Montclair Doctor and 11 Others Charged in Oxycodone Distribution Conspiracy

Dr. Michael F. Durante, of Montclair, as well as several others, have been arrested for allegedly writing illegal prescriptions for oxycodone, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced Thursday.

Durante, an internal medicine specialist with a practice based in Nutley, faces federal charges that he and others participated in a conspiracy to illegally distribute the medication.

Durante, 56, is charged in a federal criminal complaint along with Andre Domando, 46, of Nutley; Lawrence J. Gebo, 62, Tristen M. Ambrosino, 27, and Daniel J. Lally, 28, of Belleville; Matin P. Rinaldi, 63, and Marianna Colucci, 56, of Bloomfield; Michael P. Scherer, 51, of Montclair; Melvin Fernandez, 27, Gregory Gavini, 33, and Brian J. Renkart, 39, of Harrison; and Michael J. Corrao, 22, of Allendale, with one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.

Of the 12 defendants charged, 11 were arrested this morning by members of the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad. Domando will be arrested upon his release from a medical facility. The defendants arrested today are expected to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Shipp in Newark federal court.

According to the complaint, Durante issued prescriptions to co-conspirators—including Domando, Gebo, Rinaldi, Scherer, and Colucci—since as early as January 2010 for drugs containing oxycodone that were not for any legitimate medical purpose.

Oxycodone is the active ingredient in brand name pills such as Oxycontin, Roxicodone, and Percocet and has a high potential for abuse.

The prescriptions were filled at various pharmacies located in and around Essex County and redistributed by others—including Ambrosino, Lally, Fernandez, Corrao, and Gavini. Renkart also supplied oxycodone pills for distribution to co-conspirators.

Durante wrote the prescriptions in exchange for cash payments and items of value, at one time prescribing Domando more than 1,000 pills in a 10-day period. Gebo, a retired Newark police officer, plotted to provide Durante and one of his family members with “gold” Fraternal Order of Police cards, which typically are reserved for the immediate family members of police officers.

Durante also provided excessive prescriptions for oxycodone in exchange for cash, including from an undercover DEA agent he believed to be a patient. Durante knew the pills were to be redistributed, and instructed the undercover to bring the prescriptions to different pharmacies to avoid detection.

Durante was recorded discussing the street cost of the medication he was prescribing. For example, he told a co-conspirator that the pills would resell for from $1,000 to $1,200 per bottle, and that—based on the number of prescriptions Durante was providing—the individual should be earning a $20,000 monthly income.

U.S. Attorney Fishman stated: “Doctors who illegally prescribe are often the first link in a chain of addiction and suffering. Prescription drug abuse is a serious problem in this country, and it is not acceptable when those we look to for healing divert drugs into our neighborhoods for cash and favors.”

The count with which the defendants are charged carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.