DDS Lister

A Brooklyn dentist who lives in New Jersey was sentenced to 17 months in prison yesterday for aiding the terrorist group Hezbollah by broadcasting its Lebanese television station to satellite users in the metropolitan area.

Saleh Elahwal, 56, of Matawan had admitted in December that he and another man accepted some $112,000 from Hezbollah’s television station, al Manar, to provide its satellite broadcasts through a company they operated, Brooklyn-based HDTV Limited, from September 2005 through August 2006.

He was sentenced yesterday to 17 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman for providing material support to Hezbollah, which the U.S. government regards as a terrorist organization.

The second man charged in the case, Javed Iqbal, 45, of Staten Island also pleaded guilty in December and was sentenced to 69 months in prison by Judge Berman in April. Iqbal is a Pakistani who has been in the United States some 20 years,

Elahwal’s lawyer, Edward V. Sapone, said he was satisfied with the sentence, acknowledging that the technological support and satellite access provided by Elahwal and Iqbal was not activity protected by the First Amendment.

“I can’t provide material support to al Manar, because that goes beyond the First Amendment,” Sapone said. “As an attorney, I am not only pleased with Judge Berman’s sentence of 17 months, but I much appreciate it.”

Yusill Scribner, a spokeswoman for Lev L. Dassin, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the office had no comment on the sentence.

Hezbollah, which means “Party of God,” was designated by the U.S. government as a “foreign terrorist organization” in 1997 and as a “specially designated global terrorist” in October 2001.

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• NJ

It was a routine visit to the dentist, but just a week after having a tooth extracted, Gauteng father Buti Mahlangu was blind and paralysed.

The 43-year-old is now fighting for R6.5-million in compensation from a dentist he claims is responsible.

In papers filed at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, Mahlangu said he visited Johannesburg dentist, Dr Hoosan Jeewa, in October 2005, complaining of toothache.

Jeewa advised him to have one of his molars removed.

Jeewa gave him an injection and extracted the troublesome tooth.

But once back at his Springs, eastern Johannesburg, house, Mahlangu started getting severe headaches and his head began to swell, until eventually his eyes were swollen shut.

Two days later, he returned to Jeewa, but the dentist allegedly told Mahlangu he was “suffering from pain” and sent him back home.

But the pain got worse and suddenly the left side of his body became numb and he could not move. Then he lost the sight in his right eye and on November 1 — just days after the tooth was removed — he was admitted to the intensive care unit of the N17 Hospital near his home.

Mahlangu spent the next two weeks there, fighting off an intracranial infection, before being moved to a general ward.

He had developed a structural disorder that affected his head and face — which has left him permanently disfigured — and his brain began swelling and bleeding. Before moving to a rehabilitation centre, Mahlangu had to have surgery to alleviate the pressure on his brain, court papers say.

Jeewa, who said he did not want to discuss the matter, argued in court papers that the allegations were “vague and embarrassing” and that Mahlangu had not adequately linked his injuries to Jeewa’s conduct.

His attorney, Heather Wilmot, would not be drawn on the matter. “It is still subject to litigation,” she told the Sunday Times.

Mahlangu is asking R3.5-million for pain and suffering and disability, R1.5-million for loss of amenities and R1.5-million for disfigurement.

He accuses Jeewa of acting negligently by giving him the injection and removing the tooth without first checking whether it was safe to do so “at that point in time”.

Jeewa should have asked him whether he was suffering from any medical conditions, specifically mouth abscesses and/or sinus and influenza, Mahlangu claims.

He says Jeewa should not have turned him away when he returned after the first visit.

Mahlangu, who had worked as a forklift driver for 20 years before he became ill, had to retire early. He is responsible for supporting his seven children, he says in court papers.

He says the left side of his body is paralysed and he is permanently confined to a wheelchair; he cannot control his head movements; has not regained the sight in his right eye; and cannot see well out of the left one. He also claims that his social life has become “non- existent”, he is able to communicate only with “great difficulty”, and cannot dress, clean or feed himself.

The matter was postponed last month and a trial date has not yet been set.

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• The Times

A New Jersey dentist who allegedly prescribed hundreds of doses of painkillers to his girlfriend could face disciplinary action.

A complaint filed with the state Board of Dentistry by Attorney General Anne Milgram alleges that Gary Schneiderman issued 1,880 doses of Percocet and 13 doses of Oxycontin to the woman, who was not his patient.

Schneiderman, a former mayor of Livingston who practices in Jersey City, is also accused of providing the woman with blank prescriptions, knowing she would use them to obtain more of the painkillers.

The dentistry board could suspend or revoke Schneiderman’s license.

No one answered the phone at his practice Thursday; a home number could not be located.

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• Philly

A Rockingham County grand jury indicted a city dentist Monday on six charges stemming from an alleged prescription drug fraud case.

Dr. Jennifer Schools Moore, also known as Jennifer Schools Copeland, 38, was indicted on five felony counts of prescription fraud and one count of felony drug possession.

Virginia State Police charged the Harrisonburg dentist on March 10 with 58 charges. The remaining 52 charges will remain in general district court pending the outcome of the six charges.

Police say Moore wrote prescriptions for oxycodone – a narcotic pain reliever and controlled substance – to a former employee at her office. In return, the employee would then give the pills to Moore.

In June, Moore pleaded guilty to felony obtaining a prescription by fraud in Shenandoah County Circuit Court. If she remains in compliance with a first-offender program, the charge could be reduced in a year.

Circuit Court Judge T.J. Wilson scheduled a bench trial for July 17.

In addition to Moore, the grand jury handed up dozens of indictments, including four against Ramiro Sanchez.

Sanchez, 21, was indicted on felony malicious wounding, felony possession of a firearm, felony possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and felony shooting into an occupied dwelling in connection with a March 15 shooting on Logan Lane in Harrisonburg.

Police say Sanchez shot his friend, Jose Garcia-Nunez, at a home in the 100 block of Logan Lane following a dispute.

A hearing has been scheduled for July 21.

Source:

• DNR Online

The Main Line dentist accused of dumping medical waste off the coast of Avalon last summer, pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Thursday.

Main Line Dentist Accused of Dumping Medical Waste
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The Main Line dentist accused of dumping medical waste off the coast of Avalon this summer makes his plea.

Dr. Thomas W. McFarland, Jr. is charged with dumping needles and other medical-type waste that washed up in Avalon during the last week of August – the peak of the summer tourist season. The beaches had to be closed five times that week.

“They’re serious charges. What happened this summer had a real devastating impact on Avalon,”
said Edward Bonanno, N.J. Deputy Attorney General. “One of the things we want to get is restitution for Avalon, which was the victim here.”

“We’ve entered a not guilty plea. We’re going to be taking the necessary steps to process an application for pre-trial intervention,” said McFarland’s Attorney, Joe Rodgers.

A pre-trial intervention is an alternative to the traditional criminal justice process. It’s generally for first-time offenders.

If McFarland met the requirements and went through the program, at the end of it, Rodgers said the Main Line dentist would likely have to pay civil fines, make restitution and perform community service. Most importantly, he might end up with not record of conviction.

McFarland, who owns a house in the Avalon Manor section of Middle Township, allegedly took his small motorboat into Townsend Inlet at the north end of Avalon on Aug. 22 and dumped a bag of waste from his dental practice in Wynnewood, Montgomery County, Pa.

The very next day, dental waste was found washed up along a stretch of beach at the north end of Avalon between 9th Street and 24th Street.  The waste included approximately 260 “Accuject” dental-type needles, 180 cotton swabs, a number of blue and white plastic capsules used to hold dental filling material, and other items.

On Sept. 2, McFarland went to the Avalon Police Department and admitted dumping the dental waste. After searching his beach house, Boston Whaler boat and SUV in New Jersey, investigators obtained a search warrant for his dental office in Pennsylvania.

There, they discovered evidence corroborating McFarland’s statement that the waste came from his practice, including drill bits and Accuject needles bearing the same lot numbers as those found in Avalon.

The Main Line dentist accused of dumping medical waste off the coast of Avalon last summer, pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Thursday.

Dr. Thomas W. McFarland, Jr. is charged with dumping needles and other medical-type waste that washed up in Avalon during the last week of August – the peak of the summer tourist season. The beaches had to be closed five times that week.

“They’re serious charges. What happened this summer had a real devastating impact on Avalon,”
said Edward Bonanno, N.J. Deputy Attorney General. “One of the things we want to get is restitution for Avalon, which was the victim here.”

McFarland, who owns a house in the Avalon Manor section of Middle Township, allegedly took his small motorboat into Townsend Inlet at the north end of Avalon on Aug. 22 and dumped a bag of waste from his dental practice in Wynnewood, Montgomery County, Pa.

The very next day, dental waste was found washed up along a stretch of beach at the north end of Avalon between 9th Street and 24th Street.  The waste included approximately 260 “Accuject” dental-type needles, 180 cotton swabs, a number of blue and white plastic capsules used to hold dental filling material, and other items.

On Sept. 2, McFarland went to the Avalon Police Department and admitted dumping the dental waste. After searching his beach house, Boston Whaler boat and SUV in New Jersey, investigators obtained a search warrant for his dental office in Pennsylvania. There, they discovered evidence corroborating McFarland’s statement that the waste came from his practice, including drill bits and Accuject needles bearing the same lot numbers as those found in Avalon.

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• NBC Philadelphia
  

A Bluffton man said an unlicensed dentist now being investigated by state regulators damaged his teeth while performing several procedures as he sat in a recliner in his living room.

The 46-year-old Bluffton resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he called the dentist to his home a little more than a year ago after having gum pain for several weeks. A 45-year-old Ridgeland woman showed up with dental equipment, including a drill, a paste to make teeth molds and topical anesthetic. She wore gloves during the procedures, he said.

She returned about a week later to install two crowns she claimed were made by a laboratory in Texas, he said, and she charged him $1,600.

The man’s pain didn’t subside, and after visiting a Hilton Head Island dentist, he learned the crowns weren’t properly placed and that he had a large hole in a tooth she treated. The real dentist told him that botched job would cost $4,000 to repair, the man said.

Regulators with the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation began investigating the woman May 1 after a complaint was filed, department spokesman Jim Knight said earlier this week. The woman has never held a dental or dental hygienist license in the state, he said. The woman’s name didn’t appear on any searches of dental licenses in Georgia and North Carolina.

Knight declined to comment further Thursday, citing an ongoing investigation. No charges have been filed, but the S.C. Board of Dentistry issued a cease and desist order on the woman, Knight said.

A Hilton Head Island dentist who treated the man after the incident confirmed his story Thursday, but could not comment further because of laws governing disclosure of patient information. The dentist turned over that information to investigators.

The man who got the crowns said he was unaware the woman didn’t have a license, but he never asked for her credentials. He said she came highly recommended by a friend, and he knew several people who had been treated by her, all of whom were Hispanic.

He said he is a legal resident and only went to her because he was told she worked fast, was professional and didn’t charge much.

It is unclear how many people the woman treated or how long she practiced dentistry in the area.

The woman’s name is not being released because no charges have been filed against her. Several calls made to a phone number listed to her address have not been returned.

Practicing dentistry without a license is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum six-month prison term and $1,000 fine per offense.

IMMIGRANT POPULATION TARGETED

State investigators believe the unlicensed dentist treated mostly immigrants in the area, a Beaufort County sheriff’s report said.

Some immigration experts were puzzled by the case because they said there have been major improvements in how medical facilities handle undocumented immigrants and the uninsured.

“There has really been a push for doctors’ offices, free clinics and even dentists’ offices to treat these patients without asking for a Social Security card,” said Elaine Lacy, a history professor at the University of South Carolina at Aiken. “Doctors’ offices will just let them pay on a scale.”

Tammy Beshere, an attorney with the advocacy group S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center in Columbia, said she was unaware of another incident involving an unlicensed dentist targeting the Hispanic community.

“It’s pretty rare to hear of an unlicensed doctor or dentist taking advantage of them. You predominantly hear about people posing as lawyers saying they can help with immigration paperwork,” Beshere said. “It’s sad because in any of these incidents they know their victims aren’t going to complain to the police.”

Several dentists on Hilton Head declined to comment for this story but said they hoped the incident could be used to educate the uninsured that Volunteers in Medicine offers free medical and dental services, regardless of the patient’s immigration status. To be eligible for VIM, patients bring documentation to prove they make at or below twice the federal poverty line and have no effective insurance.

The Bluffton man who was treated by the woman wishes he had gone to a clinic or to an established dentist in the area.

“I know it’s stupid,” the man said. “It’s my fault I went to her. It’s my fault I’m in this situation, and I should have gone to a real dentist in the first place … but she really messed up my teeth. I’m embarrassed by this.”

Source:

• Island Packet

The brother of a Buchanan woman shoved to the ground by a local dentist in a traffic dispute testified yesterday that the dentist called him a racial slur and spit in his face.

Dr. William Moody’s trial on a misdemeanor assault charge started yesterday before White Plains City Judge Jo Ann Friia. The six-member jury has yet to hear from Yolanda Infante, the complainant.

The incident was caught by a CBS-TV camera and played widely on YouTube, the Internet video site.

Moody also is charged with two counts of second-degree harassment and disorderly conduct, both violations; and second-degree criminal contempt, a misdemeanor. He is accused of violating an order of protection after the alleged assault.

In his testimony, Luis Infante said he was picking up his sister outside her job on Court Street the morning of Nov. 9, 2007. They were to attend the funeral of their father, who died the previous night.

Infante stopped in traffic to wait for his sister, rather than use a parking spot. Moody was trying to park his Mercedes-Benz in a garage on Court Street, but was blocked by Infante’s Chevrolet.

“He put his face at the window,” Infante said. “He spit in my face and spit in the back seat of my car.”

He said Moody called him a racial slur and an expletive, and demanded he move the car.

At one point, Moody shoved Infante and got into the Chevy in an apparent attempt to move the car himself, he said.

Infante’s sister came down, he said, and he saw the doctor push her to the ground. Infante testified that he punched Moody after his sister was pushed.

Also testifying yesterday was CBS-TV news reporter Tony Aiello, who was at the scene with a cameraman who caught it on tape. The cameraman, Christopher Calarco, also testified.

Aiello said an irate Moody had been honking his horn and shouting obscenities at Infante in traffic. The third time Moody approached Infante’s car, Aiello said, he went into a county office building across the street to tell police.

When he came out, “I saw the aftermath of some kind of confrontation,” Aiello testified. “There was a woman on the ground. … I saw a man saying: ‘You hit my sister.’ “

Aiello said he walked past Moody while he was handcuffed inside the office building later on. He said Moody asked him if the video would show ” ‘those five Hispanic guys jumping me.’ “

The trial continues today.

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• LoHud

State regulators put the bite on two New Jersey dentists following alleged criminal activity, according to state Attorney General Anne Milgram.

Somerdale practitioner Mitra Abdollahi acknowledged submitting false and misleading claims to Medicaid from 2002 to 2007, and agreed to a two-year year license suspension and a three-year probation, Milgram said in a release.

Abdollahi will have to pass the Law and Jurisprudence examination administered by the State Board of Dentistry, complete required continuing education hours, and pay all applicable fees for reinstatement and licensing before her license can be reinstated, according to Milgram. If Abdollahi returns to active practice, she will also pay for random audits of her charts during the period of probation.

Separately, Bayville dentist Raymond L. Pacholec agreed to a minimum six-month license suspension and will enroll in a professional assistance program under terms of an interim consent order with the State Board of Dentistry, Milgram noted.

Pacholec was arrested on March 16 after discovering marijuana and a marijuana-growing facility in his home, Milgram said.

Pacholec had to surrender his Drug Enforcement Administration registration and prescription pads used to authorize the dispensing of prescription drugs, she said. If Pacholec applies for reinstatement, he must demonstrate his fitness to practice dentistry to the State Board of Dentistry, Milgram added.

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• NJ Biz

A dentist office employee is accused of stealing more than $65,000 from her former boss by depositing insurance checks into her own bank account.

Teresa Lynn Clark, 40, of Cartersville spent a few hours in jail for allegedly stealing the money from Marietta dentist Jeff Kwan, according to her arrest warrant.

Clark is accused of depositing 92 checks made out to Kwan into her own Bank of America account, according to police. Those checks totaled more than $55,000.

She is also accused of crediting an additional $9,814 to her own account by creating fraudulent credits, according to the warrant. The thefts allegedly occurred between January 2006 and December at Kwan’s Shallowford Road dental office.

The warrant for Clark’s arrest was released last Thursday. She apparently turned herself in to police Tuesday evening. She was released from the Cobb County jail on $15,000 bond just after 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Clark faces theft by deception and theft by taking charges, both felonies.

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• AJC Media Solutions