ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A drug counselor who gave clean urine to a client she was dating so he could pass a drug test - which he took shortly before dying from a heroin overdose - will now go behind bars.
Authorities had sought a three-month county jail term for Kristianna Belotto. But a judge sentenced her Monday to 11 ½ to 23 months, saying she earned the extra time because she disrupted Michael Rubery’s treatment.
The 26-year-old Bethlehem woman pleaded guilty in April to tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and furnishing drug-free urine.
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Detectives who searched Rubery’s cellphone after his October 2017 death found more than 23,000 texts between him and Belotto. The messages indicated they were in a sexual relationship, that she had given him clean urine and warned him a warrant was issued for his arrest.
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