Frederick P. McLeish has a long history of license problems because of substance abuse, according to records in two states.
The pharmacist whose alleged pilfering of pain medications at Shore Medical Center in Somers Point has put more than 200 patients at risk for communicable diseases has a long history of problems in two states, according to public records.
Frederick McLeish's pharmacist license was suspended by the state of New Jersey in late 1990 after it was learned he'd failed to disclose an earlier stint of in-patient rehabilitation for substance abuse in his license application. That 18-month suspension was stayed however, leaving him on probation only.
One of the conditions of his probation was that he notify any employer of that disciplinary status.
In May of 1995, state records indicate the Board learned he'd had a relapse in August of the previous year, and he was suspended again. That suspension was also stayed, however, and he was put on probation for four years.
In 2002, however, he was ordered to surrender his license in N.J. after it was determined he stole for his own use Dilaudid and Meperidine, an opioid pain medicine, from CVS, where he worked, according to records from the N.J. State Board of Pharmacy.
His license was reinstated in 2004.
He was originally licensed in Pennsylvania in 1986, but was disciplined there several times over the years, according to records from the Pennsylvania State Board of Pharmacy. He was placed on probation in 2006 for two years in Pennsylvania; the probation was lifted in 2008. Other state records indicate he was also fined, but the details of those infractions were not immediately available to the public.
In the CVS incident, McLeish "diverted" pain pills from the store's stock "by changing presciptions for Restoril and Pepcid," the records show. There is nothing to indicate customers were denied the proper medicines for their own prescriptions.
Under the current consent order of December of 2014, in which McLeish surrendered his license after being fired by Shore Medical Center in Somers Point, he is ordered to attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and to submit to urine tests.
He was criminally charged a year later, in January of 2016. The charges include drug tampering, theft by unlawful taking, and possession of a controlled dangerous substance. The 53-year-old Egg Harbor man was jailed in lieu of $20,000 bail.
Shore Medical is now warning more than 200 patients that they may have been exposed to HIV or hepatitis as a result of the alleged drug switch. Authorities allege McLeish removed morphine and similar pain medicine from vials intended for patient IVs and disguised the removal by diluting the medications with a saline solution.
Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.