Ex-Turtle Creek officer charged in drug scheme

A former Turtle Creek police officer was charged Wednesday with impersonating a police officer to obtain blank prescription slips from a doctor in Westmoreland County, state police said.

Mark W. Fisher, 31, of 60 Marley Court, Irwin, is accused of wearing his Turtle Creek Police Department uniform and wearing a holstered firearm at 11 p.m. Jan. 13 when he picked up three blank prescription slips from Dr. Emilio R. Navarro at the doctor's office in Mt. Pleasant.

State Trooper Eric Mumau alleges in an affidavit of probable cause that Fisher wore his police uniform and forged documents from his former employer and the state Attorney General's Office in order to dupe Navarro into giving him the blank prescription slips.

Based on an earlier telephone conversation with Fisher, Navarro believed he was assisting in an undercover drug investigation, police said.

"Appearing in the uniform, which had an insignia from the Turtle Creek Police Department, and carrying a firearm, (Fisher) appeared like he was in fact a police officer. But he was not employed with that department at the time," state police spokesman Trooper Steven Limani said.

Mumau alleges in court documents that Fisher is no longer employed as a policeman in Turtle Creek and is not licensed to carry a concealed firearm.

Yesterday, Fisher was sent to the county prison on $25,000 bond after arraignment before Norvelt District Judge Roger Eckels on charges of impersonating a police officer, forgery, theft by deception, receiving stolen property and carrying a firearm without a license.

He was appointed as a constable in Westmoreland County in November. But in light of yesterday's charges, he was suspended from those duties under order by President Judge John Blahovec.

An employee who answered the telephone yesterday at the Turtle Creek Police Department confirmed Fisher had been employed as an policeman there. However, she said any additional information on the dates of employment would have to come from Chief Dale Kraeer, who was unavailable.

Limani credited Navarro's diligence regarding the blank scripts with cracking the alleged scheme. Fisher apparently had told Navarro that he would return the prescription scripts after the investigation was complete but later could not explain their whereabouts when Navarro inquired via telephone.

Limani said Navarro subsequently became suspicious and called state police.

Police allege that Fisher had Navarro sign a forged waiver of rights form that appeared to be from the Turtle Creek Police Department and bore the apparently forged signature of an agent of the state Attorney General's Office when he acquired the prescription scripts.

Police are not sure whether Fisher himself used the prescription slips to obtain drugs or if he attempted to obtain scripts from other doctors in the area.

"If any doctor has been approached before by Mr. Fisher, that is certainly something we would like to know," Limani said.

Fisher's preliminary hearing is scheduled Feb. 24 before Eckels.