Former Watertown Police Officer Sentenced for Using False Prescriptions

A former Watertown Police sergeant will serve 90 days in prison as part of a sentence for passing false prescriptions.

Joseph Deignan, 58, of Framingham, received the prison term and will have three years of supervised release under the terms of the sentence handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock, according to U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz's office.

In August, Deignan pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a controlled substance by fraud and of fraud in connection with identification documents. He retired from the Watertown Police Department in February 2012.

Deignan used the identity of another person to obtain oxycodone and other controlled substances by forging prescriptions in the other person’s name, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. He stole the driver’s license of the person in 2010, while working as the Watertown Police Department's traffic supervisor.

He used information from a number of doctors and forged over 100 prescriptions for controlled substances and used the stolen identity to fill the scripts.