FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE: August 9, 2001
Nokomis Woman Arrested On Multiple Felonies For
Illegal Dumping Of Biomedical Waste
TAMPA -- On
Wednesday, August 8, Florida Department of Environmental
Protection’s Division of Law Enforcement in conjunction with the
Sarasota County Sheriff's Office arrested Carolyn Stone Curry, 48,
of 926 Pineapple Avenue, in Nokomis, Florida. Ms. Curry, a
registered nurse employed by Bon Secours Venice Hospital, was
arrested at her residence.
Ms. Curry
was charged by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office with seven
counts of obtaining Schedule II, IV, and V controlled substances
by fraud.
The
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) charged her with:
One
count of felony pollution, which is punishable by a fine of not
more than $50, 000 or by imprisonment for up to five years or by
both; and one
count of nuisance injurious to health, which is a misdemeanor of
the 2nd degree
and is punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 60
days.
The
Department of Environmental Protection was notified on
Wednesday, July 25, 2001, by the Sarasota County Health
Department that medical waste was observed washing up onto the
shores of Blackburn Point Park, Little Sarasota Bay, 800
Blackburn Point Road, in Nokomis, Florida. The Department's
Bureau of Emergency Response was called to the scene to conduct
a clean-up of the biomedical waste. The Sarasota County Health
Department and the Department's Bureau of Emergency Response
have recovered a total of over 570 items, which to date has
consisted of the following medical waste:
10
syringes with end caps
322 sharps
1 scalpel
9 vials
228 tubex injectables
It is
unknown if more waste will wash ashore at this time.
Ms.
Curry admitted to investigators to acquiring waste drugs
illegally from the hospital and using the drugs herself. She
then deliberately disposed of the biomedical waste at Blackburn
Point Park.
"The
deliberate dumping of biomedical waste has the potential to
tremendously impact all life and that cannot be tolerated,"
said DEP Law Enforcement Director Tom Tramel. "It is the
Department's mission to ensure that environmental crimes are
investigated fully and that we will continue to work closely
with all local and federal agencies to solve environmental
crimes."
This
investigation was conducted in conjunction with the Sarasota
County Health Department, the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection's Bureau of Emergency Response, the
Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of
Environmental Investigations, the Sarasota County Sheriff's
Office Pharmaceuticals Diversion Unit, and the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration Diversion Investigators.
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