Riverside psychiatrist pleads not guilty in Medicare scheme

Report from the Houston Chronicle

A Houston psychiatrist who was indicted separately in the Riverside General Hospital $160 million Medicare billing fraud scheme pleaded not guilty on Friday and intends to stand trial in August.

Dr. Sharon Iglehart is accused of one federal conspiracy count, two health care fraud charges and a pair of allegations that she made false statements to investigators. At a pretrial conference before U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein, her lawyers - which include high-powered defense attorney Rusty Hardin - said she is ready to face a jury. Iglehart originally was arrested in December 2013, but the allegations have been amended twice since then - growing from nine to 12 pages in the most recent indictment secured from a federal grand jury and filed on July 21. Iglehart pleaded not guilty to the amended five counts and retained her freedom on $50,000 bail.

Former Riverside CEO and president Earnest Gibson III was convicted as the ringleader in three conspiracies involving Medicare billings for Riverside's psychiatric treatment programs from 2005 to 2012 in which patients were ineligible for treatment or were warehoused but did not receive the reported care. The government alleged that $31 million in fraudulent reimbursement requests were paid. His son, former group home owner Earnest Gibson IV was also convicted at trial and sentenced to 20 years.

The elder Gibson received the heaviest punishment so far: 45 years. His second-in-command, Mohammad Khan, received a 40-year sentence. They received some of the nation's longest sentences for health care fraud - particularly, stealing from the Medicare or Medicaid programs, which is one of the top criminal prosecutorial priorities for the U.S. Justice Department.

Through her Iglehart Wellness Center, the psychiatrist allegedly participated in the scheme by submitting claims that falsely indicated she provided intensive outpatient services for severe mental illness through Riverside's treatment program. Iglehart retains an active medical license in Texas. She was reprimanded by the Texas Medical Board in 2009 for "recreating medical records for psychiatric patients significantly later than the time she had provided examination, diagnosis and treatment to the patients," according to the agency's website. Her disciplinary status was cleared in 2011.

Jury selection in Iglehart's case is set for Aug. 31. If convicted, the doctor faces up to 10 years in prison on each count. Regina Askew, who rose from a case worker to become an auditor, will spend 12 years in prison.

In July, Sharonda Holmes, who was involved in paying and receiving kickbacks, was sentenced to 3½ years and Waddie McDuffie became the sixth person to receive prison time in the scam that crippled Riverside. The historic Third Ward institution began as Houston's first hospital for black patients and became one of the state's largest providers of substance abuse and mental health treatment. McDuffie pleaded guilty to delivering kickback money to group home owners in exchange for them sending patients for mental health treatment at the hospital. He received a five-year term of probation and six months of home confinement. Those who have pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial are among the dozen defendants who are jointly responsible for $46 million in restitution.

All of the Riverside cases are being prosecuted by Washington-based lawyers assigned to the Justice Department's criminal fraud division.

Gay Conversion Therapy Trial: New Jersey Nonprofit Group In Fraud Trial For Claiming To Cure Homosexuality

Another case where Shrinks do not know what they are doing, and end up getting sued for it. From a report from the International Business Times (Warning, autoplay video on website)

A major challenge to “gay conversion” therapy is ramping up in New Jersey, in a case that critics of the controversial treatments hope will set a precedent for fighting the practice around the country. A group that offered the so-called therapy is scheduled to go on trial for fraud Wednesday in the state, one of only three to have banned licensed therapists from offering treatments that purport to change a person’s sexual orientation.

Four men and two of their mothers are suing the nonprofit group Jews Offering New Alternatives for Homosexuality, or Jonah, on the grounds that it fraudulently claimed that it could change patients’ sexual orientation and for characterizing homosexuality as a mental disorder, the Associated Press reported. The plaintiffs have accused the group of engaging in “unconscionable practices,” including making patients strip naked during therapy sessions and subjecting them to slurs regarding their homosexuality.

Lawyers for the group have countered that scientists are still debating the nature of sexual orientation, including whether it is fixed or changeable, as well as whether conversion therapies are actually harmful. They have also accused the plaintiffs of seeking to "shut down the debate by making one viewpoint on the issue literally illegal," the AP said.

[...]

In recent years, several states have moved to ban the therapy over fears that it could subject young people to psychological damage but only New Jersey, California, Oregon and Washington, D.C., have succeeded in passing and implementing bans. But the current bans apply only to licensed therapists who practice gay conversion therapy on minors, which is why prosecuting Jonah for consumer fraud could set an important precedent, according to Jack Drescher, a New York psychiatrist and one of the most vocal critics of these therapies.

“A win by the plaintiffs will undoubtedly have a chilling effect on practitioners of SOCE [sexual orientation change efforts] beyond the borders of New Jersey,” Drescher said in an interview with the Huffington Post. “A win would also expand the ban on SOCE embodied in existing legislative bans in CA, NJ, OR and DC: They only apply to licensed professionals who do SOCE with minors. Consumer fraud laws can be used against non-licensed practitioners and protect adult patients as well.”

Child molestation case against child psychologist Kenneth McPherson is moving out of limbo

From the Augusta Chronicle (See the link for a photo)

Psychologist Kenneth McPherson, 58, was named in two indictments that accuse him of committing acts of child molestation in 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2011. McPherson has pleaded not guilty in Richmond County Superior Court.

Since 2011, the criminal cases have been placed on trial calendars but later postponed. In January, Assistant District Attorney Rex Myers and attorney Kirk Gilliard presented an order to Chief Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet to put McPherson’s cases on the dead docket because the prosecutor could not find several necessary witnesses.

Although the order was signed and dated Jan. 12, it wasn’t filed with the clerk’s office until Wednesday, when a motion requesting the cases be removed from the dead docket was also filed. According to the motion filed by Assistant District Attorney Natalie Paine, the witnesses have been located and interviewed.

Although McPherson wasn’t indicted until 2011, parents of some of his patients warned authorities that something was wrong in 2005. The mothers of two boys reported inappropriate sexual behavior that the children said they learned at McPherson’s office. But one of the boys was unable to communicate with a forensic child interviewer, and the second child’s statement was not thought to be strong enough to file charges.

In early 2011, however, more specific allegations were brought forward and sheriff investigators obtained search warrants for McPherson’s Central Avenue office. Investigators reported finding sexually explicit materials and a photograph of a child dressed only in underwear that had been taken in the office.

McPherson was indicted June 7, 2011, on seven counts of child molestation and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Overstreet, who is assigned to preside over the case, granted McPherson’s release on a $200,000 bond Aug. 16, 2011.

McPherson was licensed in 1990 in Georgia to practice psychology. His license expired Dec. 31, 2012, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

Utah Child Psychiatrist David Wilson Now Faces Criminal Charges Related to Child Pornography. Has Lost Job, License Revoked

From the Standard Examiner

David Ford Wilson, 43, is charged with 15 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. He entered not guilty pleas to the charges on July 16, 2014.

At a Hearing today, Judge Scott Hadley scheduled a hearing for oral arguments on May 8.

Wilson was investigated by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force, with assistance from the FBI in 2013, officials had said.

In late March of 2013, Intermountain Healthcare’s information system security department found that Wilson’s computer was being accessed to download and view child pornography. He was immediately terminated and the incident was reported to police.

Detectives served a search warrant for Wilson’s hard drive and after a forensic analysis, which can take a lengthy amount of time, he was arrested on Sept. 6, 2013.

Wilson was an osteopathic physician as well as an child psychiatrist for Weber County. The Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing revoked his license to practice medicine and prescribe drugs. A panel of three doctors reviewed the case and made an emergency motion to suspend Wilson. McKay-Dee Hospital also released a statement in 2013 that said there is no evidence that any of Wilson’s patients were at risk.

Jurors to decide fate of South Florida psychiatrist, others in Medicare fraud trial

Highlights from an extended report in the Miami Herald

Barry Kaplowitz was a psychiatrist with a “robotic” signature who signed off on thousands of bogus treatments at a Hollywood psychiatric facility that bilked Medicare for millions — even when he was out of the country, prosecutors say.

“It’s not just any kind of signing; it’s robo-signing,” Justice Department prosecutor Andrew Warren declared during closing arguments at his Miami federal trial.

[...]

On Tuesday, Miami federal jurors resumed deliberating the fate of Kaplowitz, 54, an Aventura psychiatrist who worked part-time as the medical director of Hollywood Pavilion’s outpatient facility, and two other defendants on charges of conspiring to defraud Medicare and related offenses.

[...]

The other defendants are Melvin Hunter, 63, a Broward resident who worked as an admissions supervisor for Hollywood Pavilion’s inpatient facility, and Tiffany Foster, 49, an Alabama resident accused of taking bribes to refer mental health patients.

A fourth defendant, Christopher Gabel, 62, of Davie, the former chief operating officer, pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to commit healthcare fraud and pay kickbacks to patient recruiters. Gabel, who is serving a six-year prison term, testified that Medicare beneficiaries — including drug addicts with disability status — were admitted regardless of whether they qualified for treatment or even saw a doctor.

The latest trial followed the 2013 conviction of Hollywood Pavilion's chief executive officer, Karen Kallen-Zury, of Lighthouse Point, who was found guilty along with three other employees of conspiring to bilk $67 million from Medicare by filing phony claims for mental health services from 2003 to 2012. Medicare was tricked into paying $40 million to Hollywood Pavilion. Of those defendants, Kallen-Zury received the longest sentence: 25 years.

During the six-week trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing that Kaplowitz generated $6.5 million in false claims for Medicare patients who did not need psychiatric treatment, resulting in $3 million in tainted income for Hollywood Pavilion between 2008 and 2011. The psychiatrist was paid $1,250 a month over that period for showing up one day a week to sign charts and other paperwork to justify 2,800 false claims to Medicare, prosecutors said.

[...]

The prosecution of Kaplowitz, Hunter and Foster was the latest crackdown by the Justice Department and U.S. attorney's office against operators of mental-health facilities accused of fleecing the Medicare program.

Three previous major prosecutions led to the convictions of about 100 clinic operators, doctors, therapists and patient recruiters at American Therapeutic, Biscayne Milieu and Health Care Solutions Network in South Florida.

Several of those convicted defendants testified at the latest trial. Among them: Dr. Alan Gumer, a former medical director at the Hollywood Pavilion facility who is serving a 21/2-year sentence in the American Therapeutic case, and Keith Humes, a Hollywood Pavilion patient recruiter who is serving a seven-year prison sentence stemming from another Medicare fraud offense.

Doylestown Psychiatrist Basem Shlewiet Sentenced to Prison for Fondling Patients

As seen in the Doylestown-Buckingham-New Britain Patch

A Doylestown psychiatrist convicted of fondling seven female patients during treatment will serve seven to 17 years in state prison.

Basem Shlewiet, 43, a Buckingham resident, was sentenced Monday by Judge Wallace H. Bateman,

In October, a jury found Shlewiet guilty of 16 of 18 criminal counts, including indecent assault and unlawful conduct with a minor.

Shlewiet was arrested in late 2014 after a nine-month investigation that began when Doylestown Borough Police received reports from women who said they had been touched in a sexual way during treatment at Shlewiet’s North Franklin Street office.

Initially, two of the victims told authorities that Shlewiet touched their breasts and another victim, who was 17 at the time, told authorities he touched her vaginal area. After his arrest, five more victims came forward saying Shlewiet had also inappropriately touched them.

The week-long trial included testimony from former patients, coworkers and character witnesses.

Shlewiet was represented by defense attorney Louis Busico.

Attorneys begin closing arguments in William Ayres trial

As reported in the San Mateo County Times

Closing arguments are expected to conclude today in the trial of Dr. William Ayres, the once-prominent child psychiatrist accused of lewdly touching half a dozen boys under the guise of medical necessity.

Prosecutor Melissa McKowan and defense attorney Doron Weinberg began their closing statements Monday in San Mateo County Superior Court. Ayres, 77, faces nine counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor younger than 14. The charges are based on the accusations of six former patients who argue that they were molested by Ayres between the ages 9 and 13.

McKowan said Monday that a 10th charge had been dropped during the course of the trial that stemmed from the accusations of a man referred to in court as Eric B., who testified that Ayres masturbated him during a physical exam when he was 13. He originally was going to testify that a second incident had occurred, McKowan said.

She told the jury Monday that Ayres performed physical and genital exams exclusively on male patients because he is a pedophile — a psychiatrist who desired to undress, touch and see the bodies of young boys. She referred to the exams he conducted as "sloppy, drop your pants and sit on the table" procedures.

"If genital exams are necessary in the diagnosis of adolescent children with psychological or mental health issues, why would you only conduct those exams on boys?" she asked the jury.

McKowan urged the jury to consider why Ayres kept poor notes of the exams and the unusual conditions under which he gave them. She also pointed out that no witness ever testified for the defense that Ayres taught the importance of physical exams at UC San Francisco, something he told the court last week that he had done.

Judge Beth Freeman issued jury instruction before closing arguments. She told the jury that four former patients who accused Ayres of molesting them but whose charges fall outside the state's statute of limitations can be considered in deciding if Ayres has a disposition to commit sexual offenses, or if their testimony can show that Ayres had a plan to lewdly touch the in-statute accusers.

Weinberg told the jury that there is simply no evidence Ayres committed a crime. He said the case rests entirely on memory, asking jurors to recall the testimony of memory expert Dr. Elizabeth Loftus.

"This case is about memory and memory alone," Weinberg argued. "There is no physical evidence."

[...]

Update: The Prosecution of Psychiatrist Dr. Alan Beitel

We have an update on the prosecution of psychiatrist Allan Beitel. Essentially, the charges were dropped for a number of practical reasons as seen in the article below.

1. He wasn't going to get anymore jail time than what he had already served while waiting for trial, and
2. the victim was moving out of the country, and would not be available to give testimony.

These circumstances are not a clean verdict such as acquittal, and leaves a cloud of suspicion over the doctor's head. This is also not a clean statement of innocence by the prosecutor, although the original charges were a little convoluted. The psychiatrist still faces other criminal charges, according to the report. As reported in The Hamilton Spectator.

Charges of accessing and possessing child pornography against a psychiatrist who formerly practised in Hamilton and Burlington have been stayed by the Crown.

Dr. Allan Beitel, who now practices in Toronto, had been facing the charges since 2003.

The Crown also stayed a charge of possession of stolen property and two counts of failing to comply against Beitel.

The Crown's prosecutor concluded that it was no longer in the public's interest to continue prosecution of the case, according to a spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General.

"Even if Dr. Beitel had been found guilty of all charges, it was unlikely that he would serve a single additional day in jail beyond the time he had already served in pre-trial custody," the spokes-person indicated.

"Given that completing the trial would have required significant amounts of additional court time and resources, the Crown concluded that it was not in the public interest to continue."

Beitel had spent a number of months in custody last year related to other charges.

A charge of sexual assault against Beitel has also been withdrawn by the Crown after concluding there was no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction.

"The victim was moving out of the country and would not be returning for the trial," the ministry spokesperson indicated.

Beitel is still facing a number of other charges, including perjury, fraud under $5,000, two counts of theft under $5,000 and six counts of fail to comply with a recognizance.

Beitel remains an active member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, with no past disciplinary findings against him.

UPDATE: see also this Blog Post by David Akin

Former psychiatrist guilty of raping patients

From ABC News in Australia

An 80-year-old former Perth psychiatrist has been found guility of molesting and raping two of his patients more than 30 years ago.

Alan John Stubley had been on trial for the past week accused of forcing the two women to have sex with him during psychotherapy sessions between 1975 and 1978.

After six hours of deliberations, a Supreme Court jury found him guility of ten charges, but acquitted him of four others.

Stubley, who has senile dementia, has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced in January.

Sacramento judge castigates psychiatrist who vouched for killer

A Report from the Sacramento Bee

Napa State Hospital's attempt to release a killer into community treatment in Sacramento was based on the "horrifying" testimony of a psychiatrist who "clearly committed perjury in this court," a judge said Monday.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Kevin J. McCormick made his comments about the Napa psychiatrist, Dr. Nathan Thuma, when he ruled from the bench that Ronald Benjamin Toppila is not fit for outpatient treatment and must remain in the mental hospital for killing his mother four years ago.

In a decision that will keep Toppila confined indefinitely on a jury's verdict that he was not guilty by reason of insanity, McCormick lashed Thuma for recommending in March that the defendant be released into community treatment even though at that time the psychiatrist had examined the client for barely a half hour.

McCormick said Thuma "could not have had enough information" to make the recommendation and that it was "beyond belief" the doctor could have reviewed Toppila's medical records in the short time he'd been on staff at Napa.

Thuma demonstrated "a total lack of independence and judgment" by concluding that Toppila did not present a danger because, in quoting the psychiatrist, "we all trust Mr. Toppila," McCormick said. The judge said Thuma's "demeanor and manner" in court "could only be described as horrifying."

"He clearly committed perjury in this court," McCormick said of Thuma. "He testified inconsistently at varying times. He showed a complete lack of any insight whatsoever into Mr. Toppila's history."

Thuma did not return a telephone call for comment Monday. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Mental Health said agency director Stephen Mayberg plans to review the judge's comments about Thuma.

"He would take it very seriously and look into it," the spokesman, Nancy Kincaid, said.

"If the judge expressed concern over someone's testimony or professional performance, that would be looked into both by the director of the department and by the executive director at the hospital."

McCormick did not specifically identify areas of Thuma's testimony where he thinks the psychiatrist lied under oath. In Thuma's testimony on Oct. 27, however, he wound up on both sides of a question on whether he thought Toppila had "malingered" to sway the therapists who were evaluating him. There were also inconsistencies in Thuma's testimony over whether he was aware of evaluations done on Toppila before the Oct. 7, 2004, beating death of his 86-year-old mother, Hilma Tone.

Deputy District Attorney Dawn Bladet hailed the judge's ruling, saying in an e-mail: "Toppila's continued confinement in Napa State Hospital is necessary to protect the public safety interest."

Toppila's lawyer, Robert J. Saria, said Toppila and his client's family were disappointed by the ruling. Saria said Toppila "is committed to returning to Napa and pursuing his treatment plan and engaging in all the treatment he is required to."

Toppila, 68, a long-time licensed clinical social worker, stabbed his mother 52 times and also bludgeoned her in the fatal attack in her South Land Park apartment.

Judge McCormick said he was also disturbed by the testimony of Antonio Alocer, an official from the Central Valley Conditional Release Program, which would have coordinated Toppila's community placement if he was released from Napa. McCormick said no treatment plan had been determined for Toppila in the event of his release. The judge said Alocer "could not tell me" where Toppila would be placed.

Alocer could not be reached for comment Monday.

"I cannot state with any degree of certainty based on the evidence that I heard in this courtroom that Mr. Toppila no longer poses a danger to the health and safety of others," McCormick said.

Woman describes alleged abuse by psychiatrist

From a Report in the West Australian

A 62-year-old woman has described freezing with fear as her psychiatrist sexually abused her during a session for post-natal depression in the 1970s.

Former psychiatrist Alan John Stubley, 80, is on trial in Perth Supreme Court accused of forcing sex offences against two of his female patients in the mid-late 1970s.

One of the alleged victims today told the jury the doctor had abused her on her first face-to-face session after being discharged from a psychiatric hospital where Dr Stubley had treated her for post-natal depression.

She said she had been shocked when the doctor told her to sit on his knee.

“It was just a terrible silence and then he repeated it (in a tone that) was very authoritative, quite demanding,” she said.

“He put his hand on my leg and he rubbed his hand up my leg and between my legs.

“I just froze, I was just so afraid. I was afraid of him and what he might do to me.

“I said I didn’t want to do this.”

Prosecutor Alan Troy said Dr Stubley had abused his position by taking advantage of his patient’s vulnerability in the pursuit of his own sexual gratification.

He said the two women submitted to the sexual contact because they had felt intimidated.

Mr Troy said one of the victims, who continued seeing the doctor for decades, had feared that no-one would believe her if she spoke out at the time about the alleged abuse.

“She had recently been in a psychiatric hospital and she didn’t think anyone would believe her,” Mr Troy said.

Mr Troy said she also feared she would be put in an institution if she did not continue to see him.

Defence lawyer Mark Trowell said the sex between his client and the women was consensual and there had been no intimidation.

“This is not a court of morals…he may well have acted unprofessionally as a doctor but that doesn’t make him guilty of criminal charges,” Mr Trowell said.

William Hamilton Ayres Watchdog Site

We now have a blog devoted to tracking the declining career William Hamilton Ayres

William Hamilton Ayres is a "noted" former child psychiatrist who now stands accused of molesting many young boys over the course of his long career. For those not familiar with the case, click on career milestones below the mugshot.

William Hamilton Ayres

Career Milestones

Great Background Article!

Another Good Background Article

Ayres' California Medical License

2003: Ayres Sued - Confidential Settlement

04/06/2007: Arrested

04/12/2007: Prohibited from practicing.

04/13/2007: In Jail Again.

07/24/2008: Trial in January 09

William Ayres: Unmitigated Gall

Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping...

Attorney: Ex-patient feels threatened by psychiatrist

A report out of New York State, as seen in Newsday

Richard Karpf was bullied as a child and kicked out of his apartment by roommates while attending a Mexican medical school.

Dennis White started having panic attacks when he was 6 and suffered from sleep disorders and depression as an adult.

Their lives crossed in 1996 when Karpf became White's psychiatrist. Six years later, White called police and said Karpf had revealed a plot to kill people and feed their dismembered bodies to sharks.

Yesterday, the two men met again as White's medical malpractice trial against Karpf opened in State Supreme Court in Mineola.

In opening arguments, lawyers debated whether White remains psychologically damaged after, he told police, Karpf asked him to help purchase a gun with a silencer. White, 43, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from the incident and is still afraid of Karpf, said his attorney, Ruth Bernstein of Manhattan.

"Dennis believes every day of his life that the defendant is still coming after him," Bernstein said.

Karpf, 55, pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a weapon in 2004 and was sentenced to three months in jail, time he already had served. He is on probation through next year.

After White contacted police, they arranged for Karpf to meet an undercover officer, whom Karpf paid $1,600 for a .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun, a silencer and boxes of ammunition in the parking lot of the Westbury Home Depot.

Karpf, who surrendered his medical license after pleading guilty, insisted that the plot was a fantasy and he had no intention of carrying it out.

Karpf's attorney, CaraMia Hart of Manhattan, conceded that he told White of a "completely inappropriate plan" to commit murder and he was "appropriately" prosecuted. But she questioned whether White suffers more now than he did six years ago. "Was Dennis White hospitalized at any point? Rendered incapable of working?" Hart said.

Since Karpf's arrest, White has married and become a father, she said.

Bernstein said Karpf's patients did not know he suffered a "lifelong mental illness" while he continued to practice at his Garden City office.

"This very sick man had a license to practice medicine," she said. "How would anyone know that he was spiraling downward?"

On Dec. 26, 2002, she said, White walked into Karpf's office and found him "disheveled." Karpf asked White, a mechanic, to help him buy a car and a boat. Later, Karpf asked White about buying a gun and finding shark-infested waters. "Dennis was starting to think there was something very wrong," she said.

Psychiatrist Pleads Not Guilty To Murder

As covered widely in the Australian press, and as seen in the Australian

A FORMER NSW psychiatrist has pleaded not guilty to the shooting murder of South Australia's former mental health chief, Margaret Tobin, in 2002.
Appearing in the South Australian Supreme Court today, Jean Eric Gassy, 52, declared emphatically he was not guilty when asked to plead to the murder charge.

Dr Tobin was fatally shot as she walked from a lift on the eighth floor of an inner-city office building in Adelaide in October 2002.

She was 50 years old.

Justice Trish Kelly said the trial would be listed for hearing at the earliest opportunity.

Dr Tobin's widower, Don Scott, said outside court the day had been an emotional one for him.

Mr Scott said he would attend the trial, even though it might bring back “horrific” memories for him.

Representing himself, Mr Gassy was remanded in custody for a directions hearing in two weeks.

He flagged his intention to apply for a “suppression order” from the court, but Justice Trish Kelly suggested he raise it at the directions hearing.

Prosecutor Peter Brebner QC asked the court for more time to prepare the Crown case, because of the large number of witnesses expected to be called.

“Checking their availability will take quite some time,” Mr Brebner said.

As noted in this news item from Adelaide Now, this is a re-trial, due to the original conviction being overturned due to technical errors by the Judge in the case.

A Supreme Court judge has told prosecutors that the retrial of the man once convicted of the shooting murder of Dr Margaret Tobin should be held as soon as possible.

Justice Trish Kelly today said that a retrial for Jean Eric Gassy should be held as soon as possible.

"From the court's point of view, this matter should proceed in August," Justice Kelly said.

Gassy, 51, today pleaded not guilty to murder and plans to represent himself at trial.

The former Sydney psychiatrist was jailed for life with a 34-year non parole period for the shooting murder of Dr Tobin in October 2002.

Dr Tobin, then South Australia's mental health chief, was shot four times as she walked from a lift at her city office building.

Earlier this month, the High Court of Australia overturned Gassy's murder conviction and sentence.

The High Court found that Supreme Court Judge Ann Vanstone had erred in her directions to the jury during their deliberations in Gassy's original trial.

Prosecutor Peter Brebner QC said more than 160 witnesses were likely to be called when the matter again goes to trial.

Dr Tobin's widower Don Scott attended this morning's hearing, which lasted a little over two minutes.

Gassy will be back in court in June, when another judge will set a date for the trial.

Child psychiatrist trial postponed

As reported in the Palo Alto Daily News

The upcoming trial of Dr. William Ayres, the prominent San Mateo child psychiatrist facing allegations he molested seven pre-adolescent patients, has once again been postponed.

The jury trial, which was scheduled for June 23, won't take place until at least the end of July, San Mateo County prosecutors said Friday.

The ongoing drama behind the delay revolves around a defense motion to suppress all evidence acquired by search warrants that gave investigators access to Ayres' patient files. A Superior Court judge heard arguments Friday on the motion from both the prosecution and the defense, but he postponed a final decision until July 23, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

The motion potentially could handicap the prosecution's case, because each of the seven men who claim they were abused by the psychiatrist initially came to the attention of law enforcement through those patient records.

The defense motion calls on Judge Norman Gatzert to suppress evidence gathered from Ayres' patient files by charging that search warrants lacked probable cause and violated the state's psychotherapist-patient privilege.

The judge ultimately denied the defense contention that the warrants lacked probable cause but postponed ruling on whether the warrants violated the state's psychotherapist-patient privilege.

Defense attorney Doron Weinberg did not immediately return calls for comment Friday, but Wagstaffe said, "We are certainly very pleased that the court denied the first aspect of the motion, and we believe we put on sufficient evidence for him to deny the second part."

Should the judge sustain the second part of the motion, the prosecution could potentially lose the entire case against Ayres, Wagstaffe said.

The search warrant enabled authorities to confiscate files for some 800 of Ayres' former patients and contact those treated by Ayres since 1988 who were between the ages of 11 and 17 at the time. Investigators relied on the warrant to find seven men who claim they were abused by the psychiatrist.

Officials with the District Attorney's Office said they have spoken to several dozen men who claim they were abused by Ayres. But only seven fall within the state's statute of limitations on molestation crimes, which requires that charges be brought before the accuser turns 29 or that the alleged crime occurred after Jan. 1, 1988.

Many of Ayres' alleged victims appeared in court Friday to witness the hearing against the child psychiatrist, Wagstaffe said. Few victims were present during a December hearing when the defense first argued its motion before Superior Court Judge John Runde, the same magistrate who authorized the search warrant in 2006.

Runde summarily dismissed both defense arguments during that hearing, but a state appeals court ruled in March that the Superior Court judge didn't offer the defense a proper hearing and ordered him to hear the defense arguments in their entirety.

The court reassigned the case to Judge Gatzert on Friday, because Runde retired in December.

The judge is expected to rule on the second aspect of the defense motion and set a new trial date on July 23.

Psychiatrist faces complaints from patients, former business partner. Ethics rulings months away

From the Topeka Capital Journal

The state Board of Healing Arts ended a closed-door session Saturday by delaying action for six months on the latest round of ethics complaints against a Johnson County psychiatrist.

Douglas Geenens, trained at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, opened the hearing by declaring he would withdraw a request that the board terminate a 2004 disciplinary agreement resulting from a finding that he crossed professional boundaries by having a sexual relationship with a one-time patient.

Geenens said he would voluntarily remain under medical observation of another doctor.

"I felt it was reasonable to continue with my psychoanalytically based supervision," he said.

The board met with Geenens in executive session before ordering a formal hearing on a series of pending allegations against him. A former business partner and at least two former patients submitted recent complaints.

Responsibility for the upcoming review would fall to a judge at the state Office of Administrative Hearings, which would be expected to issue a decision by September. If that occurred, the board would place Geenens on its October agenda.

"This would give the board the opportunity to know all the relevant facts," said Mark Stafford, the board's general counsel.

Geenens was among four Kansas-licensed doctors profiled in a series in The Topeka Capital-Journal in March. Each had sparked regulatory challenges for the Board of Healing Arts, which regulates more than 20,000 health professionals in Kansas.

The board has been widely criticized for its slow reaction to allegations of professional misconduct.

In early April, the Kansas House and Senate unanimously approved resolutions calling on the 15-member board to institute personnel changes and other reforms to restore public confidence in the agency. The board's top administrators — Larry Buening, executive director, and Stafford — resigned. Stafford departs June 1 and Buening on July 1.

Debbie Holscher, a Johnson County resident and former patient of Geenens, said she filed a formal complaint last week against the psychiatrist. She said one element of her grievance focused on Geenens' instruction — not heeded — to obtain a divorce and move to the Plaza area of Kansas City, Mo., so that Geenens and Holscher could regularly have breakfast together.

"I think it's very unprofessional," said Holscher, who attended Saturday's board meeting in Topeka. "I think he should lose his license."

Holscher stopped attending counseling sessions with Geenens four years ago, but her complaint mirrors the content of complaints filed by other people who were clients of Geenens.

Andrew Jacobs filed a complaint with the Board of Healing Arts after Geenens began an intimate relationship with Jacobs' wife in 2003. During counseling, Jacobs said, Geenens urged Jacobs' wife to get a divorce. Geenens is now married to the woman.

In the consent order signed by Geenens in 2004, the psychiatrist accepted a one-week suspension of his state license and agreed to supervision of his practice for two years. He was publicly censured and required to attend a course on "maintaining proper boundaries" with patients.

Geenens had requested Saturday's hearing with the board to vacate that consent order.

"We received a letter from Dr. Geenens who asked to withdraw his request," said Betty McBride, the board's president.

Geenens holds a full license to practice medicine in Kansas. In September, he closed his clinical office in Johnson County. Geenens agreed in October to "retire" his medical license in Missouri while regulators in that state looked into allegations of his out-of-bounds associations with women.

He continues to see patients privately and remains on the payroll at Pfizer, the world's largest research-based biomedical and pharmaceutical company.

"We can confirm that Dr. Geenens is an employee of Pfizer," said Chris Loder, a company spokesman in New York City. "However, as a matter of company policy, we do not comment on personnel matters."

Psychiatrist Admits Kissing Patients Stomach

Report from The Times on NJ.com

In tearful testimony yesterday, a 24-year-old patient of a Hamilton psychiatrist said that her doctor had kissed her abdomen with an open mouth and put his hand down her pants.

Dr. Alvaro Argueta, 66, of Yardley, Pa., is charged with one count of criminal sexual contact in the Dec. 7, 2006, incident, said Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Downing.

The woman, a resident of Langhorne, Pa., said she began treatment with Argueta for depression, insomnia and severe headaches after her grandmother, who was also his patient, recommended him. She testified she thought it strange that he kissed her at the end of each visit. She testified that on the day in question, he began to kiss and touch her in inappropriate ways.

"I was frozen," she said. "He kept saying, how beautiful I was."

She testified that at one point he grabbed her face and tried to kiss her but she pulled away.

"Then he went back behind his desk like nothing happened," she said. Argueta handed her some prescriptions and she said she left in a daze.

Before that visit the woman, whose name is being withheld by The Times, bought Argueta a Christmas card and statuette of a saint as a present because he had helped her so much with her headache pain.

She testified that after the incident, she walked out to her car, threw up, then drove away but realized she had not given him the gift. So she returned and handed the gift bag to the receptionist, saying she was in shock and denial.

About a month later, after talking with her parents and grandparents, the woman reported the alleged incident to Hamilton police. The woman played a cell phone message from Argueta for Detective Frederick Moore.

"I spoke with your grandmother and, well, (I am) very sorry for all that happened today and to hear that I don't have any excuse," Argueta said on the message, which was played for the jury.

Working with Mercer County Detective Brian Cottrell, the woman called Argueta back. He was with a patient but returned her call within minutes and that conversation was recorded.

In that phone call, which was played in court, Argueta, who was raised in Guatemala and speaks with an accent, said: "I want to ask you your forgiveness. It was something. I don't have words to express how sorry I have been. Christmas and the holidays have been very, very painful."

He continued, "I'm real sorry that that happened and poor judgment on my part."

Argueta also asked her to forgive him as a Christian.

The woman's 73-year-old grandmother, a Hamilton resident, testified that her granddaughter, who was distraught after the office visit with Argueta, drove to her home for solace.

Argueta also testified yesterday and admitted he kissed the woman's stomach but said it was be cause she told him she was fat. He said he put his hand on her stomach as well, but said he stopped immediately, realizing he had gone beyond normal boundaries.

Argueta said the woman suffered from bipolar disorder, borderline personality and post traumatic stress disorder from an abusive relationship with a boyfriend.

His defense lawyer, Lawrence Popp, told the jury in his opening argument the accuser is "emotionally troubled" and his client had nothing to hide.

"He is a man of intelligence and character," Popp said. "He dedicated his life to the mentally troubled."

Argueta's testimony is expected to continue when the trial, before Superior Court Judge Charles A. Delehey, resumes today.

Psychologist pleads not guilty to rape

From the Times Union out of Albany, NY.

A 32-year-old psychologist Wednesday pleaded not guilty this morning to felony charges of raping a 14-year-old Tamarac High School freshman on days she was counseling him.

Jennifer A. Hastings of Sand Lake was arraigned before Judge Patrick McGrath. She and her attorney, Steven Coffey, did not comment after the court appearance. Hastings, who quit her $52,426-a-year job as a court-assigned counselor for the teenager, is free on bail.

Last Friday she was indicted by a Rensselaer County grand jury on second-degree rape and criminal sex act felony charges and endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree sexual abuse misdemeanors. Police said the relationship turned sexual during September and October last year. Trysts allegedly occurred at the Brunswick school, in a parking lot across Route 2 from the school, in Schodack and Colonie motels and at Hastings' Sheer Road home.

She allegedly took the boy to a hotel in Colonie but has yet to be indicted by an Albany County grand jury.

Psychiatrist pleads guilty to 5 misdemeanor charges

A former Albany Psychiatrist pled guilty to issuing blank prescriptions, and faces only a fine. Prosecutors say they are satisfied that the doctor no longer has his medical license.

Dr. Gerald Dariah pled guilty to five misdemeanor counts of issuing blank prescriptions, or attempting to issue blank prescriptions. He was originally arrested and charged with 67 counts. Under the plea agreement, Dariah will have to pay less than two thousand dollars in fines and court costs to satisfy his sentence. Then his record is cleared under a first offender style program.

Investigators say he signed dozens of blank prescriptions, and would let his staff fill them out for patients.

When he was arrested, Prosecutors say the Board of Medical Examiners suspended his medical license. He did not renew it in 2005.

Psychologist is expected to plead guilty in domestic violence case

Report from the Indianapolis Star

A prominent Fishers psychologist has agreed to plead guilty in a domestic violence case involving his wife, a fellow therapist, a prosecutor confirmed Friday.

Special Prosecutor Todd Meyer said David M. Buckingham, whose wife, Beth Buckingham, also is a psychologist and behavioral therapist at Buckingham & Associates, is scheduled to plead guilty March 13 in Hamilton Superior Court.

Details of the plea agreement Meyer negotiated with defense attorney Bruce Boje are expected to be filed then.

Typically, plea agreements let a defendant avoid prosecution on one or more charges. In Buckingham's case, the attorneys say, the deal would resolve two battery charges and related charges that he violated a no-contact order.

According to the five counts of invasion of privacy filed July 3, Buckingham sent five text messages to his wife after his May 29 release from jail pending trial in the battery case.

Authorities filed the charges after deciding not to pursue evidence that he had also made threatening phone calls to his wife from the jail before his release on $10,000 bond.

Buckingham, 53, initially was arrested May 26 after Beth Buckingham accused him of attacking her.

"The accused slapped her in the face with an open hand, slammed the car door on her right foot and stomped several times on her left foot," Fishers police officer Tom Weger reported.

Sgt. Gerry Hepp said the incident involved an argument and the woman's attempt to leave home for the weekend.

The couple lived in the 9800 block of Sugarleaf Place in Rosewood.

He was charged with battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a felony, and domestic battery, a misdemeanor, and ordered to avoid all contact with his wife.
The subsequent invasion of privacy charges were filed after Buckingham sent her text messages in June.

In seeking a special prosecutor from another county, Hamilton County Prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp notified the case judge that she and her administrative chief deputy are friends of the couple and worked with them professionally.