Pharmacist accused of stealing opiates from veterans was fighting addiction, lawyer says
A former Veterans Affairs pharmacist has been sentenced after being accused of stealing pain medication from patients to feed his addiction, according to federal prosecutors.
Matthew Camera, 51, was sentenced to two years probation for violating federal drug laws by stealing about 100 hydrocodone and oxycodone pills total from pill bottles meant for patients at Veterans Affairs, court documents showed.
The Erie, Pennsylvania, resident began stealing the pills from select bottles before they were delivered to patients from January 2017 to June 2020, while working as the pharmacy chief at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, a March 31 Department of Justice news release said.
Camera’s attorney Elliot Segel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
According to court documents, Camera would “self medicate and feed an addiction” to opioids prescription medicine by taking a few pills from a bottle he would fill for patients.
In a sentencing memo, Camera’s lawyer said his client knew these acts were “wrong and illegal.” His lawyer described Camera’s actions as matching a pattern of health care professionals who were fighting addiction.
“I have come to believe from my involvement in all these cases that these persons do this, not because they think they will not get caught, but because their addiction … their need for the pain medication … is so powerful that it overrides everything else,” Segel wrote in his memo, which requested a one-year probation period.
Letters from loved ones, friends and co-workers were sent in for the case to establish Camera’s good character and morals. His friends said he had only made a mistake that “will stay with him for the rest of his life.”
Camera pleaded guilty and showed remorse for his actions, his lawyer said. The judge ultimately ordered him to serve two years probation.
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 3:03 PM with the headline "Pharmacist accused of stealing opiates from veterans was fighting addiction, lawyer says."
