Apparently, Richard Pieri is no Gaylord “Greg” Focker. Not even close.

Allegedly.

You see, Pieri works as a nurse at a Pennsylvania Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, and according to an ongoing internal investigation and a police report that involved a DUI, reckless endangerment and public drunkenness charges, he “stumbled” into work the other day and assisted a surgery … while inebriated.

This from the New York Daily News and the Times–Leader:

The nurse … bumped his car into a concrete barrier while parking outside the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center. The 59-year-old then fumbled his way through an emergency surgery for a patient complaining of stomach pains …

His colleagues noticed, especially after he botched the computer logs, and reported his alleged drunkenness in the Feb. 4 incident to authorities.

A physician’s assistant said Pieri was “definitely not himself.”

Admittedly, Pieri said he spent the evening pulling slots at the Mohegan Sun Pocono Casino when the pager went off, alerting him of a surgery that demanded his presence.

He claims he forgot he was scheduled for an on-call shift and went to the surgery despite his intoxication, the Leader reported.

For the surgery, Pieri was responsible for monitoring the patient’s vitals and prepping the surgical room.

Is a sober nurse too much to ask? We don’t think it is. Helping saving people’s lives isn’t an easy job, but the steam can wait to be blown off AFTER — rather than BEFORE — the shift. Our veterans deserve at least that (and much more — but at least that, goodness).