HIV-positive surgery tech pleads guilty in painkiller theft

DENVER (AP) — A surgery technician pleaded guilty Tuesday to taking fentanyl — an opiate more powerful than morphine — from a suburban Denver hospital — a crime that raised concerns that hundreds of patients might have been exposed to HIV.

Rocky Allen, a former Navy medic who authorities say is HIV positive and got hooked on painkillers while serving in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to federal charges of tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by deception.

In some cases, he lied on applications by saying he had never been convicted of a crime even though he pleaded guilty in 2011 to stealing 30 vials of fentanyl and a fentanyl syringe and making false statements, prosecutors said.