YNHH Nurse From Southbury Pleads Guilty To Drug Tampering, Theft: Feds

NEW HAVEN, CT — A now former Yale New Haven Hospital registered nurse pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to tampering with and stealing lorazepam vials in 2022, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut.

As part of his employment at the hospital, Sean Falzarano, 38, of Southbury, was granted access to secure locations used by YNHH to store controlled substances, including Lorazepam, Avery said.

On Jan. 31, 2022, Falzarano took vials containing Lorazepam solution that he knew were intended to be dispensed to patients, according to the the U.S. Attorney.

"He removed a portion of the Lorazepam solution from at least one of the vials, replaced the contents with an inert solution, and returned the vial to the secure location where it was available for distribution to patients," Avery noted in a news release from the Justice Department, adding that, "Falzarano also kept at least one vial that he had taken."

A benzodiazepine, Lorazepam, also known as Ativan, is a nervous system depressant.

Falzarano pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product, which carries a maximum of 10 years, and one count of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge, which carries a 4-year prison term. an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of four years, Avery said.

Released on a $50,000 bond, Falzarano will be sentenced March 5, 2025, per court records. State records show his nursing license is currently suspended.

This matter has been investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; the DEA’s Hartford Diversion Control Division; and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Drug Control Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.