Albion Park man Matthew Iorianni tried to get pain meds using friend’s identity
In a set of police facts, arresting officers labelled Matthew Iorianni a “compulsive liar”, detailing that he was on outstanding warrants for similar offences in Victoria.
Illawarra Star
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An aspiring Illawarra lawyer has told a magistrate he wants to “change his life”, after being labelled a “compulsive liar” and trying to use a friend’s identity to get hold of prescription drugs.
Albion Park’s Matthew Evan Iorianni faced Wollongong Local Court for sentencing on Tuesday, where he told the court that he was a drug addict but was determined to turn his life around.
Iorianni’s criminal behaviour was uncovered in February, after an Illawarra pharmacist told police he’d received a forged prescription slip.
On February 15, the 27-year-old visited an Albion Park chemist, where he presented a script for epilepsy drug Tegretol and pain medication Tramadol to the pharmacist, under a friend’s name.
The pharmacist told Iorianni he would not dispense the Tramadol until the prescription had been verified by the doctor, due to the fact the writing on the prescription was different for both drugs.
The doctor later verified he had prescribed the Tegretol but not the Tramadol, prompting the pharmacist to contact police.
On February 21, Iorianni was arrested and taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station, where he admitted to obtaining the prescription under his friend’s name, but denied writing the Tramadol on the script.
Police then spoke with man named on the script, who denied knowing anything about the prescription. The man told police he and his wife had been friends with Iorianni for years, and that he had lied to them about being a barrister and having terminal cancer.
The man also told police he had received an almost $400 invoice for an ambulance trip he didn’t take on January 27, and that NSW Ambulance had told him two more were on the way.
When further questioned, Iorianni admitted he was the one who’d taken the ambulance trips using his friend’s identity.
Following his admissions, the 27-year-old was charged with using a fraudulently altered prescription and using identification information to commit an indictable offence, which he plead guilty to at an earlier appearance.
In a set of police facts, arresting officers labelled Iorianni a “compulsive liar”, detailing that he was on outstanding warrants for similar offences in Victoria.
Iorianni represented himself in front of Magistrate Susan McGowan on Tuesday, where he told the court he wanted to be involved in long-term rehabilitation to address his “psychological issues”.
“I want to change my life and I see this as an opportunity to tear down this nasty, shocking addiction that’s hurt a lot of people,” he said.
“I would love to get rid of this beast inside my head and get on with my life.”
Magistrate Susan McGowan agreed Iorianni needed some form of supervision, and placed him on a 15-month community corrections order.
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