Former paramedic charged with diluting ambulance painkillers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A federal grand jury has indicted a former paramedic on charges of diluting pain-relieving drugs supplied to an ambulance service, U.S. Attorney Todd Graves said Tuesday.

Craig J. Starr, 39, of the Kansas City suburb of Liberty, was charged in a 10-count indictment. He had worked as a paramedic for ambulance services in Pleasant Valley, Liberty and Claycomo.

His indictment, after an investigation that began late last year, is the second alleged drug-dilution case in the Kansas City area in two years.

The indictment alleges that 10 times between Sept. 12 and Jan. 13, Starr removed Demerol from injection vials and substituted something else. Investigators have said the painkiller was replaced with saline solution.

In seven cases, the indictment alleges, the Demerol was diluted to 10 percent of its intended strength -- while in the other three, it was reduced to undetectable levels.

All counts of the alleged tampering, Graves said in a release, involved painkillers supplied to ambulances serving Pleasant Valley. Authorities have said the dilutions were not life-threatening to patients.

After the discovery in January that the drugs had been diluted, three people -- including Liberty fire chief Rich Lehmann -- were fired.

FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said Tuesday that Starr's indictment effectively ended the investigation. He said Starr would be allowed to turn himself in and was expected to do so today.

Don Ledford, Graves' spokesman, said the indictment did not include any information on a possible motive for the alleged dilutions.

Ledford did not know whether Starr has an attorney, and Starr does not have a listed telephone number in Liberty.

In August 2001, Robert Courtney -- then a pharmacist working in Kansas City -- was indicted on one count of diluting chemotherapy drugs for cancer patients. He pleaded guilty in early 2002 to an amended 20-count indictment and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.