Pills were missing from Publix Pharmacy customers’ prescriptions. Here’s what happened
A St. Petersburg pharmacy technician has had his license suspended and faces criminal charges after confessing to skimming oxycodone and Percocet tablets from Publix prescriptions.
The emergency suspension order (ESO) on Craig Money came down from the Florida Department of Health last week. Money’s arrest was March 5 on charges of felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor petit theft.
Money, 26, posted $1,625 bond and has pleaded not guilty.
Publix fired Money in February.
According to the criminal complaint, Money worked as a pharmacy intern in a Manatee County Publix store. The ESO says by Jan. 7, the pharmacy manager had fielded several gripes from customers about oxycodone and Percodet prescriptions short on tablets.
She concocted a trap by filling a fake oxycodone prescription and putting it in the box with filled prescriptions on Jan. 8.
And in the box the prescription sat, the ESO said, until Jan. 22 — Money’s next shift.
“A few hours after Mr. Money began his scheduled shift, the pharmacy manager checked the fake prescription and discovered that approximately eight oxycodone tablets were missing,” the ESO said.
The ESO and the probable cause affidavit said the mystery was solved by following Money.
“Money admitted to Publix Super Markets staff that he diverted the medication because he suffered from two bulging discs and his doctors would not prescribe him pain medication,” the ESO said. “Money admitted that between July 2018 and January 2019, he diverted approximately 50 oxycodone tablets from Publix Super Markets.”
This story was originally published April 11, 2019 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Pills were missing from Publix Pharmacy customers’ prescriptions. Here’s what happened."
