Donald Dinello Jr.HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -
State prosecutors have announced charges against a Dauphin County dentist who allegedly prescribed powerful narcotics to people he never physically examined.
Donald Dinello Jr., 45, of Hummelstown, is accused of writing at least 71 prescriptions for oxycodone to treat one of his employees for back pain, and additionally wrote at least 17 hydrocodone prescriptions for the employee's husband, according to the state attorney general's office.
Dinello, who practices at Oral Surgery Associates in Hershey, never examined either person, prescribed the drugs for conditions he
was not authorized to treat, and failed to record prescriptions written to the couple as well as other employees, authorities said.
An investigating grand jury also found that Dinello stole dental supplies from Oral Surgery Associates and sold them at a discounted rate to another
dental office where he was also employed, according to the attorney general's office.
Dinello deposited nearly $55,000 from the sale of dental supplies into his own bank accounts, prosecutors said.
Dinello was charged with two counts of administering, dispensing, or prescribing a controlled substance not in accordance with treatment principles accepted by a responsible medical professional, one count of failure to keep records of distribution of controlled substances, one count of theft by unlawful taking or disposition, and one count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds.
He was later released on $50,000 unsecured bail.
