A Bergen County doctor was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for distributing opioids without a legitimate medical reason and falsifying medical records to cover it up.
Robert Delagente, 48, of Oakland, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled dangerous substances, three counts of distribution of controlled dangerous substances, and one count of falsifying medical records. Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence today.
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, beginning in May 2014, Delagente was a doctor at a medical practice called North Jersey Family Medicine (NJFM) in Oakland, New Jersey.
Delagente knowingly prescribed controlled substances, such as oxycodone, Percocet, Tylenol with codeine, and various benzodiazepines (alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam, and temazepam), outside the ordinary course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
He ignored the inherent danger and medical risk of overdose, drug abuse, and death that can accompany prescriptions of highly addictive opioids, benzodiazepines, and muscle relaxers, both on their own and in combination with one another.
Delagente also was charged with altering the medical records of patients who received controlled substance prescriptions from him after law enforcement officials had subpoenaed the records in late April 2019.