Gardner podiatrist charged for illegally prescribing date rape drug
PHOTO | Courtesy of Google Maps
Heywood Hospital in Gardner
A Garder podiatrist is being charged along with a Florida man for an alleged scheme to use fraudulent prescriptions to obtain a known date rape drug.
State Attorney General Maura Healey’s office announced the charges Monday against Richard Genovese, 64, of Rindge, N.H. He was indicted on Sept. 13 and arranged in November, when he pleaded not guilty to charges of 10 counts of unlawfully prescribing a class A drug and conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act.
Eric Boulianne, 45, of Florida, was charged with conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act. He pleaded not guilty at his Oct. 31 arraignment.
Both men were released without bail and are due back in court on Feb. 1.
According to prosecutors, Genovese used his position as a podiatrist in Gardner to write 10 orders for Xyrem, a medication containing the class a substance GHB, which is used to treat narcolepsy but is often used as a date rape drug.
That prescription was given to Boulianne without a legitimate medical purpose, Healey’s office alleges.
The two became the focus of an investigation after Genovese wrote on Boulianne’s behalf to an attorney in Canada in 2014 in connection with a criminal case against Boulianne for criminal possession of the same substance.
In his letter, Genovese claimed the two had a doctor-patient relationship and the Xyrem prescriptions were for legitimate purposes.
Authorities say they ultimately found no evidence Genovese ever provided any medical treatment to Boulianne.
Genovese is still listed as a health care provider at Heywood Hospital in Gardner, according to the hospital’s website.
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