House of Correction nurse charged with stealing drugs from medical facility
BOSTON, November 20, 2025 – A licensed nurse formerly employed by the Suffolk County House of Correction was arraigned Wednesday in Roxbury BMC on several drug related charges for improperly removing medication and forging signatures, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
MARY FORTE, 69, of Boston was charged with two counts of obtaining a drug by fraud, two counts of larceny of a drug and one count of forgery of a document. Judge Dana Pierce released Forte on personal recognizance. Forte is due back in court on December 2 for appointment of counsel.
In December 2023, the Department of Public Health’s Drug Control Program received a report of a possible diversion of Methadone and Suboxone by a House of Correction hospital employee, later identified as Forte. An investigation revealed that Forte was improperly discarding narcotics and forging other nurses’ signatures in the Narcotic Waste Book for approximately two years or more.
Hospital protocol requires any medication destruction and corresponding documentation to be completed by two nurses. The nurses are instructed to dispose of the medication by placing it into the appropriate container and in view of a camera. That surveillance footage is routinely examined by the House of Correction for compliance.
On December 10, 2023, another employee noticed Forte discarding a large amount of Suboxone and Methadone without a second nurse present. Forte forged another nurse’s signature who was on vacation at the time. A further investigation revealed Forte had been forging that nurse’s signature for months without her knowledge or consent.
Forte is also seen removing Suboxone from their cards in an office that has no surveillance, so there is no way to determine what substance was being disposed of when she returned to a room with surveillance. Further, her body conceals the action of destroying the drugs, so destruction cannot be verified. Forte was also observed entering the back office with Methadone bottles but never returning with them or pouring them out.
In total, Forte is reported to have diverted 1,992 ml of Methadone, 1,798 8mg pills of Suboxone, and forged 89 signatures.
Forte had been employed by the House of Correction since 2012 as a day staff nurse and has worked for various agencies that were contracted to operate health services throughout the years.
“Drug controls and protocols in jails and prisons are in place for good reasons, including the fact that many inmates are incarcerated for drug distribution and trafficking charges. The security aspects of those protocols are ultimately what provided the evidence to move forward with these charges,” Hayden said.
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. Our office handles more than 20,000 cases a year. Nearly 160 assistant district attorneys practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Boston and Chelsea Juvenile Courts and the Supreme Judicial Court. Our office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs for anyone encountering the criminal justice system. We are committed to educating the public about our mission and services while focusing on crime prevention to keep the residents, workers and visitors of Suffolk County safe.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communications