A nurse from Pelham, New York, has been sentenced to five months in prison after admitting to tampering with vials of hydromorphone and fentanyl at a Stamford surgical clinic. Kristen Carotenuto, 35, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford. In addition to her prison term, Carotenuto was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay a $5,000 fine.
Court documents state that Carotenuto worked as a nurse at an outpatient surgical center in Stamford where she had access to controlled substances stored in a secure area. In December 2024, she removed several vials containing hydromorphone or fentanyl from storage. She took the vials home, extracted the drugs using a syringe for personal use, then refilled them with saline or water before returning them to the storage area where they could have been used for patients. Authorities found no evidence that any patients received the tampered medications.
Carotenuto pleaded guilty on August 7, 2025, to tampering with a consumer product.
She is currently free on a $25,000 bond and must report to prison by October 1. Carotenuto has surrendered her nursing license.
The investigation was conducted by the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations; the DEA’s Hartford Diversion Control Division; and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s Drug Control Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller prosecuted the case.
