In August 2001 Robert Ray Courtney was arrested in Kansas City, Missouri and accused of diluting drugs used to treat cancer patients. Courtney's actions not only violated criminal and civil laws, but broke the code of ethics and the oath she took as a licensed pharmacist. His actions have led many people to wonder why anyone would commit such a horrific act, let alone a trusted pharmacist who supplied medications to patients whose lives depended on him doing his job. Detailed account and key facts of the Robert Ray Courtney case. In 1992, then-pharmacist Robert Ray Courtney began diluting medications that were administered to patients via injection or infusion. In 1998 a sales representative from one of the pharmaceutical companies, Darryl Ashley, noticed a discrepancy in the quantity of drugs Courtney had ordered and dispensed. Eli Lilly was notified and investigated how Courtney was supplied with the drugs. Having discovered that it did not go outside the supply chain, Eli Lilly did not pursue the matter further. However, in 2001, Ashley reported it to Dr. Verda Hunter's office who sent samples of the drug in question to a laboratory for testing (Draper, 2003). In July 2001, a federal investigation began and on August 15, 2001, Courtney surrendered to the FBI. Biographical description of the defendant and his company. Robert Ray Courtney was born in Hays, Kansas in 1952. The only son of an ordained minister, the “families of traveling ministers were typically close but poor” (Montgomery, 2001). used to describe Robert Ray Courtney by numerous people who knew him as geeky, quiet, reliable, stoic, and successful. Courtney has been married three times and has four biological children and one... half of the document... Retrieved May 24, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/08 /magazine/the-tossici- pharmacist.html?pagewanted=8&src=pm.Freed, J. (2001). Rich Kansas City Pharmacist Dilutes IV Chemotherapy Drugs for Cancer Patients! AllNurses.com website. Retrieved May 18, 2011, from http://allnurses.com/nursing-activism-healthcare/wealthy-kansas-city-9205.html.Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program. (2003). Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2002. Website of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved May 26, 2011, from http://oig.hhs.gov/publications/docs/hcfac/HCFAC%20Annual%20Report%20FY%202002.htm.Montgomery, R. (2001). Robert R. Courtney: From Quiet Kid to Rich Pharmacist to Defendant. Access the My Library website. Retrieved May 21, 2011, from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-120877309/robert-r-courtney-quiet.html.