Mysterious Fentanyl Package Sent to Chuck Goudie Had Oak Park Postmark

OAK PARK, IL — Several questions remain after a mysterious package was mailed to Chuck Goudie of the ABC 7 I-Team. The small package had an Oak Park postmark and contained a box of prescription fentanyl.

ABC 7 reported that the mystery package arrived at the ABC mailroom without a return address. Once it was opened, the I-Team discovered a box of the synthetic opioid Fetanyl, which is roughly 100 times stronger than prescription morphine and has been responsible for several overdoses in the area.

Fentanyl is often prescribed for patients after surgery. Despite strict regulations, it’s often fallen into the hands of drug dealers, who use it to cut heroin into a mix that’s often deadly. Heroin users also cut fentanyl patches up and ingest the pieces.

After an investigation, the ABC 7 I-Team tried to contact the woman to which the prescription had been written, Gail Sevcik, 75, who died two weeks after the prescription was filled.
Her husband, Thomas Sevcik told ABC 7 his late wife had several prescriptions after she had been admitted to Westchester Hospital to be treated for lung cancer and diabetes. The Fentanyl box was reportedly stamped with the words “Westchester Health” and included the name of Sevcik’s doctor, Emmanuel Paintsil who is the medical director at Westchester Health nursing home.

Paintsil told ABC 7 that Sevcik had been prescribed Fentanyl at the nursing home for bedsores. When asked about how the fentanyl box ended up being sent to Goudie, Paintsil said, “I don’t know what happened,” ABC 7 reported. He speculated that someone may have found and grabbed the box after it had been dropped and then sent it to Goudie. Paintsil’s practice is located in Burr Ridge and Westchester Health is located about 10 miles east of Oak Park.

The box reportedly included an envelope with a handwritten note that read “they lie around like candy.” though Paintsil claims Fentanyl is secured under stringent protocols at Westchester.

The reputation of Westchester Health has come into question during the investigation about the mysterious fentanyl package. Westchester has a poor rating of one out of five stars in federal ratings from U.S. nursing homes.

Attorney Steve Levin, told ABC 7 his Chicago firm has two bedsore negligence suits against Westchester Health. The administrator of Westchester reportedly declined an interview request from ABC. The channel’s I-Team is still working to uncover who sent the mysterious box of fentanyl.

>>Image credit: By Alcibiades (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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