Ciattarelli took thousands of dollars from opioid-linked companies

With weeks to go before the Nov. 4 election for New Jersey governor, Democratic nominee Mikie Sherrill has accused Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli of being complicit in the opioid-related deaths of New Jerseyans through a medical publishing company he owned. Ciattarelli has denied the allegations.

Ciattarelli in turn accused Sherrill of accepting money from pharmaceutical companies that have settled opioid-related lawsuits. A New Jersey Independent review of campaign finance records revealed that both Ciattarelli and Sherrill had received donations from such companies.

Sherrill charged in an Oct 8 debate that during his time as owner of Galen Publishing, which he sold in 2017, Ciattarelli profited from the spread of misinformation about the safety of opioid drugs: “You know, my opponent likes to talk a lot about being a businessman, but I think what New Jersey doesn’t know is much about his business, how he made his millions by working with some of the worst offenders and saying that opioids were safe, putting out propaganda, publishing their propaganda while tens of thousands of New Jerseyans died. And as if that wasn’t enough, then he was paid to develop an app so that people who were addicted could more easily get access to opioids. And so as he made millions, as these opioid companies made billions, tens of thousands of New Jerseyans died.”

Ciattarelli responded by accusing Sherrill of supporting open-border policies under President Joe Biden that he claimed exacerbated a “fentanyl crisis” and said: “With regard to everything she just said about my professional career, which provided my family, it’s a lie. I’m proud of my career.”

According to the New York Times, Ciattarelli’s campaign later denied Sherrill’s charges and threatened to file a lawsuit against her for defamation, though the outlet noted that the campaign has not followed through on two previous threats to sue over other issues. “Baselessly and recklessly accusing a political opponent of mass murder in a televised debate crosses the line,” Ciattarelli spokesperson Chris Russell told the Times.

“The truth is that Jack Ciattarelli’s medical publishing company helped to create an online tool which allowed a small group of chronic pain sufferers to educate themselves on treatment options and better advocate for their own healthcare choices when meeting with their medical professionals,” Russell told media outlets in a press statement.

Sherrill’s campaign posted a website called “Opioid Jack” containing reports and studies as documentation of her claims.

On Oct. 14, Fox News Digital reported in a story with the headline “Unearthed donations come back to haunt Mikie Sherrill’s ‘defamatory’ attack on GOP rival” that Sherrill had accepted at least $25,500 in donations from pharmaceutical company political action committees.

A New Jersey Independent review of Federal Election Commission data found Sherrill had received at least $24,500 in political action committee donations from Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Cencora Cencora (formerly known as AmerisourceBerger), and Endo Pharmaceuticals.

“It’s no surprise to learn Mikie’s hypocrisy extends to taking thousands in campaign contributions from the very pharmaceutical companies she maligned yesterday,” Russell told the outlet in a statement. “At this point, if Mikie Sherrill’s lips are moving you can just assume she’s lying.”

The New Jersey Independent confirmed that, during his time as a state legislator and his three gubernatorial campaigns, Ciattarell accepted more than $11,000 from pharmaceutical companies that have settled opioid-related lawsuits and their top employees. 

The Ciattarelli campaign did not respond to a New Jersey Independent request for comment for this story.

However, according to New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission’s database, Ciattarelli has previously accepted political action committee contributions totaling $500 from Johnson & Johnson and $2,000 from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. Both companies agreed to settlements with state attorneys general after being accused of contributing to the opioid crisis.

Ciattarelli also took at least $8,750 from lobbyists for or executives of Johnson & Johnson, Cardinal Health, Cencora, and McKesson Corp. The latter three companies also settled opioid-related claims with state attorneys general.

According to the New Jersey Department of Health, more than 1,000 New Jerseyans died from opioid overdoses each year between 2013 and 2023.