An Essex County whose prescriptions helped fuel a local drug ring was given a five-year suspended sentence Friday.
Craig Gialanella, 55, previously pleaded guilty to an accusation of manufacturing/distributing Oxycontin.
He was arrested in 2017, as part of Operation Oxy Highway, involving an Egg Harbor Township family accused of leading a ring that used Gialanella to obtain large amounts of opiates.
He allegedly issued 413 prescriptions for about 50,000 oxycodone 30 mg oxycodone tablets in the names of 30 "patients" from Atlantic County from Jan. 1 to Dec. 7, 2016, the investigation found.
In addition to his suspended sentence, Gialanella must serve 200 hours of community service. He also cannot seek to reinstate his medical license until the five years have lapsed.
