WILTON MANORS, Fla. – A Wilton Manors doctor appeared in court Thursday and was ordered held on a $200,000 bond.
Dr. Dominic Riganotti was arrested Wednesday by the DEA on allegations that he illegally distributed methamphetamine to his patients.
Prosecutors said Riganotti "offered to illegally distribute methamphetamine to his patients and dispensed prescriptions to his patients, without medical necessity, to use in combination with methamphetamine to further enhance the patient's altered state of mind," a news release said.
Riganotti's medical assistant, Jacquelin Fernandez, was also arrested on allegations that she illegally distributed prescription medication and sometimes using her underage daughter during the drug transactions.
A woman who identified herself as Fernandez's eldest daughter told Local 10 News that federal agents stormed their home.
"I told her to quit that place a long time ago, because I didn't have a good feeling about the doctor's office," she said.
Fernandez also appeared in court, where she was ordered held in lieu of a $100,000 bond.
Riganotti is charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and Fernandez is charged with distribution of controlled pharmaceutical drugs. Prosecutors said they both face additional federal charges.
The drug-related arrest is the latest concern for the doctor licensed as an osteopathic physician, who markets himself as an infectious disease and AIDS doctor.
State medical records document an inappropriate relationship with a patient in 2010 that included sexually explicit communication and oral sex. Rigonatti was fined and served a year on probation.
