Technician had been fired before from two hospitals
By Holly Ramer
Associated Press
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A traveling hospital technician accused of infecting dozens of patients with hepatitis C through needles tainted with his own blood reached an agreement with prosecutors that would give him a sentence of as little as 30 years instead of the nearly 100 he could have faced if convicted in a trial.
The agreement, filed Monday, also contained new revelations that he was fired from two Michigan hospitals and resigned from two others before beginning his traveling temp career.
David Kwiatkowski, who has been jailed since his arrest in July 2012, is accused of stealing painkiller syringes from Exeter Hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab in New Hampshire and replacing them with blood-tainted saline. He told investigators he had been stealing drugs for more than a decade and was “killing a lot of people,” according to the plea agreement filed Monday.
If convicted at trial, he could have been sentenced to up to 98 years behind bars. He agreed to plead guilty to 14 federal drug theft and tampering charges he faced in exchange for a lighter sentence of 30 to 40 years in prison.
Kwiatkowski’s attorneys did not immediately respond to emails or a phone message left at their office Monday night. A hearing on the plea agreement is set for Wednesday.
Linda Ficken, of Andover, Kan., is among those Kwiatkowski is accused of infecting. Ficken, 71, said Monday she’s glad he pleaded guilty but wishes the sentence were longer.
