An office manager at a Galloway Township veterinary hospital was arrested today on charges of third-degree theft by unlawful taking and third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance, Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel announced.
It is alleged that Leah Whitesell, 46, of Cumberland County, worked as the office manager at Atlantic Animal Health Center and stole approximately 20 to 25 bottles of liquid hydrocone estimated at a cost of $1,035 from August of 2009 through November of 2010. It is further alleged that Whitesell took the medication for her own use without the doctor’s knowledge and that she knowingly obtained or possessed the controlled substance without a valid prescription.
In 2009 the state Division of Criminal Justice received a tip via the Internet in reference to the alleged crime. The matter was referred to the Prosecutor’s Office and after a month-long investigation Whitesell, of Millville, was charged and released on a summons.
Prosecutor’s Office Detective Michael Shomo conducted the investigation.
A crime of the third-degree carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and up to a $15,000 in fine.
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