MAN ACCUSED OF STEALING ELDERLY MOM'S DRUGS

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Jan. 6 (UPI) - A 43-year-old St. Petersburg man is
charged with stealing his terminally-ill mother's prescription drugs for his
own use.

William Grazione - who lives with his 72-year-old mother - initially was
arrested for allegedly assaulting his apartment manager with a broom.

But his legal troubles expanded when he was taken to the Pinellas County
Jail, where officers found he was wearing two patches of the painkilling
drug Dilaudid on his back.

Grazione reportedly told police the patches, which release a synthetic
narcotic, were prescribed for his mother, who has cancer and is under
hospice care.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Children and Families, which is
investigating the case, says Grazione's actions were ``not only criminal,
(but also) elderly exploitation.''