KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Luca Sartini and Luigi Palma, two Italians who pleaded guilty to racketeering charges, were sentenced to more than ten years in prison for their role in running pill mills in Tennessee and Florida.
U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan issued his sentences on Thursday. Palma received ten years in prison, and Sartini received ten years and ten months. Varlan noted Palma cooperated with authorities on an unrelated matter, and his assistance was timely, significant and useful.
Through tears, Palma apologized for his role in the opioid epidemic in East Tennessee.
"I take full responsibility for my actions," Palma said. "I was able to see [in] real life the struggle of people with drug addiction, and I know I was part of the problem."
Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to recommend 144 months or 12 years in prison for both Palma and Sartini as part of the guilty plea.
"At some point, this case needs to come to an end," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Stone, in arguments before the court on Thursday.
Records show Palma and Sartini were arrested in Rome by Italian authorities in January of 2018. Prosecutors successfully extradited them to East Tennessee in 2020.
Palma and Sartini's plea agreements said the pair opened two clinics in East Tennessee, one on Gallaher View Road, the other in Lenoir City. They also operated clinics in Florida.
"Each clinic charged $300 or more per visit and did not accept health insurance for pain patients," the agreement said.
In court on Thursday, prosecutors said Palma played an executive-type role with the clinics, while Sartini more closely dealt with Sylvia Hofstetter, the woman who ran the day-to-day operations.
In 2020, Hofstetter was found guilty and sentenced to 33 years in prison for her role in operating those pill mills in Florida and Tennessee. The plea agreement said that between 2011 and 2014, the clinics generated around $21 million. Sartini and Palma received more than $2 million from their ownership of the clinics.
Palma and Sartini's wives sat in the audience of the courtroom. Both fought through tears as they talked about the toll their choices took on their family. Sartini said his mother died during his legal battles.
"Becuase of my selfish actions, I was not able to be with her when she passed," Sartini told the court. "I take full responsibility for all of my actions."