(The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Ron Januzelli had almost forgotten about the doctor who treated his mother as she battled a heroin addiction. Then, in September, he saw the man’s mugshot next to a story about doctors pushing opioids through shady “pill mills.” And the memories started flooding back.
He remembered his mother’s decades-long struggle with drugs. He remembered taking her to pick up pills Joseph Cipriano prescribed — one call and they were ready at a pharmacy, no exams or consultations needed.
When Marlene Januzelli died of an overdose 14 years ago at age 42, her son didn’t fully grasp, amid his grief, that her easy access to opioid painkillers had almost surely helped kill her. “My mom was trying to get clean for her kids, and she went to him for help with that,” said Januzelli, 38, a fifth-generation firefighter from Conshohocken. “He took something from me, all that I was trying to work on with my mom.”
Earlier this month, Cipriano pleaded guilty to illegal drug distribution. He is one of five doctors who have been charged in Montgomery County in the last 18 months with improperly prescribing powerful opioid painkillers. Of those, three have already pleaded guilty, and another is expected to admit his guilt. The fifth hasn’t made his plans clear, according to court records. Read more