A nurse at an assisted living center in Minneapolis has been accused of stealing painkillers from patients and creating a bogus set of records to conceal the missing drugs.
Travis A. Bourbonnais, 35, of St. Paul, a licensed practical nurse for more than 12 years, had previously admitted stealing narcotics from another employer, according to the Minnesota Board of Nursing.
He was charged last week with fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance from the unidentified assisted living center and pleaded not guilty in federal court in Minneapolis.
Bourbonnais' nursing license was suspended in February by the Minnesota Board of Nursing soon after the thefts were reported.
According to the indictment:
From May to August 2010, Bourbonnais stole Vicodin intended for patients, sometimes by falsifying how much they had been prescribed and pocketing the excess amounts. He allegedly kept two sets of narcotic record books, one in a medication cart, another in the back of a file cabinet.
When confronted by his employer, Bourbonnais admitted to the thefts but said he wasn't taking the drugs, the nursing board said. Rather, he said, he was selling them to support a gambling habit.
In his suspension order, the nursing board noted that Bourbonnais had previously admitted to stealing Vicodin, Valium and a host of other narcotics from a different employer.
