Donald Dinello Jr.
A Dauphin County dentist, who allegedly prescribed powerful prescription narcotics to “patients” that he never physically examined, has been arrested by state narcotics agents.
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General identified the dentist as Donald Dinello Jr., 45, 1321 Fox Glen Road, Hummelstown. Dinello practices dentistry at Oral Surgery Associates, 1253 Cocoa Ave., Hershey, Dauphin County.
Evidence and testimony regarding the alleged illegal activity was presented to a statewide investigating grand jury, which recommended the criminal charges filed against Dr. Dinello.
According to the grand jury, between April 2008 and January 2012, Dr. Dinello wrote at least 71 prescriptions for Oxycodone totaling approximately 2,700 pills to treat one of his employees for back pain. Additionally, Dr. Dinello wrote at least 17 Hydrocodone prescriptions (140 tablets) and more than 400 tablets of varying strengths of Oxycodone for the employee’s husband. Dr. Dinello allegedly never performed an examination on either individual, and prescribed the drugs for conditions that he was not authorized to treat.
Additionally, Dr. Dinello allegedly failed to record any of the 88 prescriptions written to the couple.
The grand jury also found that Dr. Dinello wrote prescriptions to other employees for dental related procedures, but did not record those scripts as required by law.
Additionally, the investigation revealed that Dr. Dinello allegedly stole dental supplies from Oral Surgery Associates, without the knowledge of his partner, and sold them at a discounted rate to another dental office, where he was also employed.
According to the grand jury, Dr. Dinello deposited nearly $55,000 of the dental supply proceeds into his own personal bank accounts.
Dr. Dinello is charged with two counts of administering, dispensing, or prescribing a controlled substance not in accordance with treatment principles accepted by a responsible medical professional, one count of failure to keep records of distribution of controlled substances, one count of theft by unlawful taking or disposition, and one count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds.
Dr. Dinello was preliminarily arraigned before Hummelstown Magisterial District Judge Dominic Pelino and released on $50,000 unsecurred bail.
The case will be prosecuted in Dauphin County by Senior Deputy Attorney General Heather Adams of the Attorney General’s Drug Strike Force Section.
17 Comments to “Dauphin County Dentist Arrested on Charges of Prescription Drug Abuse”
March 6, 2013 at 12:27 PM
Greed ruins careers.
March 6, 2013 at 1:03 PM
This guy frequented the restaurant which I am employed. He has always been rude, arrogant and never known to tip more than,10%. Karma is a B! Good Luck to u Dr.D!
March 6, 2013 at 2:14 PM
This happens with doctors more than anyone knows.
March 6, 2013 at 6:49 PM
I assume his dad passed away? I had his dad as a surgeon back in the 80's. Im sure he is rolling in his grave right about now.. what an ass!
March 6, 2013 at 8:33 PM
Anyone bashing Dr. Dinello on here obviously does not know him personally. He is a terrific man and a great oral surgeon. Best in the world. All of you on here saying unkind things about him need to go do something productive with your lives, rather than speculate about someone else you do not even know.
March 7, 2013 at 7:59 AM
If he is so great, why is he breaking the law? Dinello is probably an addict himself. Most likely popping a few Oxycodone every morning before he went to work. Look at that mug shot…his eyes are all glazed over……
April 3, 2013 at 7:35 PM
You are so inaccurate it's unreal. Do me a favor, go do something productive with your life.
April 3, 2013 at 7:36 PM
^@Abby201 that was directed towards you.
March 7, 2013 at 12:51 AM
Loser and abuser, period. Know him, admit it.
March 7, 2013 at 10:07 AM
The guy is an obnoxious conceited AH and they lived above their means … Karma baby!
March 8, 2013 at 1:07 PM
I see a lot of anonymous judging going on in here. At least have enough courage to put your names with your opinions instead of just hiding behind your computers like tough guys. Or house wives in this case lol
Im not condoning the choices this guys made but u gotta be a real loser to get on here and bash a man thats probably accomplished more in his life than 75% of you.
People make mistakes. Some bigger than others. The problem with our society and HERSHEY in general is people are so quick to judge others. Instead of figuring out what we can do as people to help this man and his family people want to hop on the internet and make it worse.
Ive always been taught those who are quick to judge other people are the people that are afraid to be judged themselves.
Instead of wishing him the worst why cant we wish him and his family the best? if you made a couple really bad decisions and you came on here and saw your peers bashing you without having the courage to show their faces.. that would make it way worse. Thats weak, sad and elementary. Classic hershey community for you.
I pray he and his family are given strength and courage during this time. If your reading this i hope you know u have people out here that are standing behind you.
March 8, 2013 at 2:18 PM
Your right, we should all try to help this man. How about we drop off a few Oxycodone at his house?
Hey, I might be a loser to come here and express my thoughts. But at least I'm not an IDIOT and ruin my who career, reputation and embarrass my family.
April 3, 2013 at 7:37 PM
@Abby201 Do you have nothing better to do with your life!? Go get a job or something!
March 8, 2013 at 3:45 PM
Abby, you are obviously a miserable person who gloats over the misfortunes of others. How sad. I went to dental school with Don. He is the last person I would ever describe as arrogant. He was always one of the kindest people in our class.
Remember, these are only charges. There have been no convictions. Lets wait to see what really happened before we judge anyone. The media has no morals when it comes to stories. They frequently change or omit information to make the story "better." We only know what they have told us.
Also, to judge another person without understanding who they are or what they have lived through, shows a small mind. When people quit having compassion for each other, and the desire to help each other through hard times, it is indeed a sad state we live in.
March 11, 2013 at 3:55 PM
Thanks JZFDMD for your first hand knowledge of Dr Dinello,
Yes we all make mistakes …. who hasn’t ? And who hasn’t made a big mistake or TWO in your life. We all have. But again this is just charges. Our court system is full of frivolous charges. I understand that painful procedures like dental implants or root canals need strong pain killers to help. BUT we should not give them to our friends who say they want some drugs. If Dr Dinello was a very nice guy, he may just have a big heart. Big heart’s can get us in big trouble. I really wish him best of luck and I am 100% sure he has learned his lesson.