A Massapequa doctor has admitted to illegally selling prescriptions for powerful opiates for cash.
Dr. Saji Francis pleaded guilty Thursday in Nassau County court to nine counts of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance.
His office on Merrick Road was just feet away from Massapequa High School, widely known to be Ground Zero for Long Island’s teen heroin epidemic. Heroin addicts often get started abusing prescription opiates.
Dr. Francis, 49, of Melville, who is listed as an internist, is affiliated with Good Samaritan Hospital.
Nassau County police said the investigation that led to his December arrest came after a tipster reported Dr. Francis prescribed the painkiller Oxycodone to the tipster’s family member who did not need them.
He sold the prescriptions for between $480 and $600, police said.
Dr. Francis had originally pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. Bail had been set at $180,000 bond, $90,000 cash.
At the time of his arrest, Nassau County police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said in a statement: “Dr. Saji Frances is the antithesis of the Hippocratic oath, to do no harm. His greed and total disregard for the ethics of the medical profession has exacerbated the opiate and heroin abuse in Massapequa.”
He will be sentenced to a maximum of 6 months in prison. The sentencing will take place on September 20.