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Nurse Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Fentanyl Vials Intended for Patients at Fertility Clinic
In a shocking case of medical malpractice, Donna Monticone, 49, of Oxford, Connecticut, has pleaded guilty to tampering with fentanyl vials intended for patients at the Yale Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility clinic.
According to court documents, Monticone, a nurse employed by the clinic, began stealing fentanyl for her own use in June 2020. She accessed secure storage areas and took vials of fentanyl, using a syringe to withdraw the narcotics and reinjecting saline into the vials to conceal the theft. The investigation revealed that approximately 75 percent of the fentanyl given to patients at the clinic from June to October 2020 was adulterated with saline.
Monticone admitted in court that she knew the adulterated vials of fentanyl would be used in surgical procedures, which could cause serious bodily injury to patients. She also confessed to initially injecting herself with the fentanyl while working at the clinic and eventually taking the vials home to refill them with sterile saline.
On November 1, 2020, Monticone brought approximately 175 vials of fentanyl to the clinic and discarded them in waste containers. The case is being investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; the DEA’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad; and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Drug Control Division.
Monticone faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and has surrendered her nursing license. She is currently released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for May 25, 2021.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller is prosecuting the case.
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Healthcare Fraud
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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