North Shore Paramedic Stole, Replaced Fentanyl With Saline

ROWLEY, MA — A paramedic from Rowley was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison Thursday for taking fentanyl meant for patients for his own use and replacing fentanyl from ambulances with saline.

Joseph Amello, 50, was sentenced in federal court to prison and three years of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty in June to one count of acquiring a controlled substance by deception, fraud, and forgery, and one count of tampering with a consumer product.

Federal prosecutors said between Nov. 2014 and Aug. 2015 while working for an ambulance company, Amello stole more than 650 5-ml vial of fentanyl for his own use. Beginning around July 1, 2015, Amello removed fentanyl from vials intended for patients and replaced it with saline.

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