Witness: "Everybody And Their Mother Knows You Did Wrong"

By Logan Beck

For BigTrial.net

Much like a teacher becoming suspicious of school children cheating on their spelling tests, pharmacies began to question the legitimacy of Dr. William O’Brien’s narcotics prescriptions. 

That's the story Bernard Varallo, a cooperating witness for the government, told a jury yesterday during the ongoing "Pill Mill" trial of Dr. O'Brien in federal court.

According to Varallo, a co-conspirator who has already pleaded guilty, patients were unable to “cash the scrips” or “fill the prescriptions” without other prescriptions such as anti-constipation and anti-inflammatory medication to offset the narcotics.

Varallo told the jury how on Labor Day weekend in 2014, the alleged conspirators in the Pill Mill ring met with their wives at Varallo’s Wildwood area restaurant, Io E Tu. At the meeting, Varallo said, he told Dr. O’Brien that Angela Rongione, his medical assistant and office manager, was causing “too many problems” for the group, and that he needed to fire her.

Three months later, that's just what the doctor did.

Like Dr. O'Brien, Varallo also filed for bankruptcy.

During cross examination, O’Brien questioned Varallo’s bankruptcy claims, asking him to list his assets.

According to Varallo, he owns 12 houses in Wildwood, two homes, one left to his mother, two garages, and a restaurant.

“Are you still in debt?” O’Brien asked.

Varallo told the jury that he used the money he made from the pill mill scheme to begin paying off his debts. 

“We [Varallo and O’Brien] both did it because of greed,” Varallo said. “We both did it to get out of the hole.”

Varallo claimed that O’Brien would write up to three prescriptions at a time, backdating the “scrip” if he had to. O’Brien, however, denied that accusation.

“Now you’re just playing stupid,” Varallo said.

“Who’s playing stupid?” O’Brien said.

Judge Quiñones broke up the discussion by telling both the witness and the defendant to take a deep breath.

The government's next witness was Angela Rongione, 31. 

Rongione pleaded guilty to crimes associated with the pill scheme, and is awaiting sentencing. During her testimony, she described the relationship between O’Brien another alleged co-conspirator, Michael “Mikey” Thompson, as “buddy buddy.”

Rongione admitted to selling Oxycodone for $16 a pill, and also selling prescriptions written out to her father. She also described some of the hijinks that the feds say routinely transpired at Dr. O'Brien's office.

Rongione recalled an unidentified patient in O’Brien’s office who forgot to sign in one day. When Rongione went back to the examination room, she saw the patient sitting there in her bra and underwear.

The patient immediately covered up when Rongione walked in.

“There was no medical reason for her to be in a state of undress,” Rongione told the jury.

The feds say that Dr. O’Brien was routinely exchanging narcotics prescriptions for sex.

Rongione got fired on the grounds that she was a few minutes late to their Monday staff meetings.

Rongione said she was presented with a severance package of $1,000, and a brief continuation of treatment for herself and her 8-year-old son.

Rongione was also a patient at the Pill Mill.

She alleged that O’Brien said that if she didn’t sign the package, she would be “fucked with unemployment and wouldn’t get a damn thing.”

That upset Rongione.

“At first, I told him to go fuck himself,” she said.

Despite her distress, she agreed to the severance package. A short time later, she returned to the office for refills on her prescriptions, and the doctor tried to lowball her on her severance.

O’Brien, she said, offered her $500, after she accused him of leaving her high and dry right without pills before the holiday season.

Her response, she told the jury, was "Sure, why not.” 

But then the doctor made her an offer that she refused.

According to Rongione, the doctor asked her, “How about a blow job?”

Her response, she told the jury, was, “You can keep your money.”

During cross examination, O’Brien asked Rongione whether she was testifying under the influence of her medications.

Rongione admitted to taking a percocet at 7 a.m., which she said had worn off.

“Are you under the influence of percocet now?" the doctor asked. "Did you take a percocet during the break?”

 In addition to questioning her drug habits, O’Brien asked Rongione if she had sexual relations with other alleged conspirators such as Sam “Sammy” Nocille or Joey Mitchell. 

She said no. 

Then, Dr. O’Brien calculated how much money Rongione made a month with her paychecks and the money she made from selling the prescriptions.

It came out to approximately $10,000 a month, the doctor said.

He repeatedly asked her to multiply the figures, to which she responded, “You do the math, I’m not good with numbers.”

In the end, Rongione said she pleaded guilty because she did what she had to do for her kids. She said she also wanted Dr. O’Brien to “quit dragging this on.”

“Everybody and their mother knows you did wrong,” she told the doctor.