In a system that can't operate unless people behave honorably, betrayal of the public trust has to be regarded as one of the worst things ever. It should be treated like any of the big felonies like murder or rape, and perpetrators - if proved guilty - should suffer some very severe consequences.
Long Island pediatric nurse charged in $900K fake vaccine card scheme, NYPD husband being investigated
A pediatric nurse practitioner has been arrested for selling phony COVID-19 vaccine cards on Long Island — and her NYPD officer husband faces a departmental probe over his possible involvement in the scam, prosecutors and sources said.
As part of the alleged scheme, Julie DeVuono, 49, is accused of using her Amityville, L.I. practice, Wild Child Pediatric Healthcare, to obtain blank vaccine cards from the state Department of Health, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said.
She also obtained vaccine doses and syringes through the department, purportedly to administer to patients, prosecutors said.
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| Police seized $900,000 in cash from Julie Duvuono's home in Amityville |
DeVuono, along with Marissa Urraro, 44, a licensed practical nurse employed at the practice, allegedly charged adults $220 and children $85 for the cards and entered fabricated information into the New York State Immunization Information System, prosecutors said.
Undercover detectives told prosecutors they were given vaccine cards at the pediatric office “on one or more occasions,” but a vaccine was never administered.
DeVuono’s husband, NYPD officer Derin DeVuono, is being investigated by the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau for any involvement he might have had funneling business his wife’s way, sources said.
Derin DeVuono lost five vacation days in 2020 after he was accused of piloting a NYPD spy plane on a penis-shaped flight path in 2017 when he was a member of the department’s Aviation Unit.
DeVuono was assigned to Brooklyn’s 60th Precinct after he was accused of misusing the federally-funded $4 million Cessna plane, making improper entries in a flight log and not conducting flight surveys.
During a search of the DeVuonos’ Amityville home Thursday night, cops found $900,000 in cash and a ledger indicating the scheme has racked up over $1.5 million since November, prosecutors said.
Some of the cash was found in NYPD-issued helmet bags, sources said.
Julie DeVuono and Urrero were charged with forgery. DeVuono was also hit with a charge of offering a false instrument for filing.
Urrero is “a respected license practical nurse who has lead an exemplary career,” her lawyer, Michael Alber, told the Daily News. She pleaded not guilty at arraignment Friday in a Suffolk County court, Alber said.
“From our preliminary investigation, there are defects in the [prosecutors’] investigation and legal impediments to how the case came about.”
Both women were released without bail.
“As nurses, these two individuals should understand the importance of legitimate vaccination cards as we all work together to protect public health,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison said in a statement.
Last month, Gov. Hochul signed a bill criminalizing the production or use of fake vaccination cards.
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