While MediSys CEO David Rosen was relieved of his duties last Friday for his role in an intricate bribery scheme, it appears that the New York Department of Health had been advocating such a move for close to two years. Both the New York Times and Crain's New York Business report that in August 2009, then-Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines wrote a letter to both the MediSys board of chairmen and to the boards of Brookdale University Hospital and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center essentially calling for just such a move.
The letter came on the heels of another scandal in which Rosen paid former Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio $390,000 for the latter to "advocate with New York State agencies concerning the discharge of a $19 million loan in 2006," providing secure financing options for MediSys to grow its hospital empire.
Rosen paid state Sen. Carl Kruger in a similar fashion. The Times reports that Rosen gave contracts for Brookdale to a hospice company that gave money to Kruger. In exchange, Kruger pushed for state funding grants to go to MediSys, and for the company to be allowed to take over two other hospitals.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Rosen also provided a "no-show consulting job" for Assemblyman William Boyland, Jr.
Rosen's lawyer, Robert Morvillo, insisted that Rosen never made any bribes, and seemed to try to shift onus for the mess on the government officials by telling the Times that they "held the keys to the kingdom." Rosen faces up to 20 years in prison for his role in the bribery ring.
To learn more:
- read this FBI press release
- here's the New York Times article
- read this Crain's New York Business piece (reg. required)
- check out this Wall Street Journal story