A Coon Rapids man has been sentenced for swiping prosthetics and related supplies from the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis and selling them online.
Peter Stasica Jr., 52, was sentenced to two years' probation last week in federal court in Minneapolis. Stasica also must pay more than $88,000 in restitution and perform 100 hours of community service. Prosecutors had sought a six-month prison term.
Stasica's duties included buying supplies and equipment, working with vendors and advising patients about whether a new prosthetic limb was necessary.
In one instance, a Fairview Health Services employee told investigators that Stasica interrupted a consultation with a patient and recommended a new prosthesis. The employee found that odd because the patient already had a top model. The employee recorded the leg's serial number and later found it had sold on eBay for $4,561 to a buyer in Alabama.
In all, dozens of buyers acquired more than 60 stolen prosthetics and related supplies from Stasica on eBay.
He was fired after he was charged; he pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
Stasica had been employed by the hospital's owner, Fairview Health Services, since 1994. He also was the secretary of the Minnesota Society of Orthotists, Prosthetists and Pedorthists, a nonprofit industry group that promotes ethical standards.
Paul Walsh
