Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Connecticut

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 18, 2020

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CARL MANCINI, 43, of Wolcott, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 51 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for tampering with and stealing infusion narcotics while he was employed as a pharmacist for a Connecticut company.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Mancini was employed as a licensed pharmacist by a Connecticut company that prepared home or hospice care intravenous infusions for a variety of medical conditions, including pain management.  As part of his duties, Mancini was responsible for formulating infusions of the correct concentration for specific patients pursuant to the orders of their physician.  Between approximately January and June 2019, Mancini accessed a secure area of his workplace and took vials of narcotics, including hydromorphone hydrochloride and morphine sulfate pentahydrate, that were intended to be used to formulate infusion for patients.  He used a syringe to withdraw the narcotics from the vials and reinjected saline into the vial so that it would appear as if the narcotics were not missing.  In order to hide his tampering, Mancini used specialized crimping tools to reseal the vials.  He then returned the vials to the secure area at his workplace.

Mancini tampered with dozens of vials through this scheme.  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.

During today’s sentencing, Judge Shea heard from family members of several patients who may have received vials that Mancini had tampered with.  The infusion drugs the patients received, in order to reduce their pain while in end-of-life care, appeared to be ineffective.

The investigation revealed that, in 2003, Mancini stole drugs from a previous employer, a pharmacy that provided pharmaceutical products to long-term care facilities.  He was charged with state offenses, resigned, and received an adjudication under Connecticut’s accelerated rehabilitation provision.  In 2007, Mancini wrote prescriptions for himself while working as a clinical pharmacist.  He was again arrested on state charges, convicted, and received a one-year suspended sentence and two years of probation.

As part of the resolution of his 2007 conviction, Mancini lost his pharmacist license and agreed never to apply for one again.  However, he subsequently reapplied for, and received, his license.

On December 13, 2019, Mancini pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product.

Mancini, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on November 16, 2020.

This matter was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, the Cromwell Police Department and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Drug Control Division.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.

Topic(s):
Consumer Protection
Prescription Drugs
Component(s):
USAO - Connecticut