FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
September 3, 2015
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
AG ANNOUNCES ARREST OF FORMER DIRECTOR OF NURSING OF
BIRMINGHAM NURSING HOME FOR THEFT OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange announced the arrest of
the former director of nursing of a Birmingham area nursing home for theft of
Hydrocodone. Marie White Tucker, 56, of Carbon Hill, surrendered this afternoon at the
Walker County Jail.
The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit presented evidence to a
Jefferson County grand jury resulting in an indictment* on August 21 charging Tucker
with theft of property in the second degree. The charges allege that Tucker, a registered
nurse and the director of nursing at North Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, was
diverting Hydrocodone, a controlled substance, which had been discontinued or was
scheduled to be destroyed. This was discovered when staff reported the medications
had not been logged correctly. An audit was conducted and Tucker is believed to have
stolen more than 1,800 Hydrocodone pills. It is further alleged that Tucker attempted to
conceal the theft by manipulating and hiding the required narcotic documentation logs.
Theft of property in the second degree is a class C felony with a possible sentence
of a year and a day to ten years of incarceration in the Alabama Department of
Corrections. Because Hydrocodone is a controlled substance the theft is automatically
classified as theft of property second degree.
Attorney General Strange commended his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which
handled the investigation, and thanked the staff and administration of North Hill
Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for their cooperation and assistance.
*An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
