HARTFORD - A federal judge has sentenced a nurse who worked at a Stamford surgical clinic to five months in prison for tampering with vials of hydromorphone and fentanyl, David X. Sullivan, US Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced Monday.

US District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford also sentenced Kristen Carotenuto, 35, of Pelham, New York, to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Carotenuto was employed as a nurse at an outpatient surgical center in Stamford. As part of her employment, she was granted access to a secure location used by the surgical center to store controlled substances, including hydromorphone and fentanyl.

In December 2024, Carotenuto removed several vials, each containing the drugs, from the secure storage area. She then took the vials home, removed the controlled substances using a syringe, and used the drugs. She refilled the vials with either saline or water and returned the tampered vials to the storage area in a location where they could be distributed for patient use. There is no evidence that any patients received the tampered medications.

On Aug. 7, Carotenuto pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product.

Carotenuto, who is released on a $25,000 bond, is required to report to prison on Oct. 1. She has surrendered her nursing license.

This matter was investigated by the US Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; the DEA's Hartford Diversion Control Division; and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Drug Control Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.