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Melissa Frame, age 36, of Merrick, who worked as a nurse at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, turned herself in to police investigators and was arrested on Tuesday, May 18 for allegedly stealing 1,467 vials of fentanyl and 223 vials of midazolam between October and December last year.
Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said that Frame allegedly used her fingerprint and a unique ID number to gain access to a medication dispensing machine more than 50 times.
It is alleged that during the incidents, Frame used a patient’s name to correspond with the medication that was removed.
Singas said that in total, Frame allegedly dispensed 1,467 two-milliliter vials of fentanyl containing 100 micrograms of the drug and 223 vials of midazolam.
The DA noted that a review of the records by the hospital system allegedly revealed that none of the drugs removed by the then-nurse were administered to any patients. Frame allegedly took the controlled substances between two and 30 hours after a documented patient procedure, for which they already received medication.
In total, the amount of stolen fentanyl could be used to manufacture approximately one kilogram of a narcotic drug containing fentanyl valued at between $60,000 and $75,000, Singas added.
Frame’s arrest came after Northwell Health reported the activity to law enforcement before firing her from the hospital.
“The defendant worked in a cardiac unit of the hospital and had access to highly-controlled substances like fentanyl,” Singas said. “
She allegedly stole more than 1,400 vials of the dangerous drug in less than two and a half months. I thank Northwell Health for reporting this employee to law enforcement and for their cooperation in this matter.”
Frame was arraigned and charged with:
- Third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance;
- Fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance;
- Grand larceny;
- Five counts of falsifying business records.
Each of the charges against Frame is a felony. If convicted, she faces up to nine years in prison. She is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday, May 25.
“The theft of this fentanyl by a hospital employee is a sad, yet stark reminder of how hard-hitting this opioid epidemic really is,” DEA New York Division, Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan said in a statement. “I commend the work of our diligent DEA Diversion Investigators and the Nassau County District Attorney’s office for their work on this investigation.”
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