An unknown number of blank prescription forms have been stolen from New York City hospitals over the past several years in what investigators believe is a scheme by gang members to make money from addicts desperate for prescription painkillers. The bulk of the thefts, which officials believed were isolated incidents when they first began to notice them in 2008, have occurred at hospitals run by the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which operates public hospitals. State officials had not disclosed the thefts as law enforcement officials sought to track down the thieves.
