» 3 plead guilty to sober home patient schemes,
Men paid homes to have residents use their treatment programs.
Three men arrested by the Palm Beach County Sober Home Task Force have pleaded guilty to multiple counts of patient brokering.
James Tomasso, 57, of Boca Raton, pleaded guilty Friday to 21 counts of patient brokering and was sentenced to 18 months in jail and ordered to pay $107,328 in fines. Tomasso was given credit for 225 days he has already served.
Tomasso’s arrest came after the task force raided several of his businesses on Feb. 8. According to the arrest report, Tomasso paid more than $68,000 to the owner of Hartnett Resource Services, which operates Infinity House sober home, to enroll residents of Infinity House in Tomasso’s treatment programs.
Tomasso operated Pathways 2 Recovery in Boca Raton, Inspirations Recovery in Greenacres and Acceptance Recovery Center in Delray Beach from the offices of Global Recovery Resources, another business he owned.
Tomasso paid between $200 and $650 for every week of treatment that a resident of Infinity House attended Tomasso’s drug treatment programs, according to the arrest report. The owner of Hartnett Resource Services and an employee of Infinity House were not named in the report.
Tomasso’s criminal record dates back to 2005 when he was sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding the state’s unem-
knife to the man’s throat and threatened to kill him, records state.
Darigo allegedly twisted Bacigalupo’s arm behind his back and threatened that if he didn’t forget what happened, Bacigalupo wouldn’t have a place to stay.
According to the police report, Higgins grabbed the knife, blade first, from Torres, causing a deep cut to her right hand. Torres and Darigo tended to Higgins and ordered Bacigalupo to clean up the blood.
Bacigalupo left the bloodied paper towels in the living room and ran to a neighbor’s home for help. The neighbor contacted police.
Higgins and Bacigalupo were taken to hospitals for their wounds. Torres also was taken to a hospital for an unrelated medical issue, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue crews said. He remained in the hospital as of Wednesday morning.
Torres faces two counts of aggravated battery, as well as a charge of obstructing justice. He will make his first appearance for a bond hearing once he is released from the hospital.
Darigo was arrested on a simple battery charge. He was released from the Palm Beach County Jail on his own recognizance Tuesday.
Torres and Darigo have criminal histories. Torres has been arrested in Palm Beach County 17 times since 2002 has been to prison at least three times. Darigo last was released from prison in 2016 after serving nearly 15 months of a two-year sentence following burglary and fraud convictions. He also was sentenced to 30 months in a federal prison and three years of probation after he was convicted in June 2006 for running a phony credit repair business in Philadelphia.
Christian Recovery Center is not certified by the Florida Association for Recovery Residences, according to the Boca Raton nonprofit. Certification is not required in Florida unless the sober home is affiliated with a detox or outpatient facility.
The Antigua Homeowners’ Association says it is trying to evict the tenants after receiving multiple complaints. The Americans with Disabilities Act, however, protects addicts in recovery, and the federal Fair Housing Act bars housing discrimination against the disabled, essentially overriding local zoning laws.