Pinellas doctor gets 5 years for illegal prescription | Crime

St. Petersburg, Florida (AP) - A Pinellas County doctor has been sentenced to five years in prison for prescribing oxycodone to an undercover detective.

U.S. Disctrict Judge Susan Bucklew handed down the sentence to 51-year-old John Anthony Gianoli III on Wednesday. He was found guilty in June of illegally prescribing the drug.

The Tampa Bay Times reports the detective visited the clinic 10 times between September 2009 to July 2010. On five of the visits authorities say Gianoli wrote a prescription even after the detective told him he was giving some or all of the pills to his girlfriend.

Gianoli will also serve three years of probation after his release. Bucklew also ordered him to forfeit his medical license.

Gianoli testified that he didn't believe the drugs were being given to a third person.