RUMFORD – A state investigation regarding drug thefts is under way regarding a longtime Rumford pharmacist whose license was recently suspended.

According to a Sept. 9 report, part-time Rite Aid pharmacist John Bartash Jr.’s license to practice pharmacy was suspended for 30 days, ending Thursday, Oct. 9, pending further Maine Board of Pharmacy action. That bars him from practicing as a pharmacist.

Additionally, Rite Aid fired Bartash, Rite Aid Corp. public relations director Cheryl Slavinsky said by phone on Tuesday evening from Camp Hill, Pa.

Board of Pharmacy President Lori McKeown stated in the report to Bartash that the board investigated a Sept. 4 complaint against him and “preliminarily finds, for the purposes of this order, that you have stolen and/or diverted drugs from the drug outlet at which you were employed.”

The board further stated that Bartash’s “continued ability to practice as a pharmacist constitutes an immediate jeopardy to the health and safety of the public.”

Bartash offered no comment.

Maine Drug Enforcement Agency agent Tony Milligan said Tuesday afternoon at the Rumford police station that he could neither confirm nor deny that the MDEA is investigating Bartash regarding stolen drugs.

Rumford police Detective Lt. Daniel Garbarini said that agency isn’t investigating the complaint.

Bartash, a second-generation pharmacist, owned and operated The Rumford Drug Store, which closed on Jan. 12, 2005, after it was purchased by Rite-Aid.

Bartash had bought the Congress Street pharmacy in 1971 from his father, John Bartash Sr., who owned and operated it since 1934. After closing the store, Bartash Jr. hired on with Rite Aid, a chain store just up the street.

Slavinsky, citing the ongoing investigation, also said she couldn’t comment.