RITALIN: CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST HALFWAY HOUSE MANAGER

(Note: Title supplied by Editor. pd)

LA CROSSE, Wis. The former manager of a halfway house for chemically
dependent adolescents in La Crosse was charged Friday with getting more
than $6,000 worth of prescription drugs in the names of people who did not
live in the facility.

Richard T. Quinn, 45, now of Winona, Minn., was charged with five counts of
obtaining controlled substance by fraud and one count of theft by fraud.

The complaint said he was manager of Scarseth House, 535 S. 17th St., owned
by Franciscan Skemp Healthcare, where he worked for six years and was
described as an ``excellent employee.''

He resigned April 10 to take a job with the Sheriff's Youth Program in
Winona, a similar group home program for adolescents. A spokeswoman for the
program confirmed that Quinn has worked in the Sheriff's Youth Program
since April 13.

The complaint said Richard McManimon, a counselor supervisor at Scarseth
House, received a bill from Franciscan Skemp's Professional Art Pharmacy
for $6,346 for prescriptions for ritalin, a controlled substance containing
methylphenidate.

The prescriptions were for people who either never lived at Scarseth House
or never had prescriptions for ritalin.

McManimon told police that ritalin is in demand as a street drug and Quinn
may have obtained it for resale, the complaint said.

Police determined that Quinn placed the orders for the ritalin at the
Professional Arts Pharmacy and at the Kmart Pharmacy, 2425 State Road, but
was not authorized to order the drugs or expend funds for them.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan