A former Great Neck doctor was sentenced Monday to 5 to 15 years in prison for overprescribing opioids to patients – an act that resulted in the death of five of his patients.

George Blatti was arrested in 2019 after prosecutors say he prescribed excessive and dangerous doses of prescription drugs, like Oxycontin to patients.

He was first charged with five counts of murder and 11 counts of reckless endangerment. The charges were later reduced to second-degree manslaughter, which Blatti pleaded guilty to in October.

Blatti accepted responsibility for his actions before learning his fate, but family of the victims say they did not believe him.

Blatti's defense attorney, Jeffrey Groder, says he believes his client's statements indicate that he does accept responsibility.

"This is a tragedy of unbelievable proportions," Groder says. "In the face of that tragedy, my client, as I said in the courtroom, did the only thing he could do, which was to plead guilty.