Carl Mancini, 43, of Wolcott, is headed to federal prison for 51 months after admitting he systematically stole and tampered with potent infusion narcotics meant for dying patients. The licensed pharmacist, once trusted to prepare precise pain-management doses, instead siphoned hydromorphone and morphine from dozens of vials, replacing the drugs with saline and resealing them to hide the theft.
Between January and June 2019, Mancini exploited his position at a Connecticut company that supplied intravenous infusions for home and hospice care. Using syringes and specialized crimping tools, he removed narcotics from secure vials, injected saline to maintain volume, and returned the compromised vials to inventory. Forensic testing later confirmed that the tampered vials contained virtually no active medication—meaning patients in end-of-life care may have suffered needlessly.
At today’s sentencing in Hartford, U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea heard emotional testimony from family members of patients who received ineffective infusions. One relative described watching a loved one writhe in pain, begging for relief that never came. The tampering scheme didn’t just break the law—it betrayed the most vulnerable, weaponizing trust for personal gain.
Mancini’s criminal pattern runs deep. In 2003, he stole drugs from a prior employer that served long-term care facilities. He pleaded under Connecticut’s accelerated rehabilitation program and resigned. Then, in 2007, he wrote prescriptions for himself, was convicted on state charges, and received a suspended sentence and probation. As part of that resolution, he surrendered his pharmacist license and promised never to reapply. He lied.
Despite that pledge, Mancini later reapplied and regained his license—slipping through regulatory cracks to return to the very field he’d disgraced. His 2019 guilty plea to one count of tampering with a consumer product exposed a trail of deceit that spanned years and endangered lives. Now, he must report to prison on November 16, 2020, having been released on a $100,000 bond.
The case was investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the Cromwell Police Department, and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Drug Control Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller prosecuted. Mancini’s 51-month sentence is followed by three years of supervised release—a small measure of accountability in a crime that can’t be undone.
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Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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