Robert Mielinis, 55, of Port Washington, New York, died from mixed drug toxicity eleven days after his last prescriptions. An investigation found he had been prescribed dangerously large quantities of opioids and other controlled substances by Dr. George Blatti, who had treated him for about eight years. In the seven months before Mielinis’s death, Blatti wrote roughly forty-nine prescriptions that amounted to thousands of pills, including alprazolam, oxycodone, and Percocet; at one point the opioid dosage supplied was nine times the recommended daily maximum.

Family members had warned Blatti about Mielinis’s addiction and suggested he might be selling prescriptions, and insurers had flagged over-prescribing and a prior overdose. The Nassau County Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated and arrested Blatti on April 18, 2019, charging him with multiple counts including five counts of manslaughter in the second degree. On October 10, 2023, Blatti pleaded guilty and was later sentenced to prison for his role in Mielinis’s death and those of other patients.

Are there details about Mielinis’s treatment or contacts in Port Washington that could shed more light on how such high volumes of medication were maintained?