A Gloucester man has been charged with 27 counts of writing false prescriptions for painkillers. Police say Vincenzo F. Mannone, 20, of 26 Burnham St., used a doctor's writing pad to write himself prescriptions, which he then filled at Eaton Apothecary on Prospect Street.
Over the past two months, police believe Mannone obtained 1,460 pills of various hydrocodones and ibuprofen, and the narcotic painkillers Roxicet and Endocet, also known as oxycodone.
But that ended Tuesday, when police say Mannone went into Eaton Apothecary to fill a prescription for 60 ibuprofen tablets and 60 Percocets, another narcotic painkiller. The pharmacist became suspicious. He told Mannone he would have to talk to the doctor who wrote the prescription before he could fill it.
Mannone claimed he had the doctor's phone number in his car, left to retrieve it and never returned, according to the police report, written by Detective Steven Mizzoni.
When investigators called the doctor, she denied having written any prescriptions for Mannone. She told police that about a month before, she had learned someone was using her pad to write fake prescriptions in Revere.
Police arrested Mannone around 7 on Wednesday night.
The investigation is continuing. Police are looking into whether Mannone used fake prescriptions to get drugs from other area pharmacies.
