Fort Salonga pharmacist hoarded, price-gouged N95 masks, federal prosecutors say

A pharmacist from Fort Salonga sold desperately needed N95 masks at inflated prices, stole the identities of his pharmacy’s patients, and illegally kept thousands of narcotic pills and patches in his home safe, prosecutors said.

Richard Schirripa, 66 — dubbed the “Mask Man” by federal prosecutors — was charged with violating the federal Defense Production Act after prosecutors said he spent about $200,000 for thousands of N95 masks and resold them to doctors and funeral homes in eight states at a 50% markup as the coronavirus pandemic raged.

Schirripa priced the masks, considered the most effective for health care workers, at as much as $25, the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District said in a statement Tuesday. At times, prosecutors said, Schirripa sold the masks out of his car.

“As alleged, during a sale to an undercover officer, Schirripa said, ‘I feel like a drug dealer,'” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said.

Schirripa was released on a $250,000 bond and required to follow several court orders including surrendering his pharmacist and pharmacy licenses as well as his passport, officials said.

The Defense Production Act, which bars hoarding and price-gouging of personal protective equipment, was activated on March 25.

Both before and after that date, Schirripa “sought to capitalize and profit from the suffering of others,” the prosecutors said.

Further, Schirripa — who shut his pharmacy in New York City — was charged with twice lying to officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration at separate times, and wrongly billing Medicare and Medicaid for prescriptions based on false representations from 2014 to 2019, the prosecutors said.

After closing his pharmacy, Schirripa “falsely represented” that he had sold or transferred controlled substances — including fentanyl, oxycodone and oxymorphone — but had instead stored them in a safe at his Fort Salonga home, prosecutors said.

Schirripa allegedly billed Medicare and Medicaid for these prescriptions, which he claimed were for patients of his pharmacy. As part of this scheme, prosecutors alleged that he used his patients' personal identifying information without their authorization.

Violating the Defense Production Act can be punished with up to a 1-year prison sentence. The identity theft charge has a top sentence of 2 years. The false statement charges each carry maximum terms of 5 years, and the health care fraud count has a maximum 20-year term.

Drug Enforcement Agency special agent in charge Raymond Donovan said: “There is no place in our city for a licensed pharmacist to allegedly victimize New Yorkers, especially at a time when people’s priority is their health and safety."

Philip R. Bartlett, inspector in charge of the New York office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, said, “As alleged, Mr. Schirripa chose to amass a stockpile of PPE, specifically N95 masks, which were desperately needed for the safety of front line workers. He then allegedly used this crisis to jack up the price of this equipment. Thankfully, the ‘mask man’ has been unmasked by law enforcement and brought to justice for his alleged greedy crimes.”

With Antonio Planas