WASHINGTON MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— Nothing found DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—
Spokane resident physician found guilty of enticing a minor over the internet
A resident physician at Providence Sacred Heart was found guilty Thursday of sexually enticing a child over the internet.
Chavis W. Jackson, 30, was arrested in Coeur d’Alene on Aug. 27 as part of a child sex string operation, according to a police report.
Jackson responded to a casual encounters Craigslist ad posted by Coeur d’Alene Police. In the ensuing e-mail exchange, an officer, who posed as a 14-year-old girl, told Jackson multiple times she was 14, according to a police transcript of the conversation.
Jackson, who spoke of sex acts in the online conversation, agreed to meet the underage girl at Springhill Suites by Marriott in Coeur d’Alene, where he was met by police. He was interviewed then booked into Kootenai County Jail and was released the next day after posting a $50,000 bond. Sentencing will be June 11. The crime has a 15-year maximum sentence. Jackson has no prior criminal history.
According to investigators, Jackson was caught in the same sex sting operation as former Coeur d’Alene Eagles president Ronald Nold, a 65-year-old man who allegedly agreed to meet a 15-year-old boy. Eight men were arrested in the sting at the Springhill Suites.
Jackson told a jury Wednesday that the online chat was part of a game he was playing and that he had no intention of having sex.
According to the Spokane Teaching Health Center website, Jackson was completing his Radiology residency at Providence Sacred Heart.
Providence Sacred Heart chief medical executive Jeff Collins said Jackson was fired Friday.
“We take this situation very seriously and want to acknowledge and thank law enforcement for their dedication to this important issue,” Collins said. “Upon learning of the conviction, we took immediate action to terminate this resident’s employment.”
Jackson, a Boise native, graduated from the Arizona College of Osteopathy of Midwestern University. He also served a two-year Mormon mission after he graduated from Centennial High in 2005, where he was a two-time state champion wrestler. (LINK)—3/30/2018
Spokane resident arrested in child sex sting sentenced to at least three years
A former Spokane resident physician arrested in a child sex sting operation last fall was sentenced to at least three years in prison.
Chavis W. Jackson, 30, was arrested Aug. 27 after he responded to a casual encounters advertisement on Craigslist posted by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. In an email exchange with an officer posing as a 14-year-old girl, he discussed sex acts and agreed to meet the underage girl at a hotel in Coeur d’Alene, where he was arrested.
During his sentencing, his attorney told the court Jackson doesn’t have a criminal history and he believed he was meeting an internet troll and not a teenage girl, and he drove from Spokane to Coeur d’Alene to confront them.
Jackson was one of several men arrested in the police sting operation, including convicted sex offender and former Coeur d’Alene Eagles President Ronald Nold. He was found guilty of using the internet to entice a child after he was arrested for attempting to meet an officer posing as a 15-year-old boy at a hotel in Coeur d’Alene.
Harley Lee Howell of Colville also was arrested in the Coeur d’Alene sting when he attempted to meet an officer posing as a 15-year-old. He was found guilty by a jury Tuesday for travel with intent to engage in sexual contact with a minor.
Jackson, who was a resident physician at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, was fired seven months after his arrest. A medical administrator at Providence said once the hospital learned about his conviction, they took action immediately.
Jackson graduated in 2005 from Centennial High School in Boise, where he was a two-time state champion wrestler. After high school, he served a two-year Latter-day Saints mission and attended Arizona College of Osteopathy at Midwestern University.
During his sentencing hearing, Jackson’s attorney argued Jackson was a different person online than in his regular life and that this conviction was just one part of a life of service to others. When Jackson addressed the court, he said his conviction had cost him everything and his arrest wasn’t a reflection of who he really is.
Judge Richard Christensen, who sentenced Jackson to a three-year fixed term and a four-year indeterminate term, called his behavior bizarre and said he seemed like an intelligent person with poor judgment.
“For all your educational achievements,” Christensen said, “you made some poor choices and are a social idiot.” (LINK)—6/19/2018
In
just two days, the Medical Board of California will announce its surprising
disciplinary decision on a doctor with a substance abuse addiction. It involves a long time family doctor
named John Glyer in the tiny rural town of Willits in Northern California. His
case also brings to light the extraordinary length of time it takes for the
Medical Board to complete an investigation.
According
to Board documents, Dr. Glyer’s substance problem began in earnest in 2000 when
he started using hydrocodone. He
managed to keep his addiction under wraps until 2010, when he showed up at the
local nursing home with slurred speech.
In typical small town style, the nursing home staff called Glyer’s wife
to come and pick him up. Some of
his colleagues had suspected Glyer was abusing opiates for years, but never
reported him.
Immediately
after this incident, Glyer enrolled in a three month rehabilitation program out
of state, followed by an intensive outpatient program for five years that
included a 12-step program, regular meetings and therapy, and routine
biological fluid testing. Except
for one test that showed positive for alcohol, Glyer has remained substance
free, according to Board records.
During this time, Glyer remained in practice and even served as the
medical director and board member at the local 25-bed hospital.
The
Medical Board’s investigation into Glyer’s substance abuse didn’t start until December
of 2013, when it received a complaint regarding the nursing home incident,
reportedly from a competing doctor.
It took the Board TWO YEARS to decide whether to file an accusation
against Glyer, claiming the substance abuse “impaired his ability to practice
medicine safely.” What is even more surprising is that Glyer wasn’t even
interviewed for a year and a half after the complaint was received.
Despite
this apparent concern for patient safety, Glyer was allowed to practice
unfettered for TWO MORE YEARS before making a decision. During this time, Glyer
continued his outpatient recovery program with a monitor.
The
Medical Board’s Disciplinary Guidelines recommend strong actions against
doctors who put patients at risk by using drugs. The minimum recommended discipline is five years probation,
drug testing, psychotherapy, and classes. The maximum discipline is revocation of license.
On
March 29th, the Medical Board will announce this unexpected
decision: “The disciplinary proceeding against John R. Glyer, MD is terminated
without imposition of discipline.”
The
Medical Board drags out an investigation for four years and four months only to
conclude with no discipline?!!
While it’s logical to agree that Dr. Glyer has taken responsibility for
his addiction with rehabilitation, it’s ridiculous that it took the Board and
the Attorney General’s office so long to come to this conclusion. How much money did this investigation
cost? Board members are always
whining that they don’t have money to prosecute as many cases as they would
like, yet they spend years on a case that could have been easily dismissed or
withdrawn at any point in the investigation.
Given
that the Board only investigates 15% of the complaints it receives anyway, why
wasn’t this case dropped so that they could go after ones where patients were actually
harmed or killed?
What
is even more concerning is how the decision not to discipline Dr. Glyer was
made. The administrative law judge at Dr. Glyer’s hearing decided to ignore the
Medical Board’s own expert, who had recommended at least two more years of a
fully monitored program to ensure public safety. Instead, the judge sided with the director of the
rehabilitation program, who felt Glyer didn’t need any more supervision or
treatment. The decision was based
on the fact that “probation would offer no benefit to the public that might
weigh against the hardship it would cause respondent, to his colleagues, and to
the community they serve.” So basically, any consideration of public safety was
tossed aside so as not to inconvenience the doctor.
Finally,
the Medical Board is mandated by law to put consumer safety first. It could
have disregarded the judge’s decision and put Dr. Glyer on probation for a
couple years, as their expert recommended. However, after a four-year
investigation, it seems the Board had tired of the case and simply sided with
the judge.
Dr.
Glyer appears to have taken responsibility for his failings and fixed his own
life. Perhaps the Medical Board
can be more responsible with its investigations and take less time, money, and
resources to complete them – keeping in mind that consumer safety comes first.
OREGON MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— MD12003 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS— License Surrendered (See bottom of blog post for disciplinary documents)
Bend doctor arrested
Gilbert Brownell Lee accused of fondling two patients
The Bend Police Department has arrested a doctor with a private practice in southwest Bend in connection with accusations that he fondled two of his female patients.
Gilbert Brownell Lee, 56, was arrested twice in March after two women separately claimed that he had fondled them at his office, Ponderosa Medical, according to police. He voluntarily surrendered his medical license March 20 in an investigation by the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners. The board did not respond to multiple calls for comment Friday.
Lee faces two charges of third-degree sexual abuse against the two adult women, who are older than 40, Bend Police Sgt. Paul Kansky said. The charges are misdemeanors that carry maximum sentences of one year in jail and $2,500 in fines, Kansky said.
Lee was first arrested March 6, then again Monday.
He was released later on Monday after paying 10 percent of the $5,000 bail set for him in the second arrest.
A phone number listed for Lee’s home address in Bend was disconnected when The Bulletin attempted to call it Friday afternoon. Receptionists at Lee’s practice said they were too busy to comment, other than to say that Lee had not seen any patients since about March 20. It was unclear whether Lee has an attorney.
Lee isn’t the first doctor in Bend to face such charges. In April 2003, obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Ronald Stevenson was convicted of aggravated harassment after prosecutors claimed he fondled two of his patients. He was sentenced to five years on probation, and in July 2005 surrendered his license to practice medicine in Oregon.
Police arrested Lee on March 6 after a patient claimed that Lee inappropriately touched her, police said. Monday’s arrest came after police learned of another woman who claimed to have had a similar experience, which happened in December or January, Kansky said.
”My experience in a case like this is there’s oftentimes more victims and sometimes there’s not,” Kansky said.
An initial court appearance for Lee has not yet been scheduled and formal charges have not yet been filed.
Lee graduated from the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center in 1976, according to information in a state database. A biography on his practice’s Web site says he completed medical school at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. He spent 18 years in private practice in Newport before moving to Bend in 1999, his biography and property records show.
Lee has been licensed to practice medicine in Oregon since 1979, state records show. His license does not expire until the end of this year but is listed as inactive because he agreed to have it suspended earlier this month, said Kathleen Haley, executive director of the Medical Examiners Board.
In 2003, Lee was disciplined by the board for giving a patient large amounts of an addictive painkiller in 2001. Lee agreed to take classes on prescribing medications and on pain and suffering, The Bulletin reported at the time. Lee said that he had given the medication to a patient who was going on a business trip, but the board found he had not followed up with that patient’s treatment.
Lee was in a private practice with his wife at Ponderosa Medical, specializing in family practice and internal medicine for patients over 10 years in age, according to information on the firm’s Web site. According to his biography, he is a past president of the Oregon Society of Internal Medicine. (LINK)—3/31/2007
Oregon doctor accused of fondling two female patients
BEND, Ore. (AP) — A Bend doctor has been arrested and agreed to a suspension of his license after he was accused of fondling two female patients.
Sgt. Paul Kansky said one of the women reported that Dr. Gilbert Lee, 56, inappropriately touched her, and he was arrested early in March. He was arrested again last week after police learned of another woman who reported a similar experience in December or January, Kansky said.
Lee has been licensed to practice medicine in Oregon since 1979, state records show. His license does not expire until the end of this year but is listed as inactive because he agreed to have it suspended earlier this month, said Kathleen Haley, executive director of the Medical Examiners Board.
Kansky said Lee faces charges of sexual abuse that are misdemeanors carrying maximum sentences of a year in prison and $2,500 in fines. (LINK)—4/03/2007
Bend doctor faces additional sex abuse charges
A Bend doctor was arrested Monday for the third time in just over a month in connection with an ongoing investigation into allegations that he touched female patients, now totaling four, in an inappropriate and sexual manner during the course of medical examinations, police reported.
On March 6, a woman reported to Bend Police that Dr. Gilbert Brownell Lee, 56, an internist who had been practicing since 1999 at the Ponderosa Medical Center at 1558 SW Nancy Way in Bend, had inappropriately touched her during an examination.
According to Sgt. Paul Kansky, Dr. Lee was arrested that evening for third-degree sex abuse and booked into the Deschutes County Jail. A jail administrator confirmed that Lee was released the same day after he posted bond.
Later, detectives learned the same type of inappropriate sexual behavior allegedly happened to a second woman during an examination, Sgt. Kansky said. On March 26, Dr. Lee was arrested a second time, booked into jail with two more counts of third-degree sexual abuse, and released the same day when 10 percent of the $5,000 bail was posted.
On March 30, a third woman alleged the same inappropriate touching during an examination sometime during November 2006.
On April 2, a fourth woman came forward, saying the doctor abused her during examinations between February and June 2006.
According to Sgt. Kansky, further investigation into the new allegations by the latest two women, who are reported to be over the age of 40, resulted in Lee’s arrest on Monday, April 9. He was taken into custody about 1:45 p.m. and booked into the Deschutes County Jail.
The latest charges against Lee include five counts of third-degree sex abuse and three counts of harassment, Kansky said. Lee was once again released after posting bond.
Police have kept the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners Office apprised during the investigation. On March 22, the Board issued an Interim Stipulated Order stating Lee agreed to withdraw from practice pending the completion of the Board’s investigation into his competency to practice medicine.
Sgt. Kansky said that no other doctors or staff members with Ponderosa Medical Center are under suspicion, and added that they have been cooperative throughout the investigation.
Any patients or other persons with additional information are asked to contact Bend Police detectives at 541.312.7974. (LINK)—4/10/2007
Bend doctor enters plea of no contest in sex abuse
Gilbert Lee gets 5 years’ probation, faces 6 civil suits
A Bend doctor pleaded no contest Friday to groping former female patients as part of a plea agreement with the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office and was sentenced to five years’ probation.
Gilbert Brownell Lee, 57, will now have to register as a sex offender every year for life, submit to lie detector tests and pay nearly $10,000 to his victims for counseling and medication, said Deschutes County Deputy District Attorney Jody Vaughan.
Lee initially faced 17 counts of sex abuse involving a dozen women, but entered the plea Friday to four counts after the victims were consulted about the plea agreement, Vaughan said.
Lee agreed to stop seeing patients when the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners opened an investigation against him in March 2007, when he was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault.
Nearly a year later, he voluntarily surrendered his medical license and agreed never to practice again.
At his sentencing hearing Friday in Deschutes County Circuit Court, Lee declined to apologize to the women. His Bend lawyer, Stephen Houze, said Lee did so because of six civil lawsuits filed against him, Vaughan said.
“Anything he says in court can be used against him in the civil suits,” she said.
The lawsuits against Lee allege that he fondled the women at his southwest Bend practice, Ponderosa Medical P.C.
One complaint alleges that one day after touching and kissing a woman during an appointment in 2006, Lee went to the patient’s house and had sex with her.
The same lawsuit says the woman was seeing Lee for treatment of her depression and for suicidal feelings.
“After his initial arrest, Gilbert Lee, M.D., told (her) not to tell anyone what occurred between him and her,” the suit states.
The civil cases are scheduled for pretrial hearings in September.
In addition to serving his time on probation, Lee also will perform 200 hours of community service and pay more than $2,200 in fines, Vaughan said.
He also was sentenced to complete sex-offender treatment, according to Vaughan.
Lee relocated to Bend in 1999, after spending 18 years in private practice in Newport, according to Ponderosa Medical’s Web site.
He is a past president of the Oregon Society of Internal Medicine and served as delegate to the Oregon Medical Association for 12 years. (LINK)—7/19/2008
Bend doctor seeks removal from sex-offender list
Oregon courts rarely grant such requests
In this 2013 photo, Gilbert Brownell Lee, a doctor in Bend, was arraigned on sex abuse charges involving 11 of his patients. (Bulletin file photo)
On Tuesday, Gilbert Lee, a doctor convicted 10 years ago of fondling patients, filed a petition in Deschutes County Circuit Court to be relieved of his obligation to register as a sex offender.
Lee, 67, must go before a judge and prove he’s not a risk to the community.
“It’s not an easy thing to do, when you think about it,” said defense attorney Thaddeus Betz, who isn’t representing Lee, “to prove to another person that you represent no risk.”
Sex offender status isn’t the only thing Deschutes County residents convicted of crimes seek to undo. Driver’s license and firearm revocations can be reversed even after “lifetime” bans. These requests are granted more than some might think.
“From a 10,000-foot perspective, it’s important to keep in mind that the conviction doesn’t go away,” Betz said. “It’s still there. It’ll still come up in a background check.”
Deschutes County Circuit Court sees an average of one petition each year like that filed by Lee, who surrendered his medical license in 2008, according to the district attorney’s office. Relief from the sex offender registry isn’t commonly granted, in part because so few sex offenders qualify to file the request, according to Betz, who said his success rate with them is high because he thoroughly screens potential petitioners.
For one thing, the offender must have only the one sex-related offense on his or her record. Also, 10 years must have passed. These two requirements alone prevent many from filing.
Petitioners who qualify will go before a judge for a unique style of hearing that usually lasts about a half-hour and involves a lot of back-and-forth conversation between the petitioner and judge.
People who know petitioners are often allowed to testify on their behalf. And if the subject can afford them, experts in the psychology of sex abuse are occasionally called.
These motions are rare because the standard of proof is high. The petitioner must show the judge “clear and convincing evidence (they are) rehabilitated and that the petitioner does not pose a threat to the safety of the public,” according to Oregon law.
In making a determination, the judge will weigh such factors as the nature and violence of the offense, the age and number of victims, other reported criminal behavior and successful completion of treatment programs.
If the court is satisfied by clear and convincing evidence that the petitioner is rehabilitated and the petitioner does not pose a threat to the safety of the public, the court enters an order relieving the petitioner of the duty to report. Then the petitioner sends a certified copy of the court order to the Oregon State Police.
Oregon is in the process of implementing a registration system for sex offenders, thanks to a law passed by the Legislature in 2015. The new system will rate offenders based on their predictive risk — so a man convicted of statutory rape for contact with a 16-year-old when he was 21 won’t be lumped in with a violent serial rapist.
But for now, the Department of Corrections is working to complete assessments for all of Oregon’s convicted sex offenders. And with 28,000 registrants in Oregon, that’s no easy task, Betz said.
Relief from registering as a sex offender is rare. It’s more common in Deschutes County that an offender seeks to get back other privileges.
Lawyer Andrew Doyle has a caseload heavy with traffic cases and regularly helps convicted offenders restore their driving privileges.
“One of the challenges is the stark reality that many people will drive while suspended, and Central Oregon doesn’t have public transportation like Portland has, which only adds to the burden,” Doyle said.
Attorney Shawn Kollie represents many clients seeking to restore rights to own a firearm. A typical case is a grandfather who “did something dumb” when he was younger and now wants to hunt with grandkids or otherwise use a gun for recreation. Kollie prevails on three or four cases per month, and has only ever lost a handful, he said.
Part of it is cultural here in rural Oregon.
“What it comes down to, I think, is that folks can be rehabilitated,” Kollie said. (LINK)—3/16/2018
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon Accused of Watching Porn While Performing Surgery, Other Unethical Behavior
Using drugs and watching porn while performing surgery are just some of the bizarre allegations being lodged against a well-known plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, according to a past patient who spoke alongside her lawyer Wednesday.
The alleged former patient, Tess Broussard, told KTLA she suffered botched lip fillers before she tried suing the doctor for medical malpractice back in 2013. That suit got dismissed when Broussard’s expert witness could no longer testify — a blow to her legal battle that was delivered by Dr. Randal Haworth himself, she said.
Now she said she is filing an amended complaint against the doctor that includes an array of strange new allegations.
Haworth has not responded to KTLA’s request for comment.
Broussard and her attorney cited a 2017 deposition of a surgical consultant who worked for Haworth for some 15 years. The consultant described Haworth’s behavior inside the operating room, according to Broussard’s attorney, Christopher Rudd.
“He apparently regularly plays really bizarre hard-core pornography and other things in surgery,” Rudd said, again citing the deposition.
Graphic and violent videos would play on a monitor inside the operating room when Haworth was performing surgery, Broussard and her attorney said the deposition claims.
That deposition, Rudd said, also accuses the doctor of altering and forging patients’ records and performing surgeries he may not be fit to do.
After being treated for eye cancer, the doctor was left with impacted vision that could affect his ability to properly operate, according to the deposition. Broussard said she “never” would have sought out his surgical work if she would have known that.
Haworth is also accused of using illicit drugs and “unlawfully using Percocet and writing prescription for others to obtain Percocet on his behalf,” Rudd said.
Tess Broussard, who has accused plastic surgeon Dr. Randal Haworth of unethical behavior, speaks to KTLA on March 14, 2018. (Credit: KTLA)
And while Broussard’s past medical malpractice suit against the doctor was dismissed, she said she suffered injuries from his work. She said Haworth recommended a filler to use on her lips that she claims is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for that purpose.
“He recklessly used something like this filler and he used it in places that it shouldn’t be used,” Broussard said.
The FDA warns of using dermal fillers in areas where they are not approved for.
“Be aware that FDA reviewed and approved different products for use in certain areas of the face,” the agency states on its website, telling potential patients to look out for serious side effects such as vision changes, unusual pain and signs of stroke like numbness or weakness in the face and difficulty walking during or after the procedure.
When speaking with KTLA, Broussard did not detail the specific injuries she allegedly suffered.
Her lawyer said allegations of fraud and infliction of emotional distress are to be included in her amended complaint against Haworth.
“She never would have hired the guy in the first place if she would’ve known these things,” Rudd said, again citing the 2017 deposition.
“She wouldn’t have been in the position of having to drop a lawsuit,” he said of Broussard’s prior legal filing against the doctor.
The website for Dr. Randal Haworth describes him as a “master plastic surgeon of facial hyperaesthetics and nose.” It also states he attended USC’s School of Medicine and served as chief resident in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the UCLA Medical Center.
Haworth is also the innovator behind the so-called “Nightlift” bra, according to its website, which promises to “protect your breasts while you sleep.”
“It does this by helping prevent breast sagging and drooping over time by keeping the breasts perfectly immobile (but always in total comfort),” the website explains.
Some of the allegations against Haworth in the deposition were also cited by another client of Rudd’s named Laura Day in her own medical malpractice suit filed against the doctor last year, the attorney said.
FLORIDA MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— ME46625 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—see bottom of blog post for disciplinary actions.
Authorities searching for patients of Sarasota doctor arrested for practicing without a license
SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — Sarasota police are looking for people who were treated by a local doctor who is accused of practicing without a license and making patients pay $46,500 for an experimental cancer treatment that they had to travel outside of the U.S. to receive.
Officers arrested urologist Ronald Wheeler on a charge of practicing without a license. Wheeler’s license had been revoked after years of complaints about his methods to treat prostate cancer.
According to the Florida Department of Health, Wheeler specialized in an experimental treatment called “high-intensity focus ultrasound” to detect and treat prostate cancer.
Instead of using the standard approved practice of biopsies, which can be painful, he would use the experimental MRI machine to detect the cancer. He would then use highly focused ultrasound waves in a small area to generate heat, destroying the prostate tissue.
The FDOH says this procedure was not approved in the United States until October 2015. Yet prior to this, Dr. Wheeler referred his patients to Mexico or the Caribbean so he could treat them. The cost was $46,500.
Patients found him on the internet and would fly from all over the country to meet him.
“He claimed that he was the world renowned prostate cancer specialist,” said Sarasota Police Investigator Mike Harrell.
The FDOH received four complaints about Wheeler. One patient reportedly suffered severe complications to his urinary tract because of the procedure. Two other patients got second opinions and learned Wheeler was wrong, they didn’t even test positive for prostate cancer.
Despite the license revocation, the Sarasota Police Department says he was still practicing.
Detectives obtained a warrant to search Wheeler’s office where they found patient records. Officials learned he treated roughly 12 people after his license was revoked.
“I’ve already fielded several phone calls from people who at this point paid the $46,500 and have yet to receive treatment,” said Harrell.
Detectives want the patients to contact them. If you are a patient of Dr. Ronald Wheeler, contact Sarasota Police Department Detective Doug Vollmer (941) 954-7080.
Police Say Former Sarasota Doctor Lied To Patient About Diagnosis
A former Sarasota physician has been arrested after falsely convincing the patient that he had prostate cancer and needed treatment.
SARASOTA, FL – Former Sarasota physician Ronald Wheeler, 71, has been arrested and charged with scheming to defraud a patient after falsely convincing the patient that he had prostate cancer and needed treatment.
Sarasota Police detectives said the patient contacted Wheeler in May 2016. At the time, Wheeler was a licensed, practicing physician at 1819 Main St., specializing in urology and the treatment of prostate cancer in Sarasota.
Without examining the patient, Wheeler told him over the phone that he likely had cancer and needed to start oral chemotherapy immediately.
The patient arranged to see Wheeler who gave him a physical exam and ultrasound but did not do a tissue biopsy, which is standard practice to confirm prostate cancer, according to the Florida Board of Medicine.
Detectives say Wheeler told the patient he had an aggressive form of prostate cancer and referred him to a colleague in Connecticut in June 2016. Doctors in Connecticut, however, told the victim that his tissue biopsy showed no signs of cancer. When the victim reported this finding to Wheeler, Wheeler told him they must have missed the cancer.
In August 2016, the victim wired $46,500 at Wheeler’s request to pay for a High Intensity Focused Ultrasound procedure to cure his cancer. After a delay, the victim requested and received a refund.
Then, in November 2016, Wheeler told the patient that his HIFU procedure was back on schedule and the patient again transferred $46,500 to Wheeler.
In the meantime, the victim consulted with his personal physician who counseled him to find another provider. When he asked Wheeler for his money back a second time, Wheeler agreed at first but then stopped communicating with the victim.
Wheeler did not reveal to the patient that he was in danger of losing his medical license because of several cases of malpractice. On April 20, 2017, Wheeler’s license was revoked. The victim learned Wheeler was no longer licensed to practice medicine when he visited another physician in Sarasota in June 2017. That physician also told the victim that he did not have cancer.
A warrant was issued for Wheeler’s arrest on Feb. 28, and he turned himself into the Sarasota County Jail on Monday, March 5.
Wheeler was previously arrested and charged with unlicensed practice of a health care professional in July 2017 after the Florida Department of Health received an anonymous complaint.
Since then, police say there have been numerous complaints concerning Wheeler to the health department. (LINK)—3/06/2018
Four men. All accused of sexual misconduct. Two get 25 years
in prison. The other two get to
keep their jobs without serving any time.
What’s the difference? Two are doctors.
The two men who were sentenced to prison on February 16,
2018 were both veteran police officers with the Los Angeles Police Department.
The crimes were considered “particularly heinous” because of the authority
officers have when they put on a badge. If they get out early because of good behavior, they will not
be able to work as cops again because most police departments have little
tolerance for ‘bad cops.”
Not so with medical boards, which usually try to keep
doctors in practice as long as possible, despite sexual misconduct complaints. To
begin with, the Medical Board of California is not required to notify police
when a complaint of sexual misconduct is received against a doctor. The MBC can quietly investigate the
complaint while the doctor remains in
practice, then discreetly put him on probation without any requirement to
tell his patients. Dr. Wilson Koo of Santa Clara benefitted from this
approach. Medical Board documents show he was found responsible for sexual misconduct and put on 5 years probation for findings which include watching a female patient
undress and examining her private area with ungloved hands. He was
lucky. The Board didn’t follow its
own disciplinary guidelines, which say the minimum amount of probation should
be seven years. No criminal charges were filed.
If a doctor does lose his license for sexual misconduct, he
can petition the Board to be reinstated in as little as two to three
years. That’s what a doctor who
went by the name of Hari Narayana Ma Reddy did. His license was revoked in 2003 after he was found
responsible for sexual misconduct with four women, including a minor. The Board did turn down a petition for
reinstatement in 2008. But in
2012, Reddy sent in another petition.
On the panel that reviewed that request was a new board member, Dr. Dev
Gnanadev, who is also Reddy’s friend and colleague. The panel voted to reinstate Reddy’s license, giving him
seven years probation. Shortly
after that vote, Gnanadev entered a business venture to open a new medical
school with Reddy’s brother-in-law, Dr. Prem Reddy, the CEO of Prime
Healthcare; Prem Reddy donated $40 million to start the medical school. Hari
Reddy’s probation is about to end in May of this year; he officially changed
his name to Hari Mallam Reddy a month ago.
The sordid story of disgraced Olympics gymnastics doctor
Larry Nasser has raised the curtain on the issue of sexual misconduct in the
medical field. The pedestal
physicians are put on often clouds the judgment of both medical boards and law
enforcement, Nasser is an anomaly not because of what he did to hundreds of
victims, but because he was actually prosecuted. It’s rare for doctors to be sent to prison for sexual
misconduct. They are usually just
allowed to surrender their licenses.
That’s what happened to Dr. Manuel Tanguma. Even though 13 women came forward claiming he was improper
with them, the San Diego District Attorney’s office declined to press
charges. The Medical Board allowed
Tanguma to quietly surrender his license. He will be allowed to petition to have his license reinstated in a few years.
The most alarming aspect of the sexual misconduct issue is
that the Medical Board of California knows who these doctors are – but it won’t
tell patients. The Board posts the disciplines on its website, and expects
patients to look up their doctors before
every single appointment.
If this country has learned anything from the Larry Nasser
case, is that doctors no longer belong on that pedestal. They should be treated like any other
citizen and be prosecuted to the full extent of the law if they betray their
patients’ trust with sexual misconduct.
URMC doctor accused of drugging, raping former medical resident
A prominent doctor at Strong Hospital, URMC and The University of Rochester are facing a $30 million lawsuit filed by a Florida doctor who says she was drugged and raped during her residency in Rochester.
Dr. Katia Kaplan-List was a student under the supervision of Dr. Johan Blickman, vice chair of URMC’s Department of Imaging Sciences and a professor in pediatrics, during her pediatric radiology rotation at Strong Memorial Hospital. In early August of 2014, according to the lawsuit obtained by News10NBC, Blickman allegedly invited Kaplan-List to his house to discuss a research project, then drugged and raped her.
The lawsuit states Blickman then told Kaplan-List that he had taken pictures of her in “embarrassing sexual situations” and said he would use the pictures to “humiliate her and … destroy her career” if she reported his actions. Blickman told her he had caused someone in Boston, where he formerly worked, to be fired for reporting his actions.
Blickman allegedly admitted drugging and raping Kaplan-List to her boyfriend, who was not named in the lawsuit, and attempted to involve him in killing Blickman’s ex-wife, saying: “I want the problem to go away permanently…It is very easy. She rides her bicycle every morning without a helmet and takes the same course daily.”
He allegedly continued to coerce Kaplan-List to have sex with him, including at least once in his office at Strong Memorial Hospital. He began making “bizarre requests” of her, including role-playing that she was a child patient and then molesting her.
After Kaplan-List became pregnant in January 2015, Blickman allegedly continued to coerce her into having sex and ignored her request that he use a condom even though he had a urinary tract infection.
The lawsuit states that URMC “had a duty to protect (Kaplan-List) from injury” while she was participating in rotations there. Kaplan-List is seeking $30 million in damages from Blickman, University of Rochester, and Strong Memorial Hospital.
URMC issued the following statement to News10NBC in response to the allegations:
“Dr. Katia Kaplan-List was not in a residency program at the University of Rochester. Rather, she was a radiology resident in a program at Rochester General Hospital who, during 2013 and 2014, did three one-month rotations in pediatric radiology at Strong Memorial Hospital. Approximately two years after completing her rotations here, we received reports that Dr. Johan Blickman, who then supervised the pediatric imaging residency program at Strong, had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Dr. Kaplan-List. We investigated those reports, which came from Dr. Kaplan-List’s attorney in 2016, and took action based on our findings. Last week the University received a complaint in which new and different allegations have been made against Dr. Blickman by Dr. Kaplan-List, some of which would be serious criminal offenses if proven true. Dr. Blickman is on leave and we will review these new allegations as we prepare our response to the complaint, but we have not received a law enforcement inquiry related to them.”
Evans Fox LLP represents the legal interests of Dr. Johan Blickman. The law firm issued this statement Thursday afternoon:
“The defamatory allegations of inappropriate and criminal conduct alleged by Dr. Kaplan-List against Dr. Blickman are patently untrue, vehemently denied, and appear to be an attempt by Dr. Kaplan-List to use the current social climate to gain a financial windfall. Such salacious accusations by an individual who has her own agenda must be dismissed outright, especially where absolutely no evidence or independent sources to sustain such falsehoods are put forth. The same or similar allegations were previously filed with the University of Rochester in June 2016. Those allegations were investigated by the University pursuant to the University’s Policy against Discrimination and Harassment (Policy 106) and it was concluded that Dr. Blickman did NOT violate Policy 106 and that the relationship between Dr. Blickman and Dr. Kaplan-List was consensual and NOT otherwise inappropriate. Further, and despite the false allegations of criminal actions, Dr. Blickman is NOT aware of any criminal complaint ever having been filed or any criminal investigation ever occurring. Dr. Blickman will vigorously pursue the justice to which he is entitled, will protect his name and the reputation that he has built over the last 40 years of practicing medicine and is confident that he will be fully vindicated by actual evidence in a court of law.”
News10NBC reached out to local police agencies and prosecutors. None had any record of any criminal complaints being filed against Dr. Blickman. An attorney for Dr. Katia Kaplan-List told News10NBC his client has not yet authorized him to speak with the media about the case. (LINK)—3/01/2018
ARIZONA MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— 20281 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—no actions listed as of 3/02/2018
Doctor arrested after FBI investigates rape photos
LAKE HAVASU CITY – Disturbing images of a young woman being sexually assaulted while lying unconscious on a tile floor prompted an investigation that led to the arrest of a Lake Havasu City radiologist.
Dr. Ayman Awad, 58, was booked into jail on Nov. 15 for sexual abuse, sexual assault and surreptitious photographing.
A Lake Havasu City police report said an employee of a local imaging center contacted the FBI in November of 2015 after locating suspicious material in the course of her work. Evidence collected by the employee and provided to the FBI included a hard drive.
The police report said the FBI was able to identify the alleged victim from a blurred image of a driver’s license, one of 28 photographs stored in the hard drive. It said that the alleged victim, who resides in Los Angeles, did not recall being sexually assaulted, but she confirmed she had visited Lake Havasu on spring break many years ago. She also confirmed that she is the woman pictured on the tile floor.
The police report said the alleged victim told police she met Dr. Awad at a bar and only remembers waking up the next morning at the motor home where she was staying. An investigation continues. (LINK)—11/20/2017
Havasu doctor accused of sexual assault released from custody, posted $60K bond
LAKE HAVASU CITY – A Havasu doctor has been released from police custody after his arrest last week in reference to an alleged sexual assault that occurred nearly one decade ago.
Ayman Awad, 58, of Havasu, was arrested Nov. 15 on charges of sexual abuse, sexual assault and surreptitious recording, after photographs emerged which allegedly showed Awad disrobing and sexually assaulting an unconscious female victim in a 2008 incident. Awad was released from Mohave County Jail on a $60,000 bond. Awad’s preliminary hearing was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lake Havasu City Municipal Court.
Awad was, until recently, the medical director of Lake Havasu Imaging Center. According to police, one of Awad’s former employees in 2015 examined an external hard drive in a cabinet at Lake Havasu Imaging Center, where she discovered the alleged photographs. The former employee, who has not yet been identified, brought her alleged findings to the Lake Havasu City Police Department, which has for nearly two years coordinated efforts with the FBI in finding and interviewing Awad’s alleged victim.
Lake Havasu City Police officials have not yet identified the victim of the alleged assault. A resident of Los Angeles, the victim came to Havasu for Spring Break in 2008, and met Awad at a bar, according to statements taken by the FBI. According to the victim’s statement, she remembered almost nothing of the night of that meeting except for waking in a trailer owned by a friend, where she was living during her trip to Havasu.
Awad allegedly called the victim shortly after she awoke, and informed her that she left several of her belongings at his home. According to the victim’s statement, she came to Awad’s residence, where he told her that she lost consciousness the night before. Awad allegedly informed the victim that she attempted to steal money from the bar’s cash register, had been caught by security guards at the establishment, and Awad had interceded to protect her from legal trouble. According to the victim’s statement, she did not believe him at the time.
According to the FBI’s report, the victim became visibly upset when officials showed her the photographs – for almost 10 years she remained unaware of the suspected assaulted.
The Lake Havasu City Police Department was on Monday not at liberty to divulge the names of witnesses nor the nature of their respective testimonies. (LINK)—11/23/2017
Doctor accused of sex assault takes plea deal
The story of a Lake Havasu City radiologist accused of sexual assault will draw to a close in December, following a plea agreement by the defendant. The woman who initially reported the offense will remain in prison well after the defendant’s sentence is served.
Ayman N. Awad, 61, was indicted last November on charges of sexual assault and surreptitious photography after a two-year investigation by federal authorities. Awad, who owns Havasu Imaging Center, accepted a plea agreement Monday in which the sexual assault charge would be dismissed. He will plead guilty to surreptitious photography, the sentence for which will be six to 30 months in prison.
The “Whistleblower”
The case against Awad began in 2014, when former employee Kerri Hynes allegedly noticed inconsistencies in Awad’s business records. Hynes collected records from the business with the intent of acting as a whistleblower against her former employer. In 2015, Hynes’ investigation led her to an external hard drive found in a desk at Awad’s business. According to statements by Hynes last December, she believed at the time she might find evidence of criminal activity in Awad’s alleged hard drive. She was unprepared for what that entailed.
Hynes discovered dozens of photographs depicting the alleged sexual assault of an unconscious woman in Awad’s home, which the Mohave County Attorney’s Office says occurred in March 2008. According to statements by Hynes, she intended to bring a copy of the allegedly incriminating files from the hard drive to federal investigators in Phoenix, after a family vacation to Boston in the summer of 2015.
In her absence, however, Awad reported to Lake Havasu City Police detectives that Hynes had stolen more than $72,000 from Awad and his business. Hynes was arrested on 11 counts of theft and one count of fraud upon her return to Havasu. It was an accusation Hynes denied, and continues to maintain her innocence.
Hynes was released from custody on $35,000 bond in July 2015, and delivered Awad’s alleged hard drive files to the FBI as her own case remained pending.
Hynes disputed the charges against her, but after several missed court appearances, she pleaded guilty to one count of theft in April 2017 on advice from her attorney. Hynes was sentenced to nine years in prison. She has since applied for post-conviction relief on the grounds of new evidence, as well as unqualified legal counsel. That request was withdrawn this May.
According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Hynes will remain in prison until April 2024.
The Victim
For the woman at the center of the allegations against Awad, her college years were a distant memory. Identified in court records only by the initials, E.U., she ventured to Lake Havasu City nearly 10 years prior for spring break. According to the police report, E.U. had little memory of Awad, and had no memory whatsoever of being the victim of a crime.
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 11.2 percent of all university students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence or incapacitation.
Sexual assault is a threat many women face at college campuses nationwide. Now living in Los Angeles, she was unaware of the alleged incident in Havasu – until the day investigators arrived at her door.
Federal agents spent nearly two years investigating the case as they attempted to locate the victim and ascertain her age at the time of the alleged assault. According to the police report, one photograph in Awad’s alleged collection contained a blurred image of the victim’s driver’s license, which was ultimately used to find her.
It was only when agents showed her the photographic evidence, retrieved from Awad’s hard drive, that the victim knew. The victim became visibly upset, the report said, as FBI agents asked her to identify herself in photographs allegedly depicting her disrobed and unconscious in Awad’s home as the crime took place. According to court records, the victim now believes Awad may have drugged her in preparation for the alleged crime.
She remembered meeting Awad at a Havasu bar, the police report said. She was brought to Awad’s home that evening, according to police, where she reportedly lost consciousness. The following morning, the victim woke in a friend’s motor home. She told police she received a phone call from Awad later that day, and told her she left belongings of hers at his home.
According to the police report, Awad told E.U. she had been intoxicated the evening prior, and attempted to steal money from the bar’s cash register. Awad allegedly told the victim he interceded to prevent her from facing legal trouble. The victim remembered being skeptical of Awad’s account, the report said, but collected her belongings before returning home.
Agents determined the victim was legally an adult when the alleged assault occurred, and turned the case against Awad over to the Lake Havasu City Police Department. Awad was taken into custody Nov. 17, 2017.
What’s Next?
Awad is scheduled to appear before Mohave County Superior Court Judge Richard Weiss Dec. 18 for judgment and sentencing on the charge of surreptitious photography.
Defense and prosecuting attorneys were unable to comment on the plea agreement or facts of the case prior to the Weiss’s disposition next month. (LINK)—11/07/2018
Havasu doctor accused of sexual assault to learn sentence Tuesday
In plea agreement, Doctor Awad plead guilty to surreptitious photography
LAKE HAVASU CITY – Prosecutors are asking for three years of probation and one year in jail for a Lake Havasu City doctor accused in last year of sexual assault, sexual abuse and surreptitious photography.
Ayman Awad will be sentenced Tuesday after accepting a plea agreement from the Mohave County Attorney’s Office in November. He will plead guilty to surreptitious photography, and all other charges against him will be dismissed, according to court records. There is no stipulation in the agreement that Awad be sentenced as a sex offender, but Mohave County Deputy Attorney Megan McCoy urged Superior Court Judge Richard Weiss to consider applying Awad’s probation as such in a Dec. 5 sentencing memorandum.
“He took an unconscious young woman, sexually abused her and took pictures,” McCoy wrote. “Incarceration is necessary … supervised probation, with the imposition of court-mandated counseling and services, and a maximum on year term of jail is appropriate. The defendant is not a sex-offender in the plea, but that does not bar heightened supervision due to circumstances of the offense.”
The prosecution’s evidence lies in nearly 30 digital images found in an external hard drive at Awad’s place of business, Havasu Imaging Center. According to prosecutors, those images were created in May 2008, and allegedly depicted Awad in the act of sexually assaulting a nude, unconscious woman. These images were discovered by a former employee of Awad’s and turned over to the FBI in 2015.
Federal investigators searched for the victim, with their only lead being an image of her driver’s license in Awad’s alleged files. She was located in Los Angeles almost 10 years after the crime took place.
The victim’s identity is a matter of public record, but due to the nature of the alleged offense, she will not be identified in this story.
Finding Out
The victim remembers the arrival of FBI agents at her door in February 2016. They urgently needed to speak to her, they said.
“I had no idea what for until they mentioned Lake Havasu,” the victim wrote in a letter to Weiss last month. “I knew right then and there, something was very wrong. I have only been to Lake Havasu once, and I have been trying to put that trip out of my memory forever.”
She doesn’t remember meeting Awad during her vacation in Havasu. She doesn’t remember meeting him in a bar, or even knew who he was until he sent her a text message, the victim wrote.
“He texted me the following morning, saying he had my driver’s license,” the victim wrote. “I had no idea who he was, but I went to meet him the next morning with a friend. I met (Awad) at his car, and he retrieved my ID from his center console. He told me I had thrown up in his car, and that he rescued me from the bar because I tried to steal money from the bartender.”
The victim said she found Awad’s alleged story to be suspicious. When she went to retrieve her driver’s license from Awad, she saw no sign of vomit in his vehicle to corroborate his statement. She also said stealing is something she would never do, no matter how intoxicated.
“I knew what he was saying was a total lie,” the victim wrote. “I took my ID, thanked him, and quickly ran.”
The victim now believes Awad kept her ID for the deliberate purpose of luring her to a meeting the next day, where he would ascertain whether indeed she had no memory of the alleged assault.
“It sickens me to think how naïve I was, to not think more of this situation,” the victim wrote. “At 21, I was naïve, and sexual abuse was not something commonly spoken of or warned about. Why would I think a doctor, 30 years older than myself, could ever be capable of doing something so heinous to me?”
Federal agents informed the victim of the crime committed against her. Then they showed her the evidence.
“The first picture they showed was of me, lying on a white tile floor, with hair strewn across my face, clearly unconscious,” the victim said. According to the victim, she recognized the clothing she wore on the night of the offense.
“The second picture (investigators) pulled out was of me in the same pose, with my shirt pulled up, exposing my left breast. My skirt was up to my waist, exposing my underwear. His hand was groping my breast with a full grip.”
The remaining images would be more graphic, according to prosecutors. When FBI agents determined the victim was legally an adult when the alleged assault occurred, they turned the case against Awad over to the Lake Havasu City Police Department.
“After dropping this enormous bomb on me, telling me that a doctor had digitally raped me eight years ago, they left me dumbfounded, sitting on a stool, completely paralyzed,” the victim wrote.
“I went back up to my home and my boyfriend cried ourselves to sleep that night … the morning after the FBI visited me, I went to work at 8 a.m. I had no choice, because I run my own business. I was too distracted to do my job and I couldn’t wait for it to be over because all I desperately wanted to do was speak with my family.”
She called her parents on Facetime as soon as she was able, and told them.
“Think of all the times you may have seen your father cry,” the victim wrote. “I had only seen my father cry twice in my whole life … when shared with them the horrifying news the FBI told me, it broke my father’s heart. I have never seen my father cry so hard in my entire life.”
Pursuing Justice
Awad was arrested Nov. 17, 2017, on charges of sexual assault, sexual abuse and surreptitious photography. Separate booking documents from the same date also show that was charged with possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.
At the time of Awad’s arrest, a single diazepam pill was found in one of his pockets, according to police records. According to the police report, he did not possess a prescription for the pill, but said he often provided such medication to patients to help them relax.
The victim remembers a female Los Angeles Police Officers speaking to her as charges against Awad were being pursued.
“I was not about to let this man get away with what he did, especially when I had pictures to prove it. Ayman Awad is a doctor who has taken the Hippocratic oath, to never do harm to another person. He has violated this oath and made a mockery of it … His harm is life-changing, life-lasting and clearly an insult to many of those who have taken the same oath.”
According to the victim, she has fought for almost three years to bring Awad to justice. While she wasn’t pleased with the plea agreement offered to Awad, she wrote to Mohave County Superior Court Judge Richard Weiss in the hope that it would impact his sentencing decision next week.
An Act Out of Character
Defense attorneys Michael Wozniak, of Kingman-based Whitney & Whitney Law Office, and Phoenix-based attorney Jason Lamm, submitted their own sentencing memorandum on Awad’s behalf on Friday.
According to Awad’s attorneys, the spring of 2008 was perhaps the most difficult time of the defendant’s life. He was in the midst of a tumultuous divorce, while simultaneously grieving the death of his brother. His stress led him to self-medicate, his attorneys said, which led to a 2010 DUI conviction. Awad’s alleged crime against the victim was aberrant behavior – a deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life, his attorneys said.
Twelve acquaintances of Awad’s wrote to Weiss, expressing surprise at the accusation. To each, such an act is wholly out of character for a man they’ve known for decades.
“The offense represents isolated conduct that happened more than 10 years ago,” Awad’s attorneys said. “If the defendant was a sex offender or some other threat to the community, it would have come to light through other criminal behavior. Not only has the defendant maintained a productive lifestyle, he has meaningfully contributed to the community and proven himself to be an individual who is loyal to and supportive of his family.”
‘The Man I Know’
Lake Havasu City oncologist Paul O’Neill has known Awad for 18 years. They’ve celebrated holidays and birthdays at each other’s homes, O’Neill said, or simply paid each other social visits. O’Neill served as one character witness in Awad’s case.
“I am astounded by these accusations,” O’Neill wrote to Mohave County Superior Court Judge Richard Weiss last month. “This is far beyond the reality of the man I have come to know and very inconsistent with this man’s character.”
Awad has been a steadfast friend, full of genuine and invaluable advice, O’Neill said.
“He is committed to serving his community through excellence as a diagnostic radiologist, and often goes way beyond the extra mile for patients in need,” O’Neill wrote. “I understand the distressing circumstances that Dr. Awad faces. He has expressed his deepest fears about the ramifications of such a charge, particularly its grave repercussions for his family and career. I am confident in my assessment of him and I believe he will continue to be a valuable member of society.”
Havasu resident Gail Kulp once worked for Awad as a medical transcriptionist. She described him as a supportive, patient and helpful employer.
“That is not the man I know,” Kulp said. “It is completely out of character. I was diagnosed with breast cancer during my employment with Dr. Awad. He was instrumental in getting, and helping me to understand the kind of care that I needed. He worked with me on my work hours during the chemotherapy and radiation therapy I was receiving at the time. His kindness and understanding of my needs was very instrumental in my empowerment to get better … I cannot say enough kind and supportive words about his character, always being a professional and special person. He will remain my friend forever.”
Two Versions of a Man
Awad had a favorable reputation as a physician in Havasu, according to his son, Nicola Awad. He would never turn away a person in need, regardless of their ability to pay.
“People were given a fighting chance thanks to his practice,” Nicola Awad said. “People were turned away and refused at other facilities, but my father was the vigilant hero thousands depended on. My father created a legacy in Lake Havasu City, one that would earn respect and gratitude by the simple utterance of our last name.”
According to Nicola, however, it is difficult to reconcile the two versions of a man he’s known his entire life – the version who raised him, and the version described by Mohave County prosecutors.
“The man I have known my entire life and shared many experiences with throughout the years is not capable of carrying out these egregious accusations.”
Awad’s daughter, Noel Awad, is approximately the same age as his alleged victim. She knows only a kind, loving individual, she told Superior Court Judge Richard Weiss this month.
“On no occasion during my childhood or adult life has he exhibited impulsive or immodest behaviors that would otherwise be injurious to another human being,” Noel said. “This man has dedicated his life to the noble cause of treating and caring for the human existence … This is a serious offense in both the eyes of the law and any ethical or moral human being. The man I know to be my father and the man sitting on trial for this crime are at great odds with one another.”
An Aberration
According to Awad’s attorneys, federal courts have recognized aberrant conduct as a mitigating factor in sentencing, and one to be considered by Weiss next week. Awad has never been accused of any other felony before or since the accusations against him were made.
Although Awad will plead guilty to the offense of surreptitious photography, attorney Mike Wozniak made clear Friday afternoon that Awad denies sexual motivation in the offense.
“The allegation of sexual motivation has been dismissed,” Wozniak said. “Doctor Awad is not a sexual deviant and denies that the charge he pleaded to was motivated by any such deviancy. While he stands by the stipulated factual basis of the plea agreement, the resolution in Doctor Awad’s case was by its very nature a compromise, and should not be viewed as a concession by Doctor Awad that he is a danger to our community.” (LINK)—12/16/2018
Former medical examiner Joe Burton charged in drugs-for-sex case
Federal authorities have charged former metro medical examiner Dr. Joe Burton with illegally distributing opioids and say they believe the nationally known pathologist traded drugs for sexual favors.
Burton, now a private consultant, once served as medical examiner for Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Clayton, Douglas, Paulding and Rockdale counties. Prosecutors routinely relied on him to provide critical testimony in high-profile cases, and he once estimated he performed more than 10,000 autopsies.
Burton was arrested Oct. 11 on a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and released on $50,000 bond the next day. Federal agents received a tip early this year from pharmacists at a Publix in Marietta who said they were continually turning away patients trying to fill oxycodone prescriptions written by Burton, according to court filings.
Former metro medical examiner Joe Burton. (Burton & Associates)
At the same time, Acworth police said they were investigating local drug dealers who were obtaining controlled substances from Burton’s prescriptions, the court filings said.
In March 2017, agents interviewed an informant who said Burton was romantically involved with and providing controlled-substance prescriptions to a person who worked at a dance bar frequented by Burton, the filings said. Eventually, Burton provided the informant, whose name was not disclosed, with controlled-substance prescriptions in exchange for going on dates or, on one occasion, if he could “get a feel,” authorities said. Agents noted that Burton’s conversations with the informant were secretly recorded.
Drug Enforcement Administration Officer Raymond Baker said in an affidavit that his investigation led him to believe “that Burton exchanged prescriptions for sexual favors.”
It is hard to overstate the impact Burton had as medical examiner serving multiple metro counties from the late 1970s through the 1990s. He worked with the FBI and the GBI on the Atlanta missing and murdered children cases and was involved in the Sara Tokars murder investigation, among many others.
Atlanta criminal defense lawyer Jeff Brickman, who represented Burton at his bond hearing, said Burton performed important work for local prosecutors for decades.
“Dr. Burton has an outstanding reputation in the legal community, both in Atlanta and throughout the nation,” Brickman said. “He has spoken on behalf of thousands of victims of horrific crimes and has given them life through his testimony.”
Federal prosecutors also filed a forfeiture motion seeking to seize Burton’s office on Ga. 9 in Alpharetta.
Burton, who is a doctor and licensed forensic pathologist, prescribed oxycodone to a large number of patients, according to the forfeiture filing. From July 2015 through Aug. 12, 2017, Burton issued 1,507 prescriptions — 1,107 of which were for opioids, the filing said.
This amounted to 108,850 individual doses of opioids, the filing said.
“From their investigation, agents learned that many of the 108,850 individual doses of opioids were resold or diverted to abusers and addicts,” prosecutors said. (LINK)—10/17/2017
Doctor accused of trading prescription drugs for sex; 44 arrested in massive bust
ATLANTA - Authorities announced Thursday that 44 people were arrested as part of a huge metro Atlanta opioid ring led by a nationally-known pathologist who authorities say traded prescription drugs for sex.
Dr. Joe Burton was originally charged last year. The additional charges were announced at a news conference by U.S. Attorney BJay Pak in Atlanta.
According to investigators, Burton wrote more than 1,100 prescriptions for opioids from July 2015 to August 2017; many of those prescriptions were in exchange for sexual favors and nude photographs. Prosecutors said those prescriptions amounted to 108,850 individual doses.
“A prescription bottle with Dr. Burton as the prescribing physician on the label was even found with a deceased woman whose death was caused by oxycodone, methamphetamine toxicity, according to an autopsy report,” Pak said.
Burton once served as medical examiner for Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Clayton, Douglas, Paulding and Rockdale counties. He worked on some of the region’s biggest cases, conducting what he once estimated were more than 10,000 autopsies.
His medical license has been suspended.
“He and his co-conspirators are alleged to have significantly fueled the opioid crisis,” Pak said.
Only Channel 2 Action News was there as DEA agents raided Blossom Pharmacy in Paulding County.
“Several of the prescriptions written by Dr. Burton were actually filled at that pharmacy,” Pak said.
Agents examined pills, prescriptions and more as part of the federal investigation focusing on Burton.
The U.S. Attorney’s office said the charges against Burton and seven others, and the investigation that includes Blossom Pharmacy, involve allegedly medically unnecessary prescriptions for opiates including oxycodone, which are often a prelude to heroin addiction.
“One bad, corrupt individual with a pen and a prescription pad can turn into a weapon of mass destruction,” said Rober Murphy, DEA special agent in charge.
Murphy said the Blossom Pharmacy owner has not been criminally charged as this point.
“The owner of the pharmacy felt it was in his best interest to surrender his license,” he said. (LINK)—3/01/2018
Doctor who exchanged drugs for sex gets 8 years in prison
As metro Atlanta’s top medical examiner for decades, Joe Burton helped solve thousands of homicides, bringing closure to grieving families and justice to those criminally responsible. On Wednesday, a contrite and gaunt Burton received his own justice in an 8-year prison sentence handed down by a judge who couldn’t fathom how far he’d fallen.
U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross, once a homicide prosecutor herself, thanked Burton for the work he’d done for families who’ve suffered. “But I don’t think any of us can understand how you got here,” Ross told Burton as he stood before her.
Burton is now headed to federal prison for trading hundreds of opioid painkiller prescriptions for sexual favors. Last year, the 73-year-old former ME was arrested and charged in a scheme in which, over a two-year period beginning in July 2015, he wrote more than 1,500 prescriptions to 350 people for controlled substances.
Prosecutors said that about 60 percent of the prescriptions were for oxycodone pills, the street value of which was more than $2 million.
“I regret all that I’ve done is bad,” Burton, appearing somewhat disoriented, told Ross. “I don’t know why I did that. But I did. … I apologize to all the people here and the people of Georgia who I served as medical examiner since 1972. I failed everybody.”
Burton, a forensic pathologist, once served as chief medical examiner in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Paulding counties and as associate medical examiner in Fulton County. In May, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose.
In court motions, prosecutors had initially asked Ross to sentence Burton to 20 years in prison. But after Ross made several rulings during the five-hour-long hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney John DeGenova asked for a 14-year prison term.
“The nature and circumstances of this offense are egregious,” DeGenova told Ross. “His actions are a disgrace to the medical community.”
DeGenova introduced evidence that showed a 31-year-old woman had died in December 2016 just three days after Burton gave her a prescription for oxycodone. The autopsy report showed she’d died of an overdose caused by both oxycodone and methamphetamine.
Burton’s lawyer, Buddy Parker, asked Ross to give Burton a greatly reduced sentence based on his diminished mental capacity, largely caused by a stroke in 2010. This severely harmed the right frontal lobe of Burton’s brain and robbed him of his executive function.
“That frontal lobe is fried,” Parker said, citing medical reports that show the lobe has shrunk and is continuing to shrink. “He did what he did because he couldn’t control himself.”
In an emotional plea, Parker said the fragility of the human condition is one reason why Burton was in court for sentencing.
“This man did the right thing for over 40 years,” Parker said. “Then he went off the rails.”
But Ross did not grant Parker’s motion. She cited prosecution testimony that disclosed Burton had been writing illegal prescriptions for opioids before his stroke. Prosecutors also noted that Burton had been a serial philanderer long before his brain functions were compromised.
After he retired from public service and became an expert witness, Burton traveled to various cities and closed down strip clubs after drinking prodigious amounts of booze, prosecutors said. At one point, Burton hired a former stripper to come work for him and, even though co-workers said she did nothing, he paid her $10,000 a month and bought her a condo and a Mercedes.
The federal sentencing guidelines, which were once mandatory but are no longer, called for Ross to give Burton a term as low as 12 years and seven months in prison to as high as 15 years and eight months in custody.
Parker asked Ross to go far below that — a sentence of three years and eight months.
“He lost his medical license,” Parker said. “He lost his practice. He lost his reputation as one of the greatest pathologists in the country.”
Moreover, Parker said, “there is no long term” for Burton because his health is deteriorating, and for this reason he asked Ross to send Burton to the Federal Medical Center, a Butner, N.C., prison for inmates needing medical care.
“He can’t take care of himself,” Parker said. “He really can’t.”
Ross, expressing sadness for Burton’s criminal conduct and praising his past for the “quality of work you’ve done,” ultimately decided on a middle ground. (LINK)—8/29/2018
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