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WORCESTER – A former nurse accused of stealing painkillers at her workplace pleaded guilty to the charges in federal court Tuesday afternoon.
Lea Roberge, 33, of Worcester, is to be sentenced April 5. She faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the two counts of tampering with a consumer product.
After originally pleading not guilty to those charges, Ms. Roberge changed her plea at Tuesday’s hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman. However, there is no plea deal in the case, according to U.S. prosecutor Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett.
Ms. Roberge, a registered nurse, was working at the Holy Trinity Eastern Orthodox Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Worcester when she stole morphine from at least six vials and one bottle that were sent in two emergency narcotic kits to her workplace in March 2015. Ms. Dineen Jerrett said investigators also believe she might have stolen morphine from a third kit, but Ms. Roberge denied that accusation at Tuesday’s hearing.
To conceal the thefts, Ms. Roberge replaced the morphine in the vials and bottle by injecting saline in its place.
Ms. Dineen Jerrett said Holy Trinity staff discovered the thefts when they noticed those containers had been tampered with; the vials, for instance, had puncture holes, and the bottle was missing its seal. The facility’s director also told investigators Ms. Roberge violated center policy by opening the kits without another witness present.
Ms. Roberge was initially suspended from work and then fired shortly after the thefts came to light.
In her initial interview with agents, Ms. Roberge denied tampering with the kits, but several months later admitted she had developed a drug dependency after getting into a car accident, although she claims she gave the drugs to another individual “who was very sick and needed the morphine,” Ms. Dineen Jerrett said.
“But there’s no evidence to suggest anyone other than the defendant used the morphine,” she said.
On Nov. 23, 2015, federal agents arrested Ms. Roberge, who had avoided contact with them after her admissions.
Ms. Roberge could have faced even more serious consequences had her thefts been proven to lead to “serious bodily harm” to a victim, according to Ms. Dineen Jerrett – that charge would have increased the maximum incarceration penalty by 10 years on each of the two tampering counts. But she said there is no indication that charge applied to the case.
In addition to facing jail time, Ms. Roberge could also have to pay a combined $500,000 fine on the two counts. Ms. Dineen Jerrett wasn’t sure Tuesday whether she could be required to pay restitution as well.