The former president of Zinnanti Surgical Design is accused of selling non-sterile devices to hospitals and could face up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Back in 2007, William Zinnanti's now-defunct company got slapped with an FDA warning letter for the Bayonet Electro-Surgical Pencil, which was used to cut and cauterize tissue around the thoracic vertebrae. The agency found Zinnanti's production process ran afoul of current manufacturing practices, resulting in an non-sterile device being sold to hospitals around the country and an ensuing recall.
Now, the FDA and DOJ say Zinnanti acted with the intent to mislead and defraud the agency during the investigation of Bayonet's production, and the indictment is for knowingly selling adulterated medical devices. He has since become a pediatric neurology fellow at Stanford University, and his attorney told The Patriot-News that Zinnanti has a tentative deal with prosecutors to plead guilty and avoid serving the full sentence.
Zinnanti's attorney told the newspaper that he's hopeful his client's work in medical research will persuade a judge to be lenient. Zinnanti has contributed to studies on various medical topics, including important work in neurological disorders, his attorney told The Patriot-News.
- read the DOJ's release
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