Pa. man posed as woman to get painkiller drugs

ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — Police say a central Pennsylvania man dressed as a woman so he could get a pharmacy to fill a stolen painkiller prescription issued to a female.

Michael Greene, 34, of Tyrone, is charged with forgery, acquiring a controlled substance by deception, and other crimes in the Nov. 16 incident at an Altoona pharmacy.

The Altoona Mirror reports today that Greene faces a preliminary hearing Jan. 18 because Altoona police eventually determined the prescription for 450 oxycodone pills had been stolen in a burglary. Police also traced the license plate on the vehicle Greene drove — while dressed in a large hat, sunglasses and women’s Ugg boots — to his wife.

Greene’s attorney, Joel Peppetti, tells The Associated Press he’s “aggressively planning to defend against this case of mistaken identity.”