Monday, March 14, 2011

Beware the hospital administrators

From Forest Hills Patch:

In the midst of a push to reopen Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills, the former top executive at the hospital was arrested on Thursday, caught up in a bribery sting involving state Sen. Carl Kruger, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Dr. Robert Aquino, who spent years fighting to keep Parkway Hospital from closing, and since its closure, fighting to reopen it, was arrested and charged with bribing the state senator in 2008.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, after the arrests were announced, expressed anger and consternation at the sheer number of state officials who have been tied up in bribery and corruption incidents.

In the complaint, Aquino is alleged to have paid $60,000 to one of a pair of shell companies set up by Kruger, in exchange for his help in 2008 lobbying to allow then-open Parkway Hospital to purchase to other Queens medical centers.

The plan, though widely publicized at the time, never came to fruition. Since the hospital's closure, Aquino has been aggressive in trying to reopen the facility, including writing a letter to Gov. David Paterson during the last month of his term to convince him to restore the hospital's operating certificate.


From the NY Times:

Starting in 2006, Mr. Rosen fought to block Wyckoff Heights Medical Center from buying two Catholic hospitals in Queens, Mary Immaculate and St. John’s. He feared that a takeover, which required state approval, would make Mary Immaculate a stronger competitor and would put nearby Jamaica Hospital out of business.

Medisys then tried to acquire the Catholic hospitals to keep them out of Wyckoff’s hands. Parkway Hospital also tried to buy them, and Mr. Seminerio and Mr. Kruger became involved in the dispute. Eventually, the two Catholic hospitals closed.

7 comments:

georgetheatheist said...

Who needs hospitals anyway? Just visit your Chinese herbal medicine emporia.

NYC 2015: "Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!"

Anonymous said...

these crooks love the easy medicaid fraud tax money.

the U.S.Attorney's Office is on the ball. good luck.

Anonymous said...

Aquino was desperate to keep his hospital open, and felt that bribery was the only way to get it done after legal measures proved ineffective.

Anonymous said...

Why didn't the geniuses at St. John's Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital think of this as well?

Anonymous said...

As usual, it's the Feds doing the investigations. where are the State DA's?

Anonymous said...

Someone please catch those agressive Medisys ambulances that blare sirens when cruising for customers. Would you believe Bloomberg has EMS send patients to FLushing because they freez them and BOoth doesn't.

Anonymous said...

freez them?

what's that?