Incident 08/06/2023

A former nurse in Boston pleaded guilty in federal court on August 4, 2023 to diverting opioids from a Boston-area hospital.  She was sentenced to three months in prison and one year of supervised release on November 15, 2023.

Andrea Falzano, 39, of Winchester, pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud, deception, and subterfuge. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Nov. 14, 2023. Falzano was indicted on Feb. 24, 2023.

According to admissions made in connection with her guilty plea, beginning in May 2019, Falzano used her capacity as a nurse in the emergency department at a Massachusetts based hospital to withdraw controlled substances from a locked drug cabinet. These substances included morphine, fentanyl, and hydromorphone, all of which are opioids and Schedule II controlled substances. In total, Falzano withdrew these substances 412 times for 299 already discharged patients over an approximately five-month period.

The charge of unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud provides a sentence of up to four years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Office; and Margret R. Cooke, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Panich of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.