Doctor forged prescriptions for his wife and others, Chester Co. D.A. says

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (WPVI) -- A Chester County doctor has been charged with illegally prescribing prescriptions for his wife and other members of his office staff.

Dr. Chad Gretzula, 44, and his wife, Rebecca Gretzula, 32, both of Malvern, have been charged with theft, receiving stolen property, forgery and related offenses.

Authorities say this all started because the dentist ratted out a former employee for stealing his prescription pad and writing her own scrips.

When police started asking her questions they found out what was really going on.

Prosecutors say Chad Gretzula, an oral surgeon and managing partner at Absolute Oral Surgery, P.C. in Berwyn, admitted to writing numerous prescriptions for pain pills for his wife, his office manager, and his office manager's daughter.

Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan explains, "Most of it was built around getting narcotics to his wife. Most of the prescriptions were either directly for his wife or he'd write the prescriptions for his staff. They'd get them filled and then turn them over to his wife."

Rebecca Gretzula, who also happens to be the sedation nurse for the practice, told investigators that she also stole the very drug she was supposed to be using on patients.

Authorities say the Gretzulas replaced drugs used to sedate patients with saline solution to cover up their thefts.

Hogan says, "They were taking the fentanyl and replacing it with saline solution... sedated for oral surgery with no sedation whatsoever. With no anesthesia whatsoever. Who would have been in immense amounts of pain so that this dentist could fuel his wife's drug habit."

Investigators says Rebecca Gretzula was mixing the fetanyl with the pain pills and shooting up at home while her kids were in the next room.

When police searched the family's home on 2100 block of Yellow Springs Road in Malvern they found bottle after bottle of pain pills.

Detectives say she was going through about 500 hydrocodone pills a month.

"She's on all these drugs and she is supposed to be the one administering these drugs to the patients. We are lucky she didn't permanent knock anyone out," Hogan said.

Currently there are two complaints against the dentist office. One is for over sedating a child during surgery.

Hogan says, "This just drives home again the power and dangerousness of these drugs. We are talking about a dentist and his nurse wife who they've destroyed their lives because of the power and dangerousness of these drugs."

If you think you were the victim at Absolute Oral Surgery, you are asked to call Easttown Police at (610) 341-9780.