PLAINS TWP. - Problems continue to mount for the registered nurse accused of assisting a surgery while drunk.

After being hit with criminal charges and losing his job, Richard Pieri, 59, has now had his nursing license suspended by the state Board of Nursing, according to Pennsylvania Department of State records.

In a petition seeking his suspension, Senior Prosecutor in Charge Margaret A. Sheaffer with the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs cites the criminal charges of reckless endangerment and drunken driving levied against Pieri as reason to suspend his license, which was first issued March 27, 1979, and would be valid through April 2018.

"(Pieri's) continued practice as a registered nurse within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, along with the exercise of any other authorizations to practice the profession issued by the board, makes (Pieri) an immediate and clear danger to public health and safety," Sheaffer wrote.

The board's order says Pieri will face a preliminary hearing within 30 days to determine whether there is enough evidence to merit his continued suspension for up to 180 days as the board considers disciplinary action.

Last week, police charged Pieri with the misdemeanor counts as well as a summary offense of public drunkenness after he allegedly responded to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Plains Township to help with a surgical procedure the night of Feb. 4 while drunk.

Pieri, of Drums, claimed he had forgotten he was on call that night and had about four or five beers at Mohegan Sun Pocono, according to police. Surveillance footage showed him stumbling out of his pickup and nearly falling into a concrete barrier on his way into the hospital, the charges allege.

After the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs last week sent a letter to Veterans Affairs officials asking why Pieri was still on the job - albeit removed from patient care - a hospital spokesman announced Monday the department had initiated disciplinary action that could result in Pieri being fired, calling his alleged actions "appalling."

Then on Wednesday, following a meeting at the medical center between Pieri and a VA official, Pieri resigned his post, according to his attorney, Kim Borland.

Court records indicate Pieri has a history of alcohol-related problems.

In a temporary protection-from-abuse order his wife got against him in October, Judy Pieri alleges she returned home from dinner one night to find her husband, who had been drinking, appearing to be asleep. When she checked his wallet and cellphone to "check what he had been up to," Richard Pieri got up and began pushing her down the hall, Judy Pieri wrote.

"We struggled and pictures and decorations flew," she wrote. "I tried to get away but he just kept pushing and shoving me. He said twice he was going to kill me."

After being backed into a chair, Judy Pieri kicked him to the ground, fracturing his wrist, she wrote. They then avoided each other, with Judy Pieri locking herself in a bedroom at night, she wrote.

The complaint alleges Richard Pieri engaged in similar conduct about 10 years ago, when he was drunk and began hitting his wife and threatening to throw her off a deck.

Court records show Judy Pieri withdrew the restraining order on Nov. 3.

Records also show that Richard Pieri faced criminal charges more than 30 years ago, when he hit and killed George Knorr, 65, of Scranton, as Richard Pieri drove on Mundy Street near Bear Creek Boulevard in September 1985.

Richard Pieri was charged with fleeing the scene of a fatal crash and was placed in the county's Accelerated Rehabilitation Program in January 1986.

He has not returned messages seeking comment.

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