MINEOLA, Long Island – A Long Island doctor, George Blatti, has been sentenced to 5-15 years in prison for overprescribing pain pills and causing the deaths of five people. The sentencing has left family members of Blatti’s victims struggling to hold back tears in court, highlighting the emotional impact of his actions. Prosecutors have accused Blatti of recklessly causing the death of his patients by overprescribing pain pills, marking it as a tragic and unprecedented case in New York.
Blatti, who was first charged in 2019, is believed to be the first doctor in New York to face murder charges under the theory that he acted with depraved indifference to human life. The gravity of the charges was later reduced to manslaughter. Court proceedings revealed that Blatti would see patients out of an abandoned storefront and would write prescriptions from his car, indicating a pattern of unethical medical practice.
The patients, according to prosecutors, died within days of seeing him, emphasizing the harmful impact of Blatti’s actions. Family members of the victims made powerful victim impact statements, pleading with the judge to sentence Blatti to the maximum of 15 years. Their emotional plea served as a stark reminder of the human cost of Blatti’s negligence and greed.
During the sentencing, Blatti did not offer an apology to the victims’ families, adding to the anguish of those affected. However, his attorney, Jeff Groder, described the situation as a tragedy of unbelievable proportions, highlighting the severity of the case. Despite this, Groder emphasized that his client accepted responsibility and punishment by pleading guilty, underscoring the legal consequences of Blatti’s actions. The sentencing of Blatti stands as a significant development in the field of medical malpractice and criminal negligence, shedding light on the complexities of the healthcare system and the dire consequences of unscrupulous medical practices.