Steven Beumel, former radiology technician, sentenced to 30 years in prison for infecting patients with Hepatitis C

(CBS/AP) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Steven Beumel, a former Jacksonville radiology technician, has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for stealing syringes of painkillers during patients' procedures and replacing them with syringes of saline contaminated with Hepatitis C.

A federal judge in Jacksonville sentenced Beumel, 49, on Monday. He pleaded guilty to multiple counts in May.

Authorities say Beumel tampered with syringes from 2006 to 2008 while working at the Mayo Clinic branch in Jacksonville.

Epidemiologists from the hospital and public health agencies worked for more than three years to solve the Hepatitis C outbreak and it was eventually linked to Beumel. He was fired, and clinic authorities reported him to police.

The clinic tested thousands of patients who were potentially at risk. Two patients from that testing effort were linked to Beumel and one died.