A nurse from Southbury has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for tampering with and stealing Lorazepam vials while employed at Yale New Haven Hospital. Sean Falzarano, 39, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford and will also serve two years of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Falzarano worked as a Registered Nurse at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), where he had access to secure storage areas containing controlled substances such as Lorazepam. On January 31, 2022, Falzarano took vials of Lorazepam that were meant for patient use. He removed some of the medication from at least one vial, replaced it with an inert solution, and returned the altered vial to the secure location where it could be distributed to patients. YNHH employees confronted him that day during an investigation into drug tampering. A search of his backpack uncovered vials, crimping tools, saline, vial caps, and syringes.
On December 11, 2024, Falzarano pleaded guilty to charges of tampering with a consumer product and acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge.
Falzarano is currently out on a $50,000 bond and must report to prison on October 21. His nursing license has been suspended.
The case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations; the DEA’s Hartford Diversion Control Division; and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s Drug Control Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller prosecuted the case.
"David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SEAN FALZARANO, 39, of Southbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to 16 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for tampering with and stealing Lorazepam vials at the hospital where he was employed as a nurse."
