STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- An Eltingville doctor has been charged in connection to a multi-million dollar opioid distribution ring, authorities announced Thursday
Dr. David Taylor, 74, Vito Gallicchio, 48, and Daniel Garcia, 57, worked together from January 2012 through at least June of this year to illegally distribute millions of dollars worth of pain medication, according to a media release from the Justice Department.
DEA Special Agent James J. Hunt said the three men were part of "enabling addiction and overdoses on the borough."
"These arrests will impact Staten Island's opioid market by shutting down an illicit pill distribution operation located at the heart of the borough, along Hylan Boulevard," he said.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said the three men wrote prescriptions for and distributed medically unnecessary oxycodone.
"Doctors should be advancing the health of our citizens, not allegedly fueling the biggest health crisis facing the country, the opioid abuse epidemic," he said. "We are committed to holding accountable everyone involving in the illegal distribution of opioids, including allegedly corrupt doctors."
Taylor was mentioned in a 2010 article in the Staten Island Advance about a hot dog vendor who used phony MRIs claiming he had back pain to dupe five borough doctors into prescribing thousands of painkiller pills for him.
The man gave Taylor a false MRI, and was able to land 10 prescriptions of the same pills Taylor is now accused of falsely prescribing, according to a criminal complaint at the time.
Gallicchio was also featured in the Advance back in November after he said his Chevy Corvette was targeted because of his support for President Donald Trump.
Gallicchio said he found the back window of his 2016 Corvette Z06 smashed, and found a decorative rock from the front of his house was inside the car.
He believed it was because of his blatant support for then-candidate Trump, which included an image of Hillary Clinton he's displayed on the back of his truck that read, "Lock This B---- Up," and the "Hindus for Trump" dinner he attended Wednesday for $500 per plate.
"I feel really sick about it," said Gallicchio. "If I like Trump and you like Hillary, we shouldn't be fighting with each other. Whoever wins the presidency is going to be for our kids and our grand kids. There should be no violence involved. No violence. We should all get along."
A law enforcement source told the Daily News that the operation run by the three men as the "No. 1 opioid supplier" on Staten Island.
NYPD Commissioner James P. O'Neil said the department "will aggressively pursue those who distribute illegal prescription drugs."
All three are charged with one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone. They face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.