Mark Cottone
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -
Investigators credit a CVS pharmacist for tipping them off about a Winston-Salem police officer who, they say, was stealing prescription medication from an elderly disabled woman who believed he was doing her a favor.
Authorities Wednesday charged Mark D. Cottone, 36, with larceny and possession of a pain medication without a prescription.
Cottone, who joined the department in November 2008 as a patrol officer, was fired Oct. 15, six days after the pharmacist notified police about suspicious activity.
"He was trying to help that person acquire legal prescription drugs, but then was, in fact, taking them from that person ... not really with that person's knowledge," said police Chief Scott Cunningham.
Cunningham said Cottone took Percocet and Methodone.
"The pharmacist did a good job. She was looking out for her patient and saw things that raised a question there, so she asked about it and she did the right thing," said Cunningham.
The DA's office Wednesday charged Cottone with one count of felony larceny, one count of felony exploitation of a disabled adult and two misdemeanor counts of possession of controlled substances.
"The information we have and evidence we have is distasteful to me as a police officer and the chief, and that's why there was no recourse that was available," he said.
Cunningham directed Cottone's badge be destroyed and the number changed on his patrol car.
"Whoever wears that badge has to wear it in an untarnished manner and he tarnished that badge. it is no longer, in my mind, no longer fit for an officer to wear. It already has been destroyed. It has been melted down," he said.
"We absolutely will not tolerate a breach of the public trust by our personnel," Cunningham said in a written news release. "We take the integrity of our department very seriously, and we want our citizens to know this."
Authorities Wednesday charged Mark D. Cottone, 36, with larceny and possession of a pain medication without a prescription.
Cottone, who joined the department in November 2008 as a patrol officer, was fired Oct. 15, six days after the pharmacist notified police about suspicious activity.
"He was trying to help that person acquire legal prescription drugs, but then was, in fact, taking them from that person ... not really with that person's knowledge," said police Chief Scott Cunningham.
Cunningham said Cottone took Percocet and Methodone.
"The pharmacist did a good job. She was looking out for her patient and saw things that raised a question there, so she asked about it and she did the right thing," said Cunningham.
The DA's office Wednesday charged Cottone with one count of felony larceny, one count of felony exploitation of a disabled adult and two misdemeanor counts of possession of controlled substances.
"The information we have and evidence we have is distasteful to me as a police officer and the chief, and that's why there was no recourse that was available," he said.
Cunningham directed Cottone's badge be destroyed and the number changed on his patrol car.
"Whoever wears that badge has to wear it in an untarnished manner and he tarnished that badge. it is no longer, in my mind, no longer fit for an officer to wear. It already has been destroyed. It has been melted down," he said.
"We absolutely will not tolerate a breach of the public trust by our personnel," Cunningham said in a written news release. "We take the integrity of our department very seriously, and we want our citizens to know this."
