Former Burlington Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Illegally Obtaining Pain Pills
WOBURN – Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced today that a former Burlington Police officer pled guilty in Woburn Superior Court to charges in connection with a scheme involving falsified prescriptions and insurance fraud.
Mark Driscoll, 39, of Wakefield, pled guilty to twenty-six indictments including forgery, larceny over $250, uttering false prescriptions, fraudulently obtaining controlled substances, obtaining a signature under false pretenses, attempting to commit larceny and insurance fraud.
Middlesex Superior Court Judge Maynard Kirpalani sentenced the defendant to two years in jail, with one year to serve and the balance suspended for four years, on all charges but those involving insurance fraud. On the remaining eleven counts of insurance fraud, Judge Kirpalani ordered the defendant to be on probation for four years following his release from jail. The judge ordered the defendant to pay more than $39,000 in restitution and to undergo drug screening, substance abuse and mental health counseling, and to remain drug and alcohol free.
Driscoll will begin to serve his sentence on August 13.
“This defendant passed falsified prescriptions to obtain serious pain medications that were not legitimately ordered by a doctor, all while wearing his uniform,” said District Attorney Ryan. “I commend the alert pharmacy staff and medical professionals who took notice and reported the defendant’s activities and the coordinated response of Burlington police and insurance investigators who pursued this case of prescription abuse and fraud. ”
On July 10, 2013, Driscoll went to a Burlington CVS pharmacy seeking to obtain Percocet pills while wearing his police uniform. He attempted to fill an illegally written prescription in his wife’s name. When the pharmacist noticed that the prescription did not meet new security features that had taken effect July 1, 2013 Driscoll was told it could not be filled until the prescribing doctor verified it. When the pharmacist contacted the doctor’s office, they confirmed the prescription was not valid.
Burlington Police were notified and an investigation was launched. Officials determined that Driscoll had presented five fraudulent prescriptions at the CVS pharmacy in Burlington between May and July 2013, receiving more than 260 Percocet tablets.
With assistance from the Massachusetts Prescription Monitoring Program, officials learned that Driscoll also passed falsified prescriptions at the Osco Pharmacy in Burlington. There, he filled four prescriptions for hundreds of pain medications. In all but one instance, Driscoll engaged in these activities while wearing his police uniform.
On July 12, 2013, Burlington Police placed Driscoll on administrative leave. The defendant, who began his career with Burlington Police in 2004, has since resigned from the department.
On July 25, 2013, Burlington Police learned that Driscoll had submitted an insurance claim for disability payments during the time he was on administrative leave. That letter contained a forged signature purportedly from police administrators that had been obtained under false pretenses. Further investigation revealed that he had filed eight prior insurance claims, beginning in 2006, obtaining nearly $40,000 in fraudulent benefits.
A Middlesex County Grand Jury indicted Driscoll on September 24, 2013.
This case was investigated by the Burlington Police, the Unum Group, and the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.
The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant District Attorney Kristen Noto.