DA throws out charges against former clinic employee

By Rose Cox

Published in the Dutch Harbor Fisherman
Jul 29th, 2010

An Anchorage district attorney has dismissed all charges against a former medical assistant accused of stealing pharmaceuticals from the Iliuliuk Family Health Clinic in 2009.

Michelle Lynn Calcia was arrested in March, 2009, after a grand jury returned indictments against her on 58 counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree, one count of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree, and one count of theft in the fourth degree.

A grand jury does not determine whether defendants are innocent or guilty, but establishes whether there is sufficient evidence against them to stand trial on felony charges.

After a review of evidence against Calcia, the DA dismissed all charges and the case did not proceed to trial, said Allen Dayan, the attorney who represented Calcia in court.

"When all the evidence was in, the DA felt there was a mistake in charging her," Dayan said during a telephone interview July 16. "He said we didn't have enough evidence."

The health clinic initiated the investigation by contacting the Unalaska Public Safety Department in December, 2008, to report an employee had been making false entries into the pharmacy log over several months.

A records audit and witness interviews by the Unalaska Department of Public Safety revealed that 2,512 Vicodin pills and 14 methadone pills were wrongfully dispensed from the clinic between Aug. 28 and Dec. 19, 2008. Pharmacy records associated all of the fictitious or excess drug distributions with Calcia, according to police.

"She was innocent and wrongfully charged," Dayan asserted. "She'd worked in this field for 17 years, she's a wonderful health worker and it's a shame this will color her career even though the charges were dismissed. I hope when people look at this they'll remember that."

Dayan said Calcia passed a lie detector test "with flying colors," but declined further comment, saying it would be inappropriate for him to talk more about the case.