Former Watertown Police Officer Sentenced For Passing False Prescriptions Using Another's Identity

BOSTON - A former Watertown Police Officer was sentenced today for passing false prescriptions, using a stolen identify.

Joseph Deignan, 58, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 90 days in prison and three years of supervised release. In August 2013, Deignan pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a controlled substance by fraud and of fraud in connection with identification documents.

Deignan, a former Watertown Police Officer who retired in February 2012, used the identity of another person to obtain oxycodone and other controlled substances by forging prescriptions in the other person’s name. Deignan stole the driver’s license of the person in 2010, while he was working as the traffic supervisor for the Watertown Police Department. Using various doctors’ information, Deignan forged over 100 prescriptions for controlled substances and used the stolen identity to fill the scripts.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Eugenia M. Carris of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.