NYC Nurse Arrested For Stealing Dying Coronavirus Patient's Credit Card

A Staten Island nurse was arrested after stealing the credit card of a dying coronavirus patient, according to authorities.

Danielle Conti, 43, took advantage of 70-year-old widower Anthony Catapano as he lay taking his last breaths in the ventilator unit at Staten Island University Hospital North in early April.

"I can't believe a person could do something like that to someone fighting for his life," Catapano's daughter, Tara Catapano, told Daily News. "This is a nurse who took an oath to treat, protect and save patients. It's disgusting -- Never in a million years did I expect any of this to happen."

Conti allegedly swiped Catapano's American Express and used it at a nearby gas station and ShopRite for a total of $60.23.

"She is a despicable human being," Tara told the news source. "How would she feel if somebody did this to her parents when they were gravely ill? I hope she gets what she deserves, and loses her license and her job."

When Tara received the credit card bill in the mail after her father had passed on April 12, she noticed the charge at the gas station, which was a red flag since Catapano usually paid for fuel with cash, per the source.

She also realized the charges were made on the same day her father was moved to the ventilator unit.

"A total of $60.23," she told the Daily News. "That's what she risked her job for. She took total advantage of my father's condition. I'm sure she assumed he wasn't going to make it, and his family wouldn't notice."

Conti was charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and petit larceny, according to police

After working at Staten Island University Hospital since 2007, Conti was immediately suspended.

"Danielle Conti has been temporarily suspended and faces termination in response to the felony charges. We are working closely with the law-enforcement authorities and the hospital is conducting its own investigation," a hospital spokesman said in a statement.

Tara told Daily News, "I'm glad something was done, glad there's going to be some justice, and she's going to pay for it."

"There's bad apples in every industry," an investigator told New York Post. "It's just that these are the people you think are going to take care of you. Meanwhile, they're committing grand larcenies against you."