Former Pharmacy Buyer Charged with Making False Statements Regarding Payments Received from New England Compounding Center and Ameridose

BOSTON – A former pharmacy buyer at a Boston hospital was charged today in federal court in Boston for making false statements to federal agents in connection with receiving $355,000 from the now defunct New England Compounding Center (NECC) and Ameridose.

Claudio T. Pontoriero, 40, of Everett, was charged in an information with one count of making false statements.

As alleged in court documents, from at least December 2006 to October 2012, Pontoriero was a pharmacy technician at a Boston hospital and was responsible for purchasing drugs from suppliers for use on hospital patients. During that period, Pontoriero received $5,000 per month from NECC and Ameridose, a drug repackager formerly located in Westboro. In October 2015, during an interview with federal agents as part of the criminal investigation into NECC and Ameridose, Pontoriero falsely claimed that the $5,000 monthly payments were for consulting services, and not in exchange for Pontoriero’s influence in selecting NECC and Ameridose drugs for purchase by the hospital.

In 2014, 14 individuals were indicted in connection with the 2012 nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis that was traced back to contaminated vials of preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate manufactured by NECC. Thus far, Barry Cadden, the owner and head pharmacist of NECC; Glenn Chin, the supervisory pharmacist; Carla Conigliaro, the majority shareholder of NECC; Doug Conigliaro, her husband and a former Ameridose executive; and Robert Ronzio, the national sales director, have all been convicted. The remaining nine defendants are scheduled to stand trial in October 2018.

The charge of making false statements provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Derek Roy, Resident Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Sean J. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; and Delany De Leon-Colon, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda P.M. Strachan and George P. Varghese of Lelling’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.