Boston paramedic indicted on charges he stole drugs from his ambulance

Brian Benoit, 40, of South Boston, faces arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court on charges he stole the contents of 106 vials and syringes loaded with painkillers and sedatives in late summer, 2011, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

The city offered drug screening to 57 people who received shots from the tampered containers, which contained fentanyl, lorazepam, midazolam or morphine. Benoit was suspended from his job earlier this year, after an investigation by Boston EMS and police tied him to the alleged thefts. The DA's office says Benoit agreed to be tested for communicable diseases, and was found to be clean.

According to the DA's office, Benoit was formally charged with "one count of larceny by scheme and 26 counts of larceny of a controlled substance for allegedly stealing prescription painkillers and sedatives from more than 100 vials and syringes; 24 counts of creating a counterfeit substance for allegedly replacing some of those medications with other clear liquids; and 22 counts of manufacturing Class B, Class C, and Class E controlled substances for allegedly replacing some of those medications with different liquids, transforming the contents into different or diluted controlled substances."

Benoit received a Boston EMS citation for helping to grab and secure a suicidal man threatening to jump off the Mass. Ave. Bridge in May, 2011.

Innocent, etc.