Albany

An ex-hospice nurse at the Stratton VA Medical Center was sentenced to six years and 10 months in federal prison Wednesday for stealing patients' painkillers and replacing them with anti-psychotic medication.

Patients' relatives called the crime "unspeakable" and "evil."

Nathan Baum, 31, of East Greenbush also was fined $2,000 and given three years of supervised release.

"The defendant's conduct in this case was egregious and placed the comfort and well-being of numerous terminally ill patients in jeopardy during the final days of their lives," Senior Judge Lawrence Kahn said in imposing sentence.

The daughters of two since-deceased patients directly affected by Baum's crime lashed into the defendant in their victim impact statements. Their fathers experienced pain that could have been soothed by the painkillers had it not been replaced with other drugs so Baum could feed his addiction, they said.

"What happened to my father was inhuman and evil and it should never have happened to him," said Mary Yowell, whose father, veteran Robert Yowell, was suffering from cancer before he died in 2014. "It was hard enough watching my father die ... but to have someone make him suffer more than he had to is pure evil."

As for the hospital, Yowell said: "They promised me my father would be comfortable, but that promise was broken."

Maudine Graham spoke on behalf of her father, the late Rev. Robert Daggs of Saratoga Springs, an Army veteran who died in 2014. She said her father acted different in "mind, body and spirit" after he was taking the wrong medication.

"Have many other people have suffered at this man's hands?" Graham asked, calling the actions of Baum "unspeakable."

The sentencing drew a large crowd of Baum's family members. One woman supporting Baum loudly complained in court that Baum's relatives should have been allowed to issue victim statements.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Timothy Austin, the attorney for Baum, had tried to convince Kahn that Baum should be spared prison time.

Baum, a decorated Iraq war veteran, came back to America suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and experiencing kidney stones and common chronic back pain.

He started taking opioid painkillers and was "prescribed into an addiction," Austin stated in court papers.

Baum, he noted in court Wednesday, has been clean for two years.

The judge was understanding, but still imposed the prison sentence.

"You appear to be two different people, but the fact is it cannot excuse your conduct," Kahn told Baum. "In a sense, you turned on your own."

Baum used his password to steal the painkillers — intended for veterans — from at least 25 syringes between April 8 and May 16 in 2014, according to federal court records.

In February, Baum pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product, and obtaining controlled substances by deception and subterfuge.

The licensed practical nurse stole syringes containing oxycodone hydrochloride, a highly addictive pain reliever used to treat severe pain, and replaced the drugs with Haldol or haloperidol, used to treat mental health disorders and uncontrolled movements and agitation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Rabe said Baum did not merely steal painkillers, but took oxycodone hydrochloride syringes in locked containers by typing in patients' names and hitting "cancel/remove." Baum opened the syringes, removed the oxycodone hydrochloride and replaced it with haloperidol, she said.

"This is an extreme crime," Rabe told the judge. "Prescribing a drug you're not supposed to be taking can leave very bad effects."

Baum's crime was uncovered in late 2014 when his supervisor noticed he was slurring his speech and his pupils were affected. Baum admitted he was addicted to painkillers and that he had replaced drugs.

When offered a chance to speak, Baum, the father of a 6-year-old girl, said: "I want to say that I'm sorry and I want to continue to do well and continue to do well for my daughter."

rgavin@timesunion.com • 518-434-2403 • @RobertGavinTU