Charges against a Hermitage man accused of using his girlfriend's name on fraudulent prescriptions for OxyContin and having his mother obtain the drug have been held for Mercer County Common Pleas Court.

John M. Antonino, 30, of 205 Madison St., was charged by the state Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and Drug Control with possession of a controlled substance, obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation and fraudulent insurance claims.

District Justice Henry J. Russo, Hermitage, held for court all charges Jan. 30.

Antonino was released on his own recognizance.

He was charged with filling 23 fraudulent OxyContin prescriptions at RX Partners -- UPMC Horizon, 2199 E. State St., Hermitage, police said.

OxyContin, an opium derivative, is prescribed as a pain killer, but is often crushed and snorted for illegal use.

Antonino would receive 60 to 180 pills with each prescription, police said.

The prescriptions were written out to Leslie Boyle, his girlfriend and a nurse in the office of Dr. Robert Multari, police said. Multari's name was on the prescriptions as the prescribing doctor, police said.

Antonino would give his mother, Rose, $20 to cover the co-pay on the prescriptions, and the rest of the cost would be submitted to an insurer, police said.

The insurance company paid $12,251 in claims for the prescriptions, police said.

Multari said he did not prescribe the drug to Antonino, and Ms. Boyle said she did not know that her name was on them, police said. She also said she did not write or provide the prescriptions to Antonino, police said.

Ms. Antonino said she did not know the prescriptions were bogus and would obtain them to help out her son, who does not drive, police said.

Antonino admitted writing the prescriptions and said his mother was not aware that they were bogus, police said.