Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Olivia Ronquilio pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to possessing with the intent to distribute the prescription painkillers hydrocodone and oxycodone. She faces maximum 20-year prison terms for each of two counts at sentencing in October and mandatory restitution to Tripler Army Medical Center for the stolen drugs.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Albanese told
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin S.C. Chang that Ronquilio, 36, was working as a pharmacy technician at Tripler when she stole 8,505 pills containing 5 milligrams of either hydrocodone or oxycodone from the hospital’s pharmacy vault between February 2017 and March 2018.
Albanese said that since January 2017, Tripler had been using two complementary systems for the
automated distribution and tracking of medication. He said Ronquilio discovered the systems did not require the submission of a valid prescription to dispense medication to patients being discharged.
Tripler started an investigation and audit of the systems March 10 after a dispensing transaction conducted by Ronquilio resulted in the shortage of 10 tablets containing hydrocodone. The investigation revealed that Ronquilio used her
authorized access to the
system, requiring her fingerprint and unique login, to conduct 82 fraudulent transactions of hydrocodone and oxycodone. Albanese said hospital surveillance cameras recorded video of
Ronquilio carrying out the fraudulent transactions.
When Ronquilio was arrested in March, Albanese said, she admitted to stealing the drugs and giving them to her boyfriend for his personal use.
80