Friday, Nov. 23, 2012

Drug probe targets nurses at prison

A state licensing board and the Attorney General's Office have accused a vocational nurse of diverting pharmaceutical narcotics at a Soledad prison.

Albert Cox of Los Banos, who was terminated from the Correctional Training Facility in 2011, is accused of illegally obtaining morphine and codeine by falsifying patient and prison records. The action seeks the suspension or revocation of Cox's license.

Cox, 56, denied the allegations, blaming any appearance of misconduct on sloppy record-keeping practices at the prison. He said it had been 18 months since he was interviewed by a state investigator and thought the matter was closed. And he vowed to fight the charges.

"If they start an investigation with me, this investigation will be more widespread," he said. "From what I know of what went on at that prison, they'll end up terminating two-thirds of the LVN staff at the prison."

Cox is one of a number of nurses at the prison who are targets of a multi-level investigation by federal and state investigators.

--Monterey Herald