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WAYNE – A former pharmacy technician at St. Joseph’s Hospital has been indicted on theft and drug-tampering charges after investigators say he stole Fentanyl from medication dispensers in operating rooms.
Jason J. D’Amico, 28, of Totowa worked at the hospital for four years and was responsible for filling Pyxis machines, which are designed to dispense painkillers and other medications during surgical procedures.
D’Amico “allegedly took numerous vials containing the painkiller Fentanyl and would remove the substance and fill the vials with a colorless solution,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes alleged in a statement on Monday.
After taking the medication, “he would then return the vials to the pharmacy and indicated that they were unsuitable for various reasons,” Valdes said.
In addition, D’Amico is accused of placing the tampered vials back into the Pyxis machines in the operating rooms.
The Fentanyl vials were supplied to St. Joseph’s Hospital by Pfizer, which concluded that the vials had been tampered with and replaced with a low-concentration solution, the prosecutor said.
D’Amico has been fired from his job and has voluntarily surrendered his pharmacy license, according to Valdes.
If convicted of theft and drug tampering, he faces 15 years in prison.
A hearing on the case is set for 10 a.m. June 26.