Crime & Safety
Hospital Employees Run Prescription Drug Ring
Gary Menissian, 50, of East Providence, has pledged to meet with prosecutors to share information regarding the scheme to sell pharmaceuticals.
An orthopedic technician from East Providence is connected to a drug ring that trafficked nearly illegal 30,000 pills by writing phony prescriptions.
Dr. Robert Villarreal, an orthopedic surgeon formerly of Providence, and Gary Menissian, of East Providence, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute amphetamines and hydrocodone, both highly addictive narcotics, according to reports from WPRI. The pair worked at Rhode Island Hospital.
According to the plea agreement, Villarreal will admit to distributing pills by writing prescriptions in his name and forging the signatures of other doctors. Menissian allegedly acted as a middleman by connecting the doctor to people looking to obtain drugs.
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