NJ locks up doctor who traded pills for sex with younger patients
TRENTON — A New York doctor who illegally distributed painkillers and solicited sexual favors from some younger patients in exchange for opioid prescriptions has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison, federal prosecutors in New Jersey announced Thursday.
Joseph Santiamo, 65, of Staten Island, had pleaded guilty last December to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. He received a 57-month prison term and will have to serve three years of supervised release once he's freed.
Santiamo owned and operated an internal medicine and geriatric care practice from January 2012 through May 2018. He prescribed large amounts of oxycodone without legitimate medical reasons for the treatments, prosecutors said, and also solicited sexual favors from some younger patients in exchange for opioid prescriptions.