July 28, 2015

In 2015, administrators at the Pocopson Home, a county-run nursing home on Route 52 in Pocopson Township, began noticing the disappearance of morphine and other controlled substances, prosecutors said.

On Tuesday, July 28, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced the arrest of a licensed practical nurse who had worked at the facility. Carolyn A. Howett, 36, of Coatesville, faces charges that include theft, acquisition of controlled substances by fraud, forgery, and related offenses, Hogan said.

“Nursing is a noble profession, dedicated to caring for sick and disabled patients,” Hogan said in a press release. “This defendant betrayed her profession, her employers, and her patients by stealing drugs. She does not deserve to serve as a nurse ever again.”

According to the criminal complaint, officials at Pocopson Home sought assistance from the Chester County Detectives to investigate the missing drugs. The detectives learned that nurses regularly administer and dispose of powerful narcotics, such as morphine, as part of their duties, the complaint said.

When one of the patients under Howett’s care died, the drugs prescribed for that patient should have been destroyed and documented as such in the home’s password-protected electronic system, the complaint said. Although the system indicated the drugs had been destroyed, a nurse listed as a witness to the destruction said that her signature had been forged on one form and that she didn’t witness the destruction of the drugs on three other forms, the complaint said.

Detectives executed a search warrant on June 5 at Howett’s home and found the prescribed drugs, identified by information on the vial, in her bedroom, the complaint said.

The complaint said detectives also seized other controlled substances traced to the Pocopson Home. It said a detective interviewed Howett the same day and she “denied any knowledge as to how the controlled substance came to be in her bedroom.” The complaint said she quit her job on June 19, and started working for another nursing organization, where she also had access to controlled substances.

Hogan said police charged Howett’s live-in boyfriend, Arthur V. Dillard, 31, with possession with the intent to deliver cocaine.

Court records said Magisterial District Judge Daniel J. Maisano arraigned Howell on Tuesday, July 28. He set bail at $50,000 cash, which she was not able to post. She was remanded to Chester County Prison to await a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 4, records said.

“All over the region, people are overdosing and dying from opiate abuse,” Hogan said in the release. “The last thing we need is a license nurse stealing morphine from a nursing home and adding to this ever-growing problem.”

Hogan said the investigation is continuing; anyone with information is asked to contact Chester County Detective Edward Nolan at 610-344-5660.

 

 

The historic Barnard House, once an Underground Railroad refuge, continued to spark spirited debate in Pocopson Township, dominating the agenda at Monday night’s supervisors’ meeting.

Amid some impassioned and sometimes rancorous rhetoric, Supervisors’ Chairman Barney Leonard and Supervisor Ricki Stumpo made some key decisions about the project, which involves renovating the structure for use as the township municipal building and the home of the Kennett Underground Railroad Center. (Supervisor Georgia Brutscher was away on vacation.)

In response to concerns raised in an email by township resident Sean Rafferty, the supervisors voted to have Richard Jensen, the township’s zoning/code enforcement officer, “temporarily withdraw from all activities associated with the Barnard House.” Jensen, who has been paid an extra $50 an hour to serve as the project manager for Barnard House, has also served as its building inspector, and the supervisors want input from the state Ethics Commission on whether the dual role constitutes a legal conflict of interest.

Leonard said after the supervisors received Rafferty’s email, they contacted the township solicitor for advice and received an inconclusive answer, prompting them to seek the state review. “The impression of impropriety is a challenge,” said Leonard. “If we’re breaking ethical laws, we need to know that.”

In his email, Rafferty noted what he called a more serious issue regarding Jensen’s role. He said he doesn’t understand why township records show that after Keystone Municipal Services, the township’s building inspector, recommended denying a building permit for Barnard House unless specific conditions were met, Jensen was able to issue a permit less than three weeks later.

At the supervisors’ meeting, Rafferty said he wasn’t casting aspersions at Jensen. “Someone ordered him to do it,” Rafferty said. “It’s unethical; I don’t know if it’s unlawful.”

Calling some of the workmanship at the site “deplorable,” Rafferty said, “We are being ripped off. None of us would allow that quality of work in our home.”

Rafferty cited examples of some of the contractors’ sloppiness, illustrated in dozens of photos he included with the email. Stumpo, a new member of the Barnard House Steering Committee, concurred, explaining that Rafferty and other residents have raised questions about the workmanship.

“Apparently, there’s a lot of mistakes,” Stumpo said. “I think it’s important that we know what was not done properly, why it wasn’t done, and who’s not monitoring things. I think it’s very important that we get this handled.”

Leonard agreed that the township and its taxpayers should not have to pay to fix substandard work. He and Stumpo voted to authorize Susan Simone, the township secretary, to obtain a punch list to determine what work needs to be redone so that the contractors can be held accountable.

“If there’s a way that we can uncover, or at least improve upon, efficiency and quality control on the second phase, I’m all for it,” said Leonard. He called the chance of using the same contractors and the same oversight procedures in the next phase “slim to none.”

Leonard thanked Rafferty for calling Jensen’s possible conflict of interest to the board’s attention, but he took issue with some of Rafferty’s other criticisms, such as questioning the lack of plans from the project’s architect, Dennis Melton. Rafferty commented that Melton has been paid a lot of money and the township doesn’t even have a workable plan for the interior.

“It does sicken me to think what we could have built in bricks and mortar for the $125,000 that we paid Mr. Melton to attend meetings and pontificate,” Rafferty wrote.

Leonard countered that over the years, multiple plans have been produced and that the current plans are still in flux. “Why is he just spending money at meetings? Well, that’s his job. That’s what an architect does,” Leonard said.

The supervisors also acted on a suggestion from Elaine DiMonte, a township resident who is running for supervisor. She had recommended holding a question-and-answer session to address residents’ concerns about the Barnard House, some of which deal with its cost – currently estimated at about $1.5 million  – and some of which deal with its suitability for township administration.

Leonard and Stumpo voted to hold a two-hour session on Sept. 21 at 7 p.m., probably at the Pocopson Home. At Rafferty’s urging, they agreed to send a postcard to notify all residents. A notice will be put on the township’s website, and residents are encouraged to submit questions in advance. For those who are unable to attend, a transcript will appear on the township’s website, Leonard said.

Jean Conary, a member of the Barnard House Steering Committee, applauded the initiative. She said the committee has worked hard to maintain the historic building’s integrity while holding the line on costs and is eager to discuss the process.

“We would like as neutral a presentation as possible,” Conary said.

Leonard said he and DiMonte would confer to work out the logistics.

In other business, the supervisors voted to pass the Brandywine Greenway Corridor Resolution, a conservation initiative of the Brandywine Conservancy; released escrow funds for a lot in Scaleby Farm; signed the annual contract for the use of Bragg Hill Road for the Marshalton Triathalon; approved draft rental unit registration and fees; and received an update on the Winterwood stormwater basin plan, which will result in a meeting among all the stakeholders to discuss the options.