Minn. Nurse Accused Of Stealing Drugs From Patient

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Prosecutors claim a Minnesota nurse took painkillers from a patient who was supposed to be sedated before surgery.

Thirty-three-year-old Sarah May Casareto of Forest Lake was charged Wednesday with one count of theft of a controlled substance. She allegedly told officers she was addicted to pain medications.

According to the criminal complaint, she told a patient at a Minneapolis hospital who was about to have kidney stones surgically removed that he would have to "man up" because she could not give him a lot of medication. The complaint says she gave the man such a small dose of medication that he was writhing in pain on the operating table.

Casareto no longer works at the hospital and did not immediately return a phone message left by The Associated Press.