A York man was arrested today and charged with illegally obtaining used narcotic drug vials from two local hospitals and injecting leftover drugs found in them.

Lee M. Gilbert, 25, took partially empty vials from medical waste containers in the operating rooms at Lancaster General Hospital and Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center from fall or winter of 2005 through spring of 2007, according to his arrest warrant filed today.

After he used the drugs, he hid the empty vials above ceiling tiles at both hospitals, the affidavit states.

Gilbert had been working as a radiology technician at both hospitals while some of the thefts occurred.

He also allegedly talked his way back into the operating area of LGH more than a year after he was fired — for performance reasons — to continue to steal the vials.

He faces a possible maximum sentence of more than 30 years in prison if he is convicted.

The thefts were discovered after LGH found the empty vials stashed above ceilings in an employee restroom in September, sparking an investigation by the state Attorney General's office.

Investigators asked Heart to also search above its ceiling tiles, and more vials were found there last month.

Gilbert was charged with possession of a controlled substance and acquisition or obtaining possession of that controlled substance by fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge. He also was charged with theft by unlawful taking, criminal trespass and burglary.

During an interview last month, Gilbert told an investigator he had become addicted to pain relievers after being treated for a personal ailment.

While working at LGH, he said, he entered an operating room after a procedure and saw a vial of leftover fentanyl on top of a medical waste container.

Gilbert knew fentanyl, a narcotic often used during surgery, was a pain reliever, according to his affidavit. It also is one of the most illegally obtained prescription drugs.

Gilbert said he took the partially filled vial and, after his shift, injected the drug into himself in the parking lot area of LGH.

He then regularly began stealing used fentanyl vials from the hospital.

Before being fired from LGH in December 2005, Gilbert obtained a part-time job at Heart in Warwick Township.

While working at Heart, Gilbert also began stealing used fentanyl vials from medical waste containers there, the affidavit states.

Investigators also found empty containers of two other painkillers — morphine and demerol — above ceiling tiles at Heart.

Gilbert told the investigator his addiction to fentanyl increased over time. At first he was using 2 millileters, equal to less than half a teaspoon, a day but he progressed to using 10 millileters, equal to about two teaspoons.

Gilbert said he needed "to collect more and more wasted fentanyl vials to obtain the amount needed for his addiction," according to the affidavit.

His routine was that after collecting the vials in the operating rooms, he would obtain a new syringe, go into a restroom in the recovery area, empty the remaining fentanyl from the vials into the syringe and inject himself with the drug, the affidavit states.

Gilbert would wrap the empty vials in disposable operating-room garb, including hair caps, booties and a face mask. He then would stand on a toilet and hide the wrapped vials above the drop ceilings.

After being fired from LGH, Gilbert returned to the hospital, dressed in scrubs, in the evening hours. He would enter the secured operating room area by telling employees there that he forgot his ID card, saying, "It was easy to enter."

He then would follow his usual routine, collecting the fentanyl vials and syringes from the medical waste containers, going into the restroom and injecting himself.

Gilbert told investigators he most recently obtained access to LGH in March 2007.

LGH spokesman John Lines said today, "Mr. Gilbert took advantage of the trust and courtesy that is so common in Lancaster County. His actions are an important lesson for us all."

LGH continually reminds its employees of the importance of wearing ID cards and verifying that others are as well.

Two months ago, the hospital required employees to swipe their ID through a sensor to gain entrance to the surgery area on evenings, weekends and holidays. The change was not related to Gilbert's actions, he said, but part of ongoing efforts to increase security.

Lines declined to say how long Gilbert worked at the hospital, noting the investigation is ongoing and saying LGH doesn't comment on personnel matters.

Heart officials said Gilbert worked there on an on-call basis from December 2005 to October 2006.

Attorney General Tom Corbett said, "Prescription drug abuse is a national, state and local problem accounting for nearly 30 percent of the overall drug addiction in the United States. Behind marijuana use, prescription drugs are the second most commonly abused drug."

Gilbert also has been arrested two other times, according to court records.

In September 2005, he was arrested in Lancaster County for drunken driving, drunken driving with a high rate of alcohol and exceeding the maximum speed by 13 mph.

He was placed into the Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition program, a program for first-time drunken drivers, but that placement later was revoked.

In November 2006, he was arrested for burglary, criminal trespass and theft by unlawful taking in York County. He pleaded guilty and his case was referred to that county's drug court, a program designed to help rehabilitate people with drug problems.

He has been in and out of prison over the past six months, and has spent time in a rehab facility, at the court's order.

Gilbert surrendered to an AG agent today at a halfway house in York County, where he has been undergoing treatment.

CONTACT US: cstauffer@LNPnews.com or 481-6024