Former ‘pill mill’ operator gets six years in prison
A South Florida man whose attorneys said made “exceptional” efforts to atone for his crimes was sentenced to six years in federal prison on Wednesday for his role in operating a $13 million network of pill mills.
Pasquale Gervasio, 41, of Parkland, previously pleaded guilty to a federal money-laundering conspiracy and admitted he helped to run pain clinics, including several inBrowardandPalm Beach counties, that were raided in 2011.
The clinics distributed more than twomillion doses of the highly addictive painkiller oxycodone between March 2010 and June 2011 whenthey closed after being raided by lawenforcement.
Gervasio had been facing 10 years in federal prison but state and federal prosecutors recommended his punishment should be reduced to six years. They said Gervasio, who also has ties to Trenton, N.J., provided significant help to investigators, which helped them convict other people involved in the illegal drug trade.
Senior U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley followed prosecutors’ recommendation when he sentenced Gervasio on Wednesday in federal court in West Palm Beach.
Gervasio testified against his former business partner Richard McMillan earlier this year in McMillan’s trial on state charges in Palm Beach Circuit Court. McMillan is now serving 35 years in state prison for drug-trafficking and racketeering convictions.
Gervasio and McMillan operated six so-called pain clinics, which were known most recently asTotalMedicalExpress ofMargate, Boca Raton, Palm Springs, Boynton Beach, Orlando and Orange Park.
In court records, state prosecutors wrote that Gervasio “was the most important witness” in the trial and “owned his greed,” which gave him more credibility with jurors in the state case.
He also provided information that helped law enforcement make other arrests and obtain convictions of other people linked to the illegal sales of oxycodone, authorities said.
Gervasio also agreed he owed restitution of approximately $1.6 million and has already turned over more than $600,000 to authorities, according to court records.
pmcmahon@sunsentinel. com, 954-356-4533 or Twitter @SentinelPaula