Joey Ruccatano
Aug 31, 1992 - Jul 9, 2019
Joey was a football player who was a graduate of Queen of Peace High School located in New Jersey. He won football scholarships to various colleges and decided to attend one in Florida. Joey never drank or did drugs until he had a bruised shoulder. After his visit to a doctor is when our nightmare began and ended with doctors and treatment centers.
Joey sought help from various “treatment” facilities located in Florida. Tragically, some of these so-called treatment facilities look to exploit vulnerable people. They have a profit motive to perpetuate a cycle of drug use. They have a financial incentive to get patients to relapse and use so they will go back to the treatment center and then the insurance company is bilked for treatment expenses which the patient never receives. Joey was one of the many victims of unscrupulous doctors, owners and brokers of treatment centers and sober homes.
I found Joey in his bed at our second home in Florida less than 15 hours after I flew in and picked him up from Detox South Florida.
Joey left behind videos and voice recordings along with a journal of everything he went through at the treatment centers and sober homes. This evidence has assisted authorities in having the owners and a doctor being arrested. There are more arrests to come. By Joey keeping records of these fraudsters’ immoral actions has helped to prevent other deaths and relapses. Joey has saved lives.
There isn’t enough room to write what I miss about my Joey, such as our drives together from our home in New Jersey to Florida and the times spent at our house there. I miss our talks, our laughing and even the crying. I miss Joey calling me at 11 pm and saying “hey mom what are you doing, sleeping? Oh are you up? I just called to say I love you and now go back to sleep”.
I just miss everything about my Joey.
Submitted by Laurie Ruccatano, Mother
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