Former flight nurse arrested in drug case

A former Monroe County Fire Rescue Chief Flight Nurse for the Trauma Star helicopter program has been arrested for stealing narcotics.

The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations unit.

Lynda Rusinowski, 56, was charged with two counts of grand theft of a controlled substance, two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, and two counts of official misconduct.

“I was deeply troubled to learn of this situation, but I can assure you that I will take whatever actions are necessary to ensure Trauma Star continues its critical life-saving operations,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay.

Monroe County Fire Rescue alerted the Sheriff’s Office in late July of missing narcotics and discrepancies in their controlled substances logs.

The Sheriff’s Office’s investigation showed Rusinowski stole Morphine and Versed and then altered or falsified records in an attempt to conceal the thefts. She admitted to stealing the drugs.

The Trauma Star program is a partnership between the Sheriff’s Office, Fire Rescue, and the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners. The Sheriff’s Office staffs the pilots while the flight nurses and flight paramedics are staffed by Fire Rescue.

The investigation is ongoing.

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