SHELTON — A doctor who worked out of an office on Corporate Drive was sentenced to just shy of four years in federal prison Thursday for illegally distributing prescription medicine.
Prosecutors said David Ciancimino, a sole practitioner of psychiatry, put profit over the safety of the community when he took $200 per transaction to illegally sell prescriptions of Adderall and Xanax to patients. Ciancimino was caught during an undercover sting operation.
Law enforcement — the DEA in New Haven specifically — started looking at Ciancimino in October 2020.
The investigation may have started after one of Ciancimino’s patients died of an overdose of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and Xanax, according to a sentencing memorandum from Ciancimino’s lawyer.
He sold 20 unlawful prescriptions between December 2020 and August 2021, court documents show.
Ciancimino was arrested on Sept. 23, 2021. He pleaded guilty on Jan. 24, 2022 (and surrendered his medical license). He was sentenced to 46 months in prison on May 26. He’ll report for prison on July 25. Ciancimino also forfeited $175,773.
Ciancimino, 63, a Brown University graduate from Connecticut, practiced psychiatry in the area for more than 30 years, and worked out of Shelton for about five years.
Court docs indicate former patients submitted letters of support (sealed for privacy) to the court, saying his professional counseling helped them. In court documents arguing for probation instead of jail time, his lawyer pointed out his deep family ties and public service to the community. An array of friends and family also wrote letters of support, including a retired police detective.
However, prosecutors argued Ciancimino was no different than a stereotypical street corner drug dealer, other than in one important way: he had taken a professional oath to help his patients.
Instead, prosecutors said Ciancimino hurt the community by contributing to the opioid epidemic.
The feds point out that in Connecticut, opioid-related drug deaths have skyrocketed from 41 deaths in 2012 to 286 in 2020.
“In the government’s view, the fact that a licensed physician participated in illegal drug activities makes this case more egregious than many typical drug cases. Ciancimino’s conduct fostered the dangerous but prevalent idea that prescription drugs, especially those provided by a licensed physician, are inherently safe. Such an attitude ignores the fact that, if not used correctly, many of these controlled substances are dangerous,” according to the sentencing memo by U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Cherry.
Under a plea agreement, Ciancimino pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of a controlled substance without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the scope of professional practice.
