The Saints, New Orleans’ NFL football team and recent Super Bowl winner, has come under fire recently for its handling of prescription drugs under its control. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is investigating allegations made by a former Saints employee in a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the team. The suit, filed by Geoff Santini, claims that he was forced to resign from his employment to avoid the risk of being swept up in a drug theft cover-up scandal.

Santini alleges that the Saints attempted to conceal the 2009 theft of approximately one hundred thirty tablets of the prescription drug Vicodin from its training facility in Metarie by a coach. Santini also alleges that another coach was given an inappropriate amount of the drug – an amount that could signal drug abuse. No players have been implicated in the incident. Santini, the Saints’ former security director and retired FBI agent, resigned last year.

Vicodin (a.k.a. hydrocodone) is the most widely prescribed painkiller in the US and is highly addictive. As an authorized distributor of the painkiller, the Saints are required by law to account for all pills under its control, ensure that they are only dispensed when prescribed by a doctor, and safeguard against unlawful possession or theft. Theft of Vicodin can be a felony.

When allegations of prescription drug mishandling are made, the DEA’s diversion investigators examine whether security procedures and record keeping for narcotics handling complied with the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). However, mishandling of narcotics can also be a state crime; Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish has yet to begin its own investigation of the matter.

The Saints organization has denied the allegations made in the lawsuit and claim that Santini is attempting to extort money from his former employer. Reports indicate that Santini demanded up to two million dollars from the team in advance of the suit.

Prior to quitting, Santini allegedly had conversations with team trainers wherein he encouraged them to refuse to go along with the cover-up of the theft. Transcripts of the taped conversations, which were turned over to FBI investigators prior to his resignation, are included as part of the suit. In court documents, Santini also describes a video showing a Saints coach taking keys from the trainer’s office and using them to access the team’s drug locker. The lawsuit alleges that this same coach had a medical condition that required treatment with Vicodin and that his reliance on the drug had grown beyond what could be satisfied by his doctor’s prescriptions. Although not named in the suit, Coach Sean Payton has issued a statement denying that he had stolen the pills or was addicted to Vicodin.

Santini also claims that he was instructed by Saints GM Mickey Loomis to refrain from disclosing what he knew about the theft and it was his refusal to keep quiet that resulted in his resignation. The suit also claims that Loomis instructed employees to change logs prior to an NFL audit so that it would appear that all pills were accounted for or properly dispensed to players for legitimate medical reasons.