RANGELEY – Riddle’s Pharmacy was closed Friday and is expected to remain closed until Tuesday when a pharmacist comes from Rumford to fill prescriptions.
Billie Linnell, a pharmacy technician at the store, said Friday that the store was not open, and personnel there were working to install shelves to secure prescription medication in one area so that the remainder of store could open.
The state suspended the pharmacist license of Joey McLafferty, 71, sole pharmacist and owner of the independent drug store, for 30 days Tuesday after he was accused of filling prescriptions while under the influence of alcohol and violating state and federal pharmacy rules.
Linnell said people at the store had installed a secure door to close off the pharmaceutical area from the rest of the store, which also sells cosmetics, nonprescription medicine, magazines, newspapers, cards and gift items among other wares. However, if that door is locked, it blocks off access to an emergency exit and the bathroom.
Until the prescription drugs are secured, the store may reopen only while a pharmacist in good standing is on duty.
Pharmacist John Bartash Jr. of Rumford is expected to fill prescriptions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the next month.
Linnell said Wednesday that, “We want to apologize for any inconvenience to our patients and to assure them that we’ll do whatever we have to to meet board requirements, and that we’ll do whatever we can to make sure all transitions are as painless as possible.”
The pharmacy came under scrutiny after police launched an investigation in May into the theft, use and sale of drugs by three teenagers who had worked at the pharmacy. A state pharmacy inspector discovered 1,300 prescription tablets missing in a 16-day audit.
“We’re expecting the store to open on Tuesday with a substitute pharmacist,” Anne Head, director of the state Office of Licensing and Registration, said Friday.
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