Another Doctor Killed by Another Doctor: The Beat Goes on . . .

Posted in Heads on a Stick . . . on May 18, 2013 by PatricParamedic
Dr Joseph Sonnier, killed in a love triangle

Dr Joseph Sonnier, killed in a love triangle

The mother and two sons of a murdered Amarillo physician have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Doctor Thomas M. Dixon, age 48, as well as another man named David N. Shepard.

Dr T. Michael Dixon hired the hit-man

Dr T. Michael Dixon hired the hit-man

Doctor Joseph Sonnier, the chief pathologist for Covenant Medical System, was found stabbed and shot on July 12, 2012 in his Lubbock home. Homicide investigators believe that Dixon, a cosmetic surgeon, who operated a plastic surgery clinic in  Lubbock, paid David Shepard $9,000 in silver bullion to kill Doctor Sonnier.

Lubbock County District Attorney Matt Powell has reported that detectives found evidence that Dixon hired David Shepard as a hit-man because he was jealous that Doctor Sonnier, age 57, was romantically involved with his former girlfriend.

Both Shepard and Dixon, MD have been in jail since they were arrested in July.

They are each held on a $10,000,000 bond.

Here’s more:  http://seemydeath.com/murders/3576-dr-joseph-sonnier-iii-was-shot-and-killed-by-dr-thomas-michael-dixon-48-and-david-neal-shepard-51.html#axzz2Tca37OZI

#          #          #

Lab Coat Lunatic Finally Shut Down. But as Usual, a State Medical Board Turned a Blind Eye for Years

Posted in Heads on a Stick . . . with tags on May 15, 2013 by PatricParamedic

A Philadelphia state court jury reviewed the evidence for 10 days, then found Doctor Kermit Gosnell  guilty of murdering the babies in his abortion clinic.

Has YOUR doctor ever reported a criminal peer? Not likely

Has YOUR doctor ever reported a criminal peer? Not likely

Gosnell, age 72, is the physician accused of turning a Philadelphia abortion clinic  into a quite literal ”house of horrors” with blood on the walls, cat feces on the floors and infant body parts in bags, boxes and refrigerated jars. He was convicted of the easiest charges to prove, namely, butchering three babies born alive during illegal procedures, as well as involuntary manslaughter in the death of a woman who died of an overdose following a late-term abortion.

The prosecution was also able to prove Gosnell guilty of more than 200 other crimes, including  violating the 24-hour waiting period before performing abortions.

Sherry West hated hearing the infants scream. But not enough to report her boss to police

Sherry West hated hearing the infants scream. But not enough to report her boss to police

Gosnell and nine of his staff members were taken into police custody in January, 2011 in a police raid, after law enforcement learned of the late-term abortions in squalid conditions at the Women’s Medical  Society clinic. The arrests followed a year-long investigation that started in 2010, when federal drug agents discovered the death of a pregnant woman named Karnamaya Mongar, whose heart stopped after staff members gave her lethal doses of Demerol.

Prosecutors proved that Gosnell had been performing illegal abortions, and used unlicensed, untrained staff members, to administer narcotics to patients. Witnesses  testified during the trial that Gosnell used scissors to snip the necks of at least 30 fetuses.

Eight staff members pleaded guilty before the Gosnell trial to related crimes. Nearly all testified against Gosnell.

The doctor neither spoke – nor called any witnesses – in his  defense.

He has been sentenced to life in prison.

For more on this embarrassing, totally preventable case of ‘health care’ gone wrong in the U.S. type Gosnell into our search window above.

*          *          *

It is a matter of public record that we at MedicalMiscreants, Inc. were writing about Kermit Gosnell’s treachery 3 years ago – long, long before mainstream media even knew he existed.

The fact that so-called investigative news reporters turn a blind-eye towards the off-the-chart breadth and depth of physician misbehavior, is at least as pathetic as the Kermit Gosnell baby chop-shop.

#          #          #

Flashback: Doctor Who Murdered Husband With Her Mercedes Denied Parole

Posted in Paramedic Perspective on May 13, 2013 by PatricParamedic

Before destroying her life by committing murder, Clara Harris was a successful dentist, raising three kids with her husband, David, also a dentist.

__________________________________________________________________________

Dr Clara Harris hears her guilty verdict

Dr Clara Harris hears her guilty verdict

Doctor Clara Harris, the Houston, Texas dentist who made world headlines a decade ago after she repeatedly ran over her cheating husband with her luxury car, will spend at least another two years behind bars. Her plea for early release from state prison was turned down on April 13.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles made the decision, citing the nature of the offense as the reason:

“The record indicates that the inmate committed violent criminal acts, indicating a conscious disregard for the lives, safety and property of others. The pattern of criminal activity had elements of brutality, violence and conscious selection of victim’s vulnerability, such that the inmate poses a continuing threat to public safety.”

Harris has now served 10 years of her 20-year sentence for the July 24, 2002, death of Doctor David Harris, who was 44 at the time.

Dr David L Harris

Dr David L Harris

The records show that in 2002, Clara Harris and her husband, an orthodontist, operated a number of successful dental offices, when David Harris admitted to his wife that he was having an affair. He assured Clara that he would end it.

Instead, she learned from a private investigator that her husband and his mistress were continuing to meet secretly, and had checked into the Nassau Bay Hilton. Clara Harris entered the hotel and assaulted the woman as the pair exited the elevator in the lobby.  When hotel security ordered all of them out of the hotel, they returned to their cars.

Gail Bridges, (right)

The mistress, Gail Bridges (right)

David Harris’ then-17-year-old daughter from another marriage was in the car when he was struck repeatedly by Clara. She testified against her stepmother in her trial.

In a bizarre twist, a private investigator, hired by Clara to follow her husband, was in the hotel parking lot and videotaped the crime. She had forgotten her husband’s every move was being filmed. That film was a key piece of evidence against her.

This doctor-kills-a-doctor soap opera later spawned a number of books as well as a television movie.

So for now, Doctor Clara Harris resides in Central Texas Prison near Gatesville. Her children are being raised by family members.

The Murder Weapon

The Murder Weapon

Here’s how the story unfolded 10 years ago:  http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/h/clara_harris/index.html

#          #          #

Kansas MD Who Wrote Prescriptions to Imaginary Friends OK’d Treat Patients in Another State

Posted in Doctor Drug-Pushers on May 11, 2013 by PatricParamedic

A doctor in Kansas who served time in federal prison for writing fake narcotic prescriptions will be allowed to regain his medical license in the state of Iowa.

Dr Steven D Ringel

Dr Steven D  Ringel

Doctor Steven D. Ringel, age 39, had worked as a family medical practitioner in the city of Atchison prior to his arrest in 2004. According to court records, Ringel was indicted and then convicted of writing more than 30,000 bogus narcotic prescriptions, at trial in 2005.

Pill Toss

During the trial, prosecutors proved that Ringel wrote prescriptions  for thousands of doses of addictive drugs to imaginary patients, then used the drugs himself or gave them to friends. He pleaded guilty in federal court to felony drug-conspiracy, and served 13 months in prison.

As part of his sentencing, Ringel underwent a professional assessment of his competency in 2010, after which the Iowa State Board of Medicine offered a temporary license. He is on a five-year conditional probation, which stipulates that he participate in an addiction program. Ringel must also be supervised by another physician.

Here’s a peek at the state medical board decision:  http://medicalboard.iowa.gov/Legal/Ringel,StevenD.,M.D.-02-2011-377.pdf

#          #          #

U.S. Doctor Convicted of Child Sexual Abuse in Africa

Posted in Heads on a Stick . . . on May 10, 2013 by PatricParamedic

In a Washington, DC  courtroom last week a physician stood before U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, and pleaded guilty to his sexual involvment with children while working in Kenya.

According to Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department, Doctor John D. Ott admitted to engaging in illicit sexual behavior while in a foreign country. Court documents reveal that Ott functioned as a pediatric specialist for private medical projects in Kenya.

Hopefully, an ethical one

Hopefully, an ethical one

An investigation into his history reveals that Ott co-founded an orphanage in Kenya in January 2004, and admitted that for nearly nine years  he engaged various sexual behaviors with approximatey 18 children.  Ott stated in court that he provided financial support – for such things as schooling and housing – for the children, who ranged from nine to 16 in age.

Ott, age 67, was arrested in Tanzania and deported to the U.S. where he has been in federal prison since December, 2012.

According to prosecuting attorney Keith Becker of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation & Obscenity division, adults found guilty of illicit sexual conduct in a foreign country face a potential 30- year sentence.

Doctor John Ott is scheduled to be sentenced in July.

The investigation of this criminal physician was managed by the Washington DC FBI Field Office, with the assistance of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.

The case against Ott was initially brought by Project Safe Childhood, which fights the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation, created in 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Here’s the U.S. DOJ press release: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/May/13-crm-517.html

You can learn more about Project Safe Childhood here:  www.justice.gov/psc.

#          #          #

Why Be Honest When I Can Steal From My Patients & My Staff?

Posted in Heads on a Stick . . ., U.S. Health Care Fraud Out-of-Control on May 10, 2013 by PatricParamedic
Dr Timothy A Clark

Dr Timothy A Clark

A central Pennsylvania physician who operated two separate clinics has pleaded guilty in federal court to multiple charges of theft, health care fraud and money laundering.

Holy Spirit Hospital

Holy Spirit Hospital, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

http://www.hsh.org/

Before U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner, Doctor Timothy A. Clark admitted to the following:

>  He stole about $25,000 of his employees’ retirement funds by diverting payroll deductions into his own account. His medical staff thought their money was going into IRA savings

>  He scammed Medicare, Highmark, Inc. and Blue Cross insurance payors by fraudulently inflating patient care records of patients he and his staff treated at Holy Spirit Hospital

>  He illegally transferred more than $100,000 into bank accounts which he controlled

SLEEP DISORDERS CENTER

According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, Clark, age 44 at the time of his arrest, is a pulmonary specialist who owns Central Pennsylvania Pulmonary Associates  as well as the Sleep Disorder Centers of Central Pennsylvania. He was arrested in June, 2012 after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg.

Investigators were able to prove that Clark’s routine of thievery began in December 2007 and continued for nearly five years. During that time he illegally billed for and received more than 1/2 million dollars in insurance payments.

Clark MD, who could receive a 10-year prison term, is scheduled to be sentenced in July.

For more details on this case:  http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2012/09/taxpayers_pay_the_price_for_me.html

*          *          *

Medical Miscreants thanks U.S. Attorney Joseph J. Terz for prosecuting this case, as well as the following law enforcement agencies:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Pennsylvania State Attorney General - Insurance Fraud Section; U. S. Department of Health & Human Services; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations; the U.S. Department of Labor; and the Office of Inspector General.

#          #          #

Physician Phunnies !!!

Posted in Physician Phunnies on May 9, 2013 by PatricParamedic

Relax. Each of the little anecdotes listed under our new category Physician Phunnies is ridiculously untrue. You can move on to the ridiculously true after you’ve had time to fasten your emotional seatbelt.

________________________________________________________________________

This just in over the news wire: Internal medicine doctors in Lima, Ohio went out on strike this morning.

Hospital administrators told reporters they’ll be happy to consider their demands, just as soon as they can get a handwriting expert outside to interpret their picket signs.

*          *          *

(Doctor to bedridden patient) : “Of course you’re feeling crappy. Last year I gave you three months to live. You do the math.”

*          *          *

A dying elderly doctor looks up at his wife, who’s holding his hand with tears running down her face.

He smiles faintly and says, “I’ve been so lucky to have you. I am so very sorry for hurting you, with all those foolish affairs I had.”

“You just relax,” she answered. There’s no need for you to apologize for anything.”

The doctor shook his head. “But I really need to hear that you’ll forgive me.”

“Not at all,” she said. “Just lay back and let the blowfish serum work its magic.”

*          *          *

Overheard on a golf course one Sunday morning: “Hey, doc. There’s a rumor your wife took an amazing picture worth a half million dollars last week.”

“Nonsense,” said the surgeon as he placed his ball on the tee. “She’s an amature photographer. She’s marginally talented, at best. What could she possibly take a picture of worth that much money?”

“One of you and your mistress at that hotel on the beach.”

*          *          *

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.