West Haven Nurse Sentenced In Federal Narcotics Case: U.S. Attorney

WEST HAVEN, CT — A 58-year-old West Haven woman was sentenced to home confinement and probation for diverting narcotics from veterans under her care while she worked as a nurse at the West Haven VA Medical Center, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery announced.

Tara Severino was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to two years of probation, the first six months of which she must serve in home confinement. In June, Severino pleaded guilty to obtaining controlled substances by fraud or subterfuge.

According to court documents and statements, Severino was employed as a registered nurse with the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Haven and was assigned to the VA’s Intensive Care Unit for sick or dying patients.

Prosecutors said that from January to July 2023, Severino ingested fentanyl, hydromorphone, and oxycodone intended for patients in her care.

"In some instances, Severino ingested the 'waste' of a substance, meaning she administered part of the substance to a patient and ingested the remaining portion not used by the patient," Avery said in a statement.

In one instance, Severino repeatedly introduced fentanyl into the system of a braindead patient after claiming she observed him in pain and having a seizure.

"She introduced fentanyl to this patient approximately 19 times over a nine-day period so that she could divert some for herself."

Prosecutors said that in other instances, Severino ingested doses of hydromorphone and fentanyl meant for dying veterans. This affected treatment decisions made by other medical staff who believed that the patients had been receiving, and were unresponsive to, their prescribed narcotics.

In another instance, Severino volunteered to care for a patient not formally assigned to her, and diverted pain medication from him before he died.

To cover up her crimes, Severino misrepresented in VA medical records and tracking systems that the narcotics been properly administered to the patient or, in the case of excess narcotics, had been properly disposed of, according to prosecutors.

This matter was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, with the assistance of the DEA New Haven’s Tactical Diversion Squad and the West Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Lembo.