The Glen Cove Police Department reports the arrest of a CVS pharmacist on July 26. The 28-year-old female faces felony charges that, if she's found guilty, carry a sentence of 2 1/4 to 7 years in prison.

The pharmacist, who gave an address in a community adjacent to Glen Cove, was employed at the CVS on Glen Street having been transferred there from another CVS store last April. Her duties were to fill prescriptions, hand out medications and to handle the counter and cash register. According to the police, people would come in to have their prescriptions filled and she would take the information, dispense the drugs and pocket the cash handed over by customers. She also pocketed the money she was given by customers making insurance co-payments in cash. (When you go to a pharmacy your name is put on computer and through that you're linked to the insurance company, as is the deductible.) The pharmacist would print the prescription label, go back into the computer and delete the record. The insurance company would never know a prescription was filled.

In so doing, the insurance companies were never billed for the remaining cost of the medications with CVS footing the bill and not being reimbursed. Police say that at times, the pharmacist acted as if she were ringing up purchases on the cash register when in reality she waited until the customer left to pocket the money.

After a while, the CVS loss prevention officer became suspicious when faced with all the voids on her register. An internal investigation was begun and eventually a case was built against her as far as theft. The Glen Cove Police Department was called and Officers Mancusi and Taranto arrived at the scene. They knew they had a larceny on their hands so they called in Detective Nagle who started a detailed investigation. The pharmacist made statements to the police that the reason for her actions was that she had bills to pay. The theft is estimated to have cost the CVS company more than $17,000, in cash and third party losses combined.

The defendant was charged with grand larceny, third degree and falsifying business records which are both felonies.

Detective Nagle advises customers to ask for a receipt when paying in cash for items in any store. "If you feel something is not quite right, you can always speak to a manager," said Det. Nagle.