A 70-year-old man suffering from complications related to COVID-19 was on a ventilator in a Staten Island, NY hospital when a 43-year-old nurse, who was supposed to be taking care of him, stole a credit card from his wallet.
Sadly, the Staten Island widower and grandfather died from complications related to his illness on April 12.
The 43-year-old nurse, who’s been identified as Danielle Conti, used the deceased patient’s credit card to go on a shopping spree.
NY Daily News reports – Danielle Conti, 43, used the pandemic as her personal piggy bank after allegedly stealing the charge card from 70-year-old widower Anthony Catapano while making her daily rounds at hard-hit Staten Island University Hospital North sometime in early April, authorities charge.
“I can’t believe a person could do something like that to someone fighting for his life,” said Tara Catapano, the dead man’s devastated daughter, as she choked up with emotion. “This is a nurse who took an oath to treat, protect and save patients. It’s disgusting … Never in a million years did I expect any of this to happen.”
Cops said the card was used at a gas station. The victim’s daughter says another charge was made the same day at a ShopRite store.
“She is a despicable human being,” an outraged Tara Catapano told the Daily News. “How would she feel if somebody did this to her parents when they were gravely ill? I hope she gets what she deserves, and loses her license and her job.”
Conti was charged with grand larceny and ordered to appear in Staten Island Criminal Court at a later date. She started working at Staten Island University Hospital in 2007, and a hospital spokesman said she was immediately suspended and faced possible termination over the charges.
