Jessica Martinis and her husband, Francis, a urologist, were accused Thursday of Criminal Sale of Prescription for a Controlled Substance by a Practitioner and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, for allegedly prescribing and filling prescriptions for opioids using the names of cast members of a reality show.
The Fort Salonga couple were arraigned Thursday.
“Doctors are supposed to be trusted members of the community and with that trust comes a tremendous amount of personal and professional responsibility,” said District Attorney Ray Tierney. “Physicians are held to a high standard, as they take an oath to uphold a number of professional ethical standards when they begin their careers. The conduct Dr. Martinis allegedly engaged in with his wife not only violated this oath, but it also violated the law.”
According to the investigation, in January, Jessica Martinis, 38, raised red flags allegedly tried to fill a handwritten prescription for oxycodone issued by her husband at a pharmacy in Kings Park. The district attorney’s office said that the prescription was unusual since most prescriptions are transmitted electronically from a doctor directly to a pharmacy. Jessica Martinis was not listed on the prescription.
The pharmacist ultimately refused to fill the prescription and called the Suffolk County Police Department.
Following this incident, members of the Suffolk County Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Long Island District Office Tactical Diversion Squad, with assistance from Homeland Security, launched an investigation into the doctor’s most recent history of issuing prescriptions.
The investigation revealed that Francis Martinis had allegedly electronically transmitted numerous prescriptions for oxycodone to pharmacies within Suffolk County. In addition, the purported patients named on the prescriptions were former cast members on the Bravo television series “Below Deck,” none of whom lived on Long Island. Francis and Jessica Martinis had previously
appeared on the reality show series.
Once transmitted to the pharmacies, Jessica Martinis allegedly picked up and paid for the prescriptions with cash. The investigation further revealed that the prescriptions were never intended for or received by the purported patients named on the prescriptions.
Francis and Jessica Martinis were arraigned before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro on four counts of Criminal Sale of Prescription for a Controlled Substance by a Practitioner, Class C felonies, and four counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, Class E felonies. Ambro ordered that each of the Martinis be placed on supervised release during the pendency of their cases. They are due back in court on Jan. 25, and are represented by Peter Crusco.