high-dose opioid pills, according to authorities.

The ring mostly involved the opioid painkiller oxycodone, as well as the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax. A North Jersey doctor allegedly sold prescriptions for cash to the ring of 16 drug dealers, writing fraudulent prescriptions for individuals who had no legitimate medical need for the highly addictive pills, according to a press release from Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino's office.

Dr. Craig Gialanella, 53, of North Caldwell, New Jersey, an internist with a medical practice at 50 Newark Ave. in Belleville, was arrested on July 17 by detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice. He was charged by complaint-warrant with second-degree distribution of narcotics, according to the release.

The following three defendants allegedly led the drug ring in Atlantic County supplied by Gialanella:

• Mary Connolly, 54, of Egg Harbor Township
• Douglas Patterson, 53, of Egg Harbor Township, Connolly’s ex-husband
• Lauren Connolly, 28, of Egg Harbor Township, Connolly’s daughter.

Those three and 13 other defendants, including Mary Connolly’s son, Robert Connolly, 31, of Galloway, are charged with either second- or third-degree distribution of narcotics or conspiracy to distribute narcotics, according to the release. The other 12 of those defendants are listed below.

Mary Connolly’s son, Michael Connolly Jr., 33, of Galloway, is charged with third-degree obtaining narcotics by fraud.

The charges stem from “Operation Oxy Highway,” an ongoing investigation by the Attorney General’s Prescription Fraud Investigation Strike Team, a team of detectives and attorneys in the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau that targets corrupt health care professionals and “pill mills,” according to the release. Since 2014, the team has charged six doctors, including Gialanella, with illegally distributing opiates, including two doctors charged with strict liability for overdose deaths.

“Doctors who act like drug dealers and illegally dole out prescriptions for these highly addictive painkillers are nothing more than drug pushers in white coats,” said Porrino. “And they are even more dangerous than a street dealer, because we trust that our doctors will protect our health and not hurt or kill us."

Why Are Opioids So Addictive?

The investigation began in December 2016, after a pharmacist in Atlantic County reported that Patterson and other local residents were using Gialanella, a general practitioner whose office is more than 100 miles away, to obtain large quantities of opiates, according to the release.

The pharmacist noted that Patterson used multiple dates of birth on oxycodone prescriptions to avoid detection by the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) and limits on permitted quantities of such narcotics.

From Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 7, 2016, Gialanella issued 413 prescriptions for approximately 50,000 oxycodone 30 milligram tablets in the names of 30 individuals from New Jersey, including prescriptions for the alleged leaders and members of the drug ring. Frequently the prescriptions were issued in the same name with a different date of birth. Patterson also allegedly would alter his name to avoid detection.

The investigation revealed that Patterson was the individual who allegedly introduced Mary Connolly and numerous other individuals to Gialanella as an illicit source of oxycodone and alprazolam, according to the release.

In return, Patterson allegedly would require the “patients” to provide him with a share of the pills they obtained using prescriptions from Gialanella. The investigation linked all of the other defendants to Patterson, Mary Connolly or Lauren Connolly, revealing that they allegedly worked together under the oversight of Patterson and Mary Connolly to obtain and distribute pills.

Gialanella allegedly charged the purported patients $50 to $100 for an “office visit,” which typically lasted just a few minutes and did not involve any type of exam, testing or treatment. Gialanella would write prescriptions for 90 or 180 tablets of oxycodone 30 milligram tablets and 90 alprazolam 2 milligram tablets, according to the release.

Gialanella would write from two to as many as five prescriptions for each drug for a single patient every 30 days, frequently leaving the date of birth blank, according to the release.

The investigation revealed that Patterson and Mary Connolly allegedly managed the supply side and distribution activities of the drug ring. Lauren Connolly allegedly participated in the drug ring both as an intermediary between Mary Connolly, Patterson and street-level distributors, and as a street-level distributor herself.

Surveillance captured Mary and Lauren Connelly allegedly engaging in hand-to-hand drug transactions with other individuals after filling prescriptions for oxycodone. The ring allegedly sold the 30 milligram oxycodone tablets, known as “Blues,” for between $18 and $25 per pill. They allegedly sold the alprazolam pills, known as “Zannies,” for $5, according to the release.

The investigation is ongoing, according to the release, because it's suspected that Gialanella may have been illegally prescribing oxycodone to individuals across the state. Between January 2014 and May 2017, Gialanella issued prescriptions for more than 350,000 oxycodone 30 milligram tablets. If all of those pills were sold on the street for $20 each, they would command more than $7 million.

The following defendants are charged with distribution of narcotics and/or conspiracy to distribute narcotics:

• Danielle Grainger, 33, of Linwood
• William Warren, 51, of Egg Harbor Township
• Francis Clemson, 53, of Ocean View
• Ashton Funk, 35, of Northfield
• Theodore Gogol, 37, of Margate
• Beatriz Oquendo, 34, of Pleasantville
• Amanda Blomdahl, 37, of Somers Point
• Kevin Reid, 47, of Ventnor
• David Blocker, 49, of Galloway
• Joseph Green, 39, of Atlantic City
• Christopher Perez, 34, of Mays Landing
• John Hager, 39, of Deptford

Porrino urged anyone with information related to the ongoing investigation or related to other health care professionals or individuals engaging in this conduct to call the Division of Criminal Justice’s confidential tip line at 866-TIPS-4CJ.

“In the past three years, our Prescription Fraud Investigation Strike Team has charged six doctors with illegally distributing opioid pain pills, including two doctors who currently face first-degree charges of strict liability for drug-induced deaths,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We’ll continue to bring these cases and hammer home the message that these corrupt healthcare professionals are just as culpable as the heroin dealers, gang leaders and cartel members who profit from the epidemic of opiate addiction.”

Photo: Office of Attorney General