Below are articles of drug diversion we found in the news for the week May 24th to May 30th 2015.  This list may not be inclusive of all drug diversion events in the news and each individual’s story is only listed the first time we see it.  If you know of others, please let us know.

 


A former elementary school teacher and the former director of nursing at a nursing home have been arrested for allegedly stealing drugs from the nursing home to sell to fund a trip to Las Vegas, according to Slidell Police.

A spokesman for the police department said that 36-year-old Patrick Lampard, who was the director of nursing at Heritage Manor Nursing Home and 46-year-old Bonnie Pritchard, a former teacher at Abney Elementary were booked on charges of possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, possession of a legend drug and other offenses.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/northshore/police-nurse-teacher-stole-drugs-from-nursing-home-to-fund-vegas-trip/153559624


A substitute nurse at the Canandaigua Primary/Elementary school has been charged with stealing medication from the school.

The investigation got underway last week when someone noticed the medication missing. Canandaigua Police say 41 year old Sally Colletti stole the drugs from the Nurse’s office over the course of several weeks.

http://wham1180.iheart.com/articles/rochester-news-122742/school-nurse-accused-of-taking-drugs-13626007/#ixzz4GFJR9oHE


A Gladstone woman who admitted she stole pain medication from a local nursing home where she worked, was sentenced to 60 days in jail in Delta County Circuit Court on Tuesday.

http://www.dailypress.net/page/content.detail/id/561356/Woman-jailed-for-stealing-medication-at-nursing-home.html?nav=5003


A registered nurse from San Diego pleaded guilty Thursday to siphoning off a generic form of the painkiller Demerol from vials at her La Jolla clinic and replacing them with saline solution.

Sarah Elizabeth Martin, 25, was employed at the clinic from last October through March 24. Her responsibilities included administering the drug to patients.

http://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2015/05/28/nurse-admits-to-stealing-diluting-pain-meds-at-la-jolla-clinic/


A nurse accused of stealing painkillers from elderly patients is free to keep working despite the criminal charges against her.

Kelly Reinhart, 35, was arrested by local police in April after an investigation into her activities at the Lanark Heights long-term care facility in Kitchener.

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/5652193-nurse-is-free-to-work-despite-accusations-she-stole-drugs/


A former paramedic of a private ambulance service pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to tampering with vials of fentanyl. Teresa Torres, 42, of Florida, pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product (fentanyl). U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Sept. 11.

Ms. Torres was accused of tampering with vials of fentanyl citrate sometime between Nov. 19, 2012, and Jan. 26, 2013, while working for Vital EMS, a Worcester-based ambulance company. She was accused of removing the narcotic from vials kept in Vital ambulances and replacing it with another liquid. She tampered with around 25 vials of the powerful pain relief drug, and, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, she was initially suspended from Vital for diverting morphine from ambulance supplies

http://www.telegram.com/article/20150529/NEWS/150529013