New York State has suspended the license of the Manhattan psychiatrist accused of illegally funneling thousands of oxycodone pills to award-winning television producer Maura Mandt before she died, the Daily News has learned.
A hearing before the State Board for Professional Medical Conduct will determine whether Dr. Marianne Gillow will ever practice again, according to the State Department of Health.
John Mandt, 54, Maura Mandt’s brother, said Gillow should never get her license back.
“My sister went to see a mental health professional because she was struggling with pain in her life,” the brother said. “We hoped therapy would help her work through some of that pain. Instead, the person she trusted to help her illegally prescribed her thousands of pills containing one of the most addictive and dangerous opioids in this country.”
“This wasn’t a single mistake,” he added. “This happened repeatedly over an extended period of time, despite the warning signs that prosecutors described in court.”
Mandt died from heart-disease-related complications at her Manhattan home on Feb. 28, 2020. She was 53 and had won Emmy and Peabody awards as the executive producer for the ESPY Awards on ESPN.
Gillow pleaded guilty in April, admitting she illegally filled prescriptions for one of Mandt’s production company staffers in June and July of 2019, with the understanding the pills were meant for Mandt, whose health conditions had disqualified her from taking the opioid drug.
As part of the plea deal, Gillow received no jail time, was fined $5,000, and restrictions were placed on the drugs she could prescribe.
At the time, her lawyer, Wayne Gosnell, told the court Gillow accepted responsibility for illegally prescribing the medicine to Mandt’s staffer, but would not take the blame for Mandt’s death, saying she had “faithfully” served her patients to the best of her ability over her 35-year career.
Neither Gillow nor Gosnell responded to requests for comment Tuesday.
Had Gillow, who was charged with reckless conduct that created a deadly risk, among other alleged crimes, had been convicted at trial, she could have been sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
On Aug. 18, state Department of Health Commissioner James McDonald said in an order posted on the agency’s website that Gillow “effective immediately…shall not practice medicine in the state of New York.”
Gillow’s hearing will take place within 90 days of that order.
“We are encouraged to see the Commissioner of Health took action,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan, whose office charged Gillow in a 43-count indictment and referred her to state authorities after she pleaded.
Mandt’s death sent shockwaves through the sports and entertainment industries and led to a wave of tributes from some of America’s most famous athletes.
Hall of Fame NFL quarterback Peyton Manning was among the top donors to an NYU scholarship created in Mandt’s honor in May 2022, at the time describing her as a force “who left an indelible impact on so many.”