A former New Hampshire pharmacist has pleaded guilty to tampering with narcotics at a Bedford pharmacy.
Thomas Kellermann, 65, of Bedford, pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, announced Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley.
According to court documents and statements in court, Kellermann was employed as a pharmacist at a pharmacy in Bedford that dispensed prescription drugs to patients, including patients at hospice facilities. In 2011, Kellermann began abusing narcotic pain relievers.
In March of 2012, Kellermann took medical leave from his position. While on medical leave in March and April 2012, Kellermann repeatedly returned to the pharmacy after business hours and on weekends and stole narcotic pain medication for his personal use.
Kellermann removed the plastic top of vials containing hydromorphone and morphine, inserted syringes into the vials, and withdrew drugs from the vials. He then injected saline into the vials, placed a small amount of glue on top of the vials to reattach the plastic caps, and placed the vials back into pharmacy stock.
This made it appear that the vials were unused. Kellermann also accessed hydromorphone that had been prepared for delivery to a patient, but which had been returned to the pharmacy and wasted.
The tampering was discovered when an employee of the pharmacy detected irregularities in certain vials of drugs. After the tampering was discovered, some of the vials were analyzed by an independent laboratory and found to be substantially below their labeled strength.
Kellermann pleaded guilty to a two-count Information charging him with one count of tampering with a consumer product and one count of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, or subterfuge.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2018. Acting U.S. Attorney Farley stated, ‘Tampering with controlled substances by health care workers is a very serious crime.’
Patients deserve to have confidence that they are receiving the proper treatment from those entrusted with providing their medical care, said Jeffrey J. Ebersole, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ New York Field Office.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Defendant/respondent: Thomas Kellermann, 65, of Bedford, New Hampshire.
Criminal charges: Tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, or subterfuge.
City and state: Bedford, New Hampshire.
Exact date: March 2012.
Sentence or outcome: Scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2018.
Key Facts
- State: New Hampshire
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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