Police: Central Islip woman got painkiller through fake names

A Central Islip woman who used more than 15 false names on forged prescriptions in an elaborate scam to get the painkiller Percocet has been arrested on charges of forgery and identity theft, State Police said Friday.

Keri Rice, 31, stole blank prescriptions from area doctors, police said, then passed them off at pharmacies throughout Suffolk County. She was arrested on Thursday and held overnight for arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip.

A release by State Police said its bureau of criminal investigation at Riverside and the state Department of Health's bureau of narcotic enforcement investigated the case for a month before making the arrest.

The investigation also revealed that Rice used the false names so the victims' insurance would pay for the Percocet. Rice also sold stolen jewelry to help pay for the prescriptions, the release said.

She is charged with 10 counts of possession of a forged instrument, three counts of criminal possession stolen property, identity theft, criminal impersonation and petty larceny, police said.