At least one county commissioner wants to take a harder look at the fentanyl and narcotic theft scandal within Monroe County Fire Rescue.
Commissioner Craig Cates wants the county to hire an independent, third-party firm to follow up on a scathing audit conducted by the county clerk of court last year. That audit revealed a drug-addicted flight nurse and a disturbing lack of inventory oversight for the agency’s controlled substances.
“I’m not blaming anyone at all, but I hope my fellow commissioners will agree we need to look closer at this. This is life and death we’re dealing with and I think there are some aspects that weren’t thoroughly investigated or followed up on,” Cates told the Keys Weekly.
As a result of the audit, three MCFR employees were indicted in recent weeks. Former chief flight nurse Lynda Rusinowski, medical director Sandra Schwemmer and fire rescue Capt. Andrea Thompson.
Cates said he will propose an add-on item to the agenda at the Wednesday, Aug. 21 county commission meeting in Key West. Cates’ add-on item states, “Discussion regarding the Monroe County Grand Jury’s ongoing investigation into Monroe County Fire Rescue and the Trauma Star program and direction on whether the Board should retain an outside firm to conduct an independent investigation of this matter.”
