Grand jury criticizes Monroe County response to stolen drugs from air ambulance service

A Monroe County grand jury on Thursday issued a damning report detailing allegations against three high-level county officials who were indicted earlier this month for allegedly stealing drugs from the Florida Keys air ambulance service.

The 13-page report, part of an ongoing criminal investigation, alleges that the actions and inactions of these officials not only facilitated the theft of drugs by a high-ranking Monroe County Fire and Rescue Department officer, but also allowed “a caustic and crony environment and culture to exist for many years” within their department.

The report focuses on former Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi, Dr. Sandra Schwemmer, who until this month was the county’s medical director, and Capt. Andrea Thompson, who ran the county’s Trauma Star emergency helicopter program until she was suspended without pay after being charged Aug. 9. Gastesi and Schwemmer were also charged in August.

“The long-standing underlying problem has been that several individuals placed in leadership roles have abused the power granted to them and created an unhealthy, almost tyrannical environment,” the grand jury report states.

All three were charged as part of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and State Attorney’s Office’s investigation into the alleged theft of medications from the Trauma Star program by former chief flight nurse Lynda Rusinowski, 58, a highly decorated nurse practitioner who was arrested in July 2022 on grand theft and fraud charges.

Accused of stealing fentanyl to feed his drug addiction

Rusinowski is accused of stealing vials of medication, including the opioids fentanyl and Dilaudid and the painkiller ketamine, most recently linked to the death of Matthew Perry, to feed her drug addiction. In July, a grand jury indicted Rusinowski on 36 additional charges: 14 counts of grand theft of a controlled substance and 12 counts of official misconduct.

A county audit in 2023 found that more than 600 medications had been stolen in just over a year.

Rusinowski has pleaded not guilty and his attorney, Edward McGee, declined to comment Thursday.

Gastesi, 63, is charged with one count of official misconduct, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

The grand jury report says he “intervened and prevented Human Resources and Employee Services from conducting an internal investigation by an independent outside firm” into Thompson’s handling of Rusinowski’s alleged drug theft.

Gastesi technically retired as county administrator in February, but it was actually an eight-month leave of absence and he was expected to return to work in September. He stayed with the county on a “voluntary” basis so he could receive full compensation from Florida’s Deferred Retirement Option Program, which encourages highly paid municipal employees to quit to qualify for lucrative pension benefits.

Before he retired, his annual salary was $288,759, county spokeswoman Kristen Livengood said.

The County Commission terminated its relationship with him this month following his indictment.

Gastesi’s attorney, Ramon de la Cabada, when contacted Thursday, said he had not read the full grand jury report but that his client is innocent.

“I am waiting to see evidence of criminal conduct on the part of Mr. Gastesi. My client is convinced that he has not committed any crime. He was trying to do his job,” he said.

Grand jury criticizes county commission

The report criticizes the County Board of Commissioners for keeping Gastesi as the highest-ranking unelected official since 2008, despite having been part of a previous grand jury investigation into the theft of county-owned cellphones and iPads in 2012 by another employee. That grand jury recommended his termination, the report notes.

“The question arises as to whether Mr. Gastesi works at the pleasure of the BOCC or whether Mr. Gastesi controls the actions of the BOCC. It is the proverbial ‘the dog wags the tail.’ What is certain, through the testimony of the various witnesses, is that Mr. Gastesi has used what appears to be unfettered power and authority in ways that are not consistent with the best interests of Monroe County as a whole, but rather for select individuals who align with him or do not run counter to his agenda,” the report states.

Thompson, 45, is accused of covering up Rusinowski’s alleged theft when it came to light in the summer of 2022. She is charged with two counts of official misconduct, one count of providing false information to law enforcement, two counts of tampering with evidence, three counts of witness tampering and one count of altering patient records.

“She put her personal friendship with Flight Nurse Rusinowski ahead of public safety, improperly inserted herself into the investigation of Rusinowski’s theft of narcotics, and thwarted law enforcement’s attempts to uncover all the facts and evidence surrounding her friend’s crime,” the report states.

Thompson pleaded not guilty.

“We look forward to a jury trial in which Division Chief Thompson’s overwhelmingly favorable evidence will be presented, the weakness of the prosecution’s case will be exposed, and she will be fully vindicated,” her attorney, Sean Parys, said in a statement Thursday.

Critical report against the fire chief

The grand jury criticized Thompson’s bosses, including Gastesi and Fire Chief James Callahan, for failing to discipline or fire Thompson, despite other incidents of missing Trauma Star medications dating back to 2010.

“Ms. Thompson has been directly involved in several of the incidents and rather than being terminated or disciplined as recommended by MCFR officials, she has been steadily promoted over the years until most recently serving as the division chief of the MCFR (Emergency Medical Services) and Trauma Star Division at the time of her arrest on August 9, 2024,” the report states.

Thompson’s salary at the time of his suspension was $151,127 per year.

Callahan did not respond to a request for comment from the Herald. The grand jury recommended that the county fire him.

‘Toxic workplace’ at Monroe County Fire Department

The report also accuses Thompson of being “a principal architect of the toxic work environment that existed at MCFR, actively engaging in intimidation, threats and coercion to keep those she led under her control. However, Thomson was rewarded for her ‘loyalty to service’ by being promoted several times…

Schwemmer, 72, who as the county’s medical director is in charge of all medications controlled and distributed by Fire Rescue, is charged with one count of official misconduct, one count of providing false information to police and one count of altering patient records.

The grand jury report stated that Schwemmer “rarely appeared in the county and delegated his various responsibilities to other EMS/Trauma Star personnel, including, but not limited to, Andrea Thompson, Lynda Rusinowski and others.”

The grand jury heard testimony that narcotics, including fentanyl, morphine and other controlled substances, “regularly disappeared without corrective action being taken.”

“However, she (Schwemmer) did not institute any real changes to the inventory process during her tenure that would ensure that such drugs did not disappear or go unaccounted for,” the report states.

The county hired Schwemmer in 1987 and she earned an annual salary of $124,842 before being fired this month.

Her attorney, Kader Scull, issued a statement saying she is innocent.

“She firmly maintains that she has not committed any wrongdoing in this matter and looks forward to clearing her name in court. I encourage people not to rush to judgment on these allegations and to let the judicial system take its course,” Scull said.

The county responded with a statement Thursday saying it was reviewing more than a dozen recommendations included in the grand jury report.

“The number one priority now is to regain the trust of our community,” Monroe County Mayor Holly Merrill Raschein said in a statement. “We will continue to be accountable and transparent as we implement the appropriate recommendations in the Grand Jury report and will have staff present regular updates at BOCC meetings for the foreseeable future.”