By Terri Hill | December 11, 2018
A former scientist who pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, was sentenced Tuesday to 60 days in prison.
According to court documents, Matthew Ieraci, 30, admitted that from Feb. 8 through Feb. 27, 2017, he stole a total of approximately 52.45 grams of alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax from evidence submitted by U.S. Postal inspectors.
Ieraci pleaded guilty to one count of theft from a program receiving federal funds and admitted that he stole a portion of the drugs that he was supposed to analyze.
He also admitted that he had been trained in proper evidence-handling techniques and was aware of the consequences of evidence tampering, including the possibility that such evidence would not be admissible at trial.
According to prosecutors Ieraci could have been sentenced anywhere from two to ten years in prison.
Terri Hill can be contacted at terri.hill@grantstreetnews.com
