U.S. Food and Drug Administration
FDA Consumer magazine
September-October 2001
Table
of Contents
By Michelle Meadows
A former registered nurse used syringes to steal morphine and another powerful narcotic and then tried to cover up his crime by refilling vials with saline solution, Food and Drug Administration investigators say.
Paul Seymour, 30, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison on May 11, 2001, after pleading guilty for drug tampering, with reckless disregard for patients' pain.
The FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations in Chicago and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Indianapolis partnered on the case. The investigation began after an employee at Westview Hospital in Indianapolis reported in September 2000 that vials of Demerol (meperidine) and morphine had been tampered with.
Demerol and morphine are Schedule II drugs used to treat pain. These controlled substances have a high potential for abuse, and abuse of the drugs may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. (The classes--or schedule--of drugs are explained in "Controlled Substances" in this issue. )
Investigators identified Seymour, a nurse at Westview, as a suspect on Sept. 10, 2000. Hospital employees reported that he recently had several unscheduled absences, and exhibited other erratic behavior such as sweating excessively and appearing drowsy to the point of nodding off. In addition, a criminal history check revealed that Seymour was on probation in Marion County, Southern District of Indiana, for possession of crack cocaine.
One of the terms of Seymour's probation was that he allow authorities to search his residence at any time. On Sept. 15, 2000, the Marion County Probation Department, FDA and DEA agents, and the Indianapolis Police Department searched Seymour's apartment and seized numerous needles and syringes connecting him with the tampering. Investigators discovered residue of Demerol and morphine on several syringes, along with glue that Seymour used to reseal packages of Demerol he had opened. Police arrested him for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.
Seymour admitted that to support his drug use, he took boxes of Demerol and morphine from hospital shelves where medication for patients is stored. He extracted the drugs with a syringe and sometimes substituted saline solution for the drugs to cover up his tampering. Then he put the drugs back on the shelves. Analysis by the FDA's forensic chemistry center in Cincinnati confirmed that some of the drugs had been replaced with saline.
Seymour claimed to have committed the tampering for two months. Investigators determined that 87 vials of Demerol and morphine had been tampered with, and approximately 14 boxes showed indications that the drugs had been diluted or substituted with saline. Boxes containing the vials had puncture marks on the bottom. In some cases, Seymour was able to draw drugs from the vials without opening the boxes. Other times, he opened packages and resealed them.
The drugs that had been tampered with were available for use by hospital patients, but it isn't clear how many patients were affected and to what extent, according to an FDA special agent. Seymour was arrested on a federal warrant for violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 1365--tampering with a consumer product--on Nov. 14, 2000.
Seymour is serving his prison sentence, which includes drug treatment, in a federal facility in Lexington, Ky. In addition, Seymour must pay a $1,000 fine and will remain on probation for three years after release from prison. His nursing license has been suspended indefinitely, and he cannot be employed in the health-care field again without court approval.
Table of Contents
| How to Subscribe |
Back Issues | Editorial Questions
FDA/Office of Public Affairs
Web page created by clb
2001-AUG-27.