A Monmouth Junction doctor with practices in Jersey City was sentenced to 21 months in prison on July 22 for accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals.
Anthony DelPiano, 55, previously pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of accepting bribes. DelPiano took part in a long-running and elaborate scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS) of Parsippany, its president and numerous associates, according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
Including DelPiano, 38 people – 26 of them doctors – have pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies, according to a statement prepared by Fishman’s office.
The investigation has, to date, recovered more than $11 million through forfeiture.
According to the district attorney’s office, DelPiano admitted that from October 2005 through March 2013 he accepted bribes in return for referring patient blood specimens to BLS and was paid approximately $2,300 per month. In return for a total of $189,175 in bribes, DelPiano’s referrals generated at least $1,752,603.24 in lab business for BLS.
In addition to the prison term, DelPiano was sentenced to one year of supervised release and was fined $10,000. DelPiano must also forfeit $207,500 as part of his plea agreement.