Two women are charged with stealing from a pharmacy in Lackawanna County. Police said one took drugs and the other took drugs and thousands of dollars in cash.
Charges were filed when authorities learned of a prescription drug scam going on at the Wal-Mart in Dickson City.
Sharon Goldstein of Clarks Summit and Christie Davis of Jessup surrendered Thursday at district court in Dickson City. Both are former workers at the pharmacy inside the Wal-Mart.
According to police, they were called to the store in October, 2008 when store security noticed dozens of suspicious prescription drug refunds. They said pharmacy technician Christie Davis was printing duplicate receipts for customers' drug orders then taking those copies to get $7,000 in cash refunds.
"Christie admitted to it. She said times were tough. She was at home, she has a young child, the husband wasn't pulling his weight in helping pay the bills and working every day and providing for the family, so she felt she was at wits end, that she had no other choice to support her and her child," said Dickson City Police Chief William Bilinski.
Police said Davis also took pills.
Investigators said her confession then implicated Sharon Goldstein, her former boss and former Wal-Mart pharmacist.
"Was prescribing medications through her and her family members through doctors that they've never seen, documenting a prescription and saying it was phoned in by that doctor, but he never did," added Chief Bilinski.
Agents with the state attorney general's office said Goldstein filled out prescriptions for painkillers for herself. Court papers show Goldstein admitted she used the medication to help with herniated discs and arthritis.
Court papers show Goldstein's former co-worker, Christie Davis, tried to sell some of the drugs that "she" took but flushed them down the toilet, when she couldn't find anyone to buy them.
"Times are tough. People are at wit's end but doing something stupid like this, you're going to get caught," said Chief Bilinski.
Both Davis and Goldstein are free on bail.
Charges were filed when authorities learned of a prescription drug scam going on at the Wal-Mart in Dickson City.
Sharon Goldstein of Clarks Summit and Christie Davis of Jessup surrendered Thursday at district court in Dickson City. Both are former workers at the pharmacy inside the Wal-Mart.
According to police, they were called to the store in October, 2008 when store security noticed dozens of suspicious prescription drug refunds. They said pharmacy technician Christie Davis was printing duplicate receipts for customers' drug orders then taking those copies to get $7,000 in cash refunds.
"Christie admitted to it. She said times were tough. She was at home, she has a young child, the husband wasn't pulling his weight in helping pay the bills and working every day and providing for the family, so she felt she was at wits end, that she had no other choice to support her and her child," said Dickson City Police Chief William Bilinski.
Police said Davis also took pills.
Investigators said her confession then implicated Sharon Goldstein, her former boss and former Wal-Mart pharmacist.
"Was prescribing medications through her and her family members through doctors that they've never seen, documenting a prescription and saying it was phoned in by that doctor, but he never did," added Chief Bilinski.
Agents with the state attorney general's office said Goldstein filled out prescriptions for painkillers for herself. Court papers show Goldstein admitted she used the medication to help with herniated discs and arthritis.
Court papers show Goldstein's former co-worker, Christie Davis, tried to sell some of the drugs that "she" took but flushed them down the toilet, when she couldn't find anyone to buy them.
"Times are tough. People are at wit's end but doing something stupid like this, you're going to get caught," said Chief Bilinski.
Both Davis and Goldstein are free on bail.
