An employee of a small pharmacy in Waterbury has been arrested, accused of stealing thousands of pills by stuffing them in her pants and shirt.
In April, Stoll’s Pharmacy conducted an audit that revealed discrepancies, including missing oxycodone and Percocet pills, pharmacy owner Edward Schreiner Jr. said.
State police and a task force that includes the Drug Enforcement Agency started investigating and authorities set up surveillance.
The video revealed a pharmacy technician, Aracelis Virella, 49, stealing bottles of pills from a safe, Schreiner said.
She was charged with second-degree larceny, possession of narcotics and possession with intent to sell. She is being held on $500,000 bond and is due in court on June 4. It is not clear if she has an attorney.
The audit revealed that around 20,000 pills are missing, but surveillance showed Virella taking around 2,500 pills, according to the Republican-American.
The newspaper obtained a copy of the arrest warrant, which includes witness reports of Virella wearing expensive clothes and bragging about going to the casino.
Schreiner said there was no evidence that there was any theft outside of the pharmacy’s inventory and he said customers received the full amount of their prescriptions and they were properly filled.
