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A Wolcott man pleaded guilty to charges that he tampered with pharmaceutical drugs intended to be used for patients, according to a statement from federal prosecutors. Carl Mancini, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product.

Mancini was employed as a pharmacist by a Connecticut company that prepared home or hospice care intravenous infusions for a variety of medical conditions. Mancini was responsible for formulating infusions of the correct concentration for patients per their physician’s instructions.

Between January and June this year, Mancini replaced vials of hydromorphone hydrochloride and morphine sulfate pentahydrate and replaced them with saline. He would then reseal the vials to make it appear the drugs weren’t missing.

Mancini tampered with dozens of vials through this scheme, according to the statement. Laboratory testing of a sample of vials Mancini tampered with revealed that virtually all of the active drug had been removed and replaced with saline.

Mancini is scheduled to be sentenced in Hartford on March 11, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

He has been released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing.