Southbury Nurse Sentenced To 16 Months For Stealing And Tampering With Drugs

SOUTHBURY, CT — A Southbury nurse has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for tampering with and stealing vials of Lorazepam from Yale New Haven Hospital, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Sean Falzarano, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver and will also serve two years of supervised release following his prison term. He is currently free on a $50,000 bond and must report to prison on October 21. His nursing license has been suspended.

According to court records, Falzarano was working as a registered nurse at Yale New Haven Hospital on Jan.y 31, 2022, when he removed vials of the antianxiety medication Lorazepam that were intended for patient use. He admitted to extracting some of the drug from at least one vial, replacing it with an inert substance, and returning the tampered vial to a secure hospital storage location.

Hospital staff investigating potential drug tampering confronted Falzarano that same day. A search of his backpack revealed vials, crimping tools, saline, vial caps, and syringes.

Falzarano pleaded guilty in December 2024 to tampering with a consumer product and to obtaining a controlled substance through fraud, deception, or misrepresentation.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Diversion Control Division, and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s Drug Control Division.