A prominent Berkshire County businessman has been sentenced to more than two years in prison.
Patrick Muraca, of Pittsfield, was sentenced in federal court in New York City last week for misusing as much as $370,000 of funds invested in a pair of companies he claimed would research cancer treatments. Prosecutors say Muraca, the founder of Nuclea Biotechnologies, used the money for mortgage payments, shopping, dining out, and supporting both his family and his fiancée’s restaurants.
Muraca ran the companies – including Lee-based NanoMolecularDX and Nuclea – from a pair of offices in Pittsfield and Albany. He was also accused of writing bad checks to his employees when allegations of malfeasance first emerged in mid-2017.