Summaries of Regents Actions
On Professional Misconduct and Discipline*
December 2007
Acupuncture - Architecture - Chiropractic - Clinical Laboratory Practitioner - Dentistry - Engineering and Land Surveying - Mental Health Practitioner - Nursing - Pharmacy - Physical Therapy - Podiatry - Psychology - Respiratory Therapy - Social Work
Acupuncture
Zalmai Frahmand, Baltimore, MD
Profession: Acupuncturist; Lic. No. 001583; Cal.
No. 23671
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
having been convicted of Attempted Enterprise Corruption, a class
C felony.
Architecture
Profession: Architect; Lic. No. 024793; Cal.
No. 21722
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 3 year stayed suspension, 3 years probation.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of failing
to file certifications of completion, renew permits, or withdraw
his professional sign-off responsibilities, within 1 year from
permit issuance, on 178 applications he had filed with the New
York City Department of Buildings as the applicant of record.
Chiropractic
Mario James Ciani, Massapequa Park, NY
Profession: Chiropractor; Lic. No. 004333; Cal.
No. 23538
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007 (see also September
1999 and September
2004)
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension of no less than
3 months and until fit to practice, upon termination of suspension
3 years probation to commence if and when return to practice, $3,000
fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated, as a class D felony.
Jeffrey Scott Rauch, Syosset, NY
Profession: Chiropractor; Lic. No. 008315; Cal.
No. 23342
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 month actual suspension, 23 month stayed
suspension, 2 years probation, $2,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Insurance Fraud in the 5th Degree, a class A
misdemeanor.
Clinical Laboratory Practitioner
Profession: Clinical Laboratory Technician; Cert.
No. 000794; Cal. No. 23568
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Annulment of certificate to practice as a
clinical laboratory technician.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the allegation
that on or about September 20, 2006, with fraudulent intent, she
submitted an application for certification as a clinical laboratory
technician to the Division of Professional Licensing Services of
the New York State Education Department in which she certified
that she had at least five (5) years (7,200 clock hours) of experience
as a clinical laboratory technician, and was thereafter granted
a certificate to practice as a clinical laboratory technician in
the State of New York on or about January 16, 2007, based on the
aforesaid experience when, in truth and in fact, and as she well
knew, she did not have said experience as a clinical laboratory
technician.
Dentistry
Marsha Ellen Cohen, Brooklyn, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 033881; Cal. No.
23513
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007 (see also December
1994)
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation,
$2,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
of failing to timely discover the perforation of a tooth that subsequently
required extraction by not taking an x-ray of the tooth after inserting
a post and placing a crown thereon following treatment of said
tooth.
Neil Robert Mate, Brooklyn, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 036749; Cal. No.
23677
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007 (see also December
1997 and July 2009)
Action: Application for summary suspension granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
of engaging in physical contact of a sexual nature with a patient.
Profession:Dentist; Lic. No. 036917; Cal. No.
23443
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 6 month actual suspension, 18 month stayed
suspension, 2 years probation, $10,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Attempted Grand Larceny in the 4th Degree, a
class A misdemeanor.
Harsha D. Mehta Dentist P.C., 73-72 194th Street, Fresh Meadows, NY 11366
Profession:Dentistry; Cal. No. 23444
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation,
$10,000 fine.
Summary: Registrant admitted to the charge of
having been convicted of Grand Larceny in the 3rd Degree, a class
D felony.
Udi Ehud Yohanan, New York, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 045433; Cal. No.
22064
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Partial actual suspension in certain area
until successful completion of certain coursework, 1 year stayed
suspension, 1 year probation, $2,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
failing to maintain an accurate patient record and failing to diagnose
a lesion in a patient’s tooth.
Engineering and Land Surveying
Profession: Professional Engineer; Lic. No. 031925;
Cal. No. 23569
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 4 month actual suspension, 20 month stayed
suspension, 2 years probation to commence upon return to practice,
$2,000 fine payable within 6 months.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
of signing plans that he had not prepared or thoroughly reviewed.
Michael J. Maziarz, Cheektowaga, NY
Profession: Land Surveyor; Lic. No. 050498; Cal.
No. 23665
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
falsifying work experience on his initial application.
Frank Rapant, Jr., Schenectady, NY
Profession: Land Surveyor; Lic. No. 032135; Cal.
No. 23651
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007 (see also September
2002)
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
sealing and signing a survey and plot plan with deficiencies, placing
a pin without supportive evidence, and failing to maintain documents.
Mental Health Practitioner
Profession: Licensed Mental Health Counselor;
Lic. No. 000307; Cal. No. 23690
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
having been convicted of Forcible Touching, a class A misdemeanor.
Nursing
Arthurine Blossomgame, Uniondale, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 236266; Cal. No. 23408
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension for not less
than 6 months and until fit to practice, upon termination of suspension
2 years probation to commence if and when return to practice.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
failing to assess the condition of a patient in distress, and failing
to record in the nurse’s notes a patient’s fall.
Astra Alexandra Brown, Amityville, NY
Profession:Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
266464; Cal. No. 22381
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension for not less
than 3 months and until fit to practice, upon termination of suspension
2 years probation to commence if and when return to practice, $500
fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the
1st Degree and Grand Larceny in the 4th Degree, class E felonies;
Petit Larceny, a class A misdemeanor; and Aggravated Unlicensed
Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the 2nd and 3rd Degrees, unclassified
misdemeanors.
Amy M. Brunner, Los Angeles, CA
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 541219; Cal. No. 23530
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year actual suspension, 2 years probation
to commence upon return to practice.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
that she was found guilty of professional misconduct in California.
Martha Isabel Castillo, Maspeth, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 527143; Cal. No. 22943
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
documenting on hospital narcotics records the withdrawal of controlled
substances for administration to patients who did not have physicians'
orders for said drugs at the times of the withdrawals and/or failing
to chart the administration of said drugs on the patients' medication
administration records.
Amy L. Challenger, Penfield, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
258411; Cal. No. 23668
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
of taking narcotics for her personal use.
Adrian Denise Clements, Rochester, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
258423; Cal. No. 23582
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 3 year actual suspension, 5 years probation
to commence if and when return to practice.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted in 2007 of Grand Larceny in the 4th Degree.
John T. Conley, Jr., Rochester, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
274782; Cal. No. 23556
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension for a minimum
period of 1 year and until fit to practice, upon termination of
suspension 2 years probation to commence if and when return to
practice.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Atttempted Criminal Sexual Act.
Verlie M. Farrell, Williamson, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
242850; Cal. No. 22632
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 6 month actual suspension, 18 month stayed
suspension, 2 years probation to commence upon return to practice.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
failed to report a patient’s condition, to follow up on low blood
glucose, and to follow up with a physician.
Marcel Verona Forde, Englewood, NJ
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 224757, 449750; Cal. Nos. 23578,
23577
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation,
$500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Assault in the 3rd Degree, a class A misdemeanor.
Lawrence R. French, Hornell, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
165992; Cal. No. 23694
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
having been convicted of Possession of Child Pornography, Criminal
Forfeiture, and Violation of Probation.
Joy Alice Henderson, Killawog, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 308695; Cal. No. 23429
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation,
$500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
failed to discontinue medication as ordered by the physician.
Stephen H. Kotzen, Massena, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 362847; Cal. No. 23693
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
having been convicted of Attempted Sodomy in the 1st Degree and
Attempted Sexual Abuse in the 1st Degree.
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 226577; Cal. No. 23680
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
stopping CPR and failing to continuously supervise CPR on a patient.
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 441452; Cal. No. 23623
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Censure and Reprimand, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
that when checking, with another nurse, a unit of blood about to
be transfused into a patient, she failed to check the unit of blood
at the patient’s bedside, so that a comparison with the patient’s
identifying armband could be made.
Margarette Lazar, Brooklyn, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
228890; Cal. No. 23525
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation,
$250 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of failing
to check the medication administration record against the physician’s
order, thereby administering five medications to the wrong patient.
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
268411; Cal. No. 23557
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation,
$500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Attempted Grand Larceny in the 4th Degree.
Cindi Rimler, Crystal River, FL
Profession:Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
248546; Cal. No. 23633
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
having been convicted of Grand Larceny in the 3rd Degree, a class
D felony.
Laura Christine Rodriguez, Bay Shore, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
191607; Cal. No. 23512
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension for not less
than 1 month and until fit to practice, upon termination of suspension
2 years probation to commence if and when return to practice.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence
of Alcohol or Drugs, an unclassified misdemeanor, and Assault in
the 3rd Degree, a class A misdemeanor.
Elsie Marie St. Fleur, Elmont, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 195355, 412278; Cal. Nos. 23012,
23013
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Found guilty of professional misconduct;
Penalty: Revocation.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of practicing
the profession of nursing fraudulently in that she submitted a
nursing assessment sheet indicating that she had performed a nursing
assessment of a patient, when in fact she had not performed the
assessment.
Mary Magliulo Scaccia, Selden, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
068332; Cal. No. 23620
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 month actual suspension, 23 month stayed
suspension, 2 years probation.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge that
between January 2005 and September 2006, while employed as a licensed
practical nurse at the John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port
Jefferson, New York, she submitted fraudulent timesheets claiming
to have been on call on 58 separate occasions, when in fact, she
had not been.
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
250290; Cal. No. 23622
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation,
$250 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Assault in the 3rd Degree.
Marie Spanhake, Holtsville, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 236446; Cal. No. 23621
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 month actual suspension, 23 month stayed
suspension, 2 years probation.
Summary: Licensee admitted that between January
2005 and September 2006, while employed as a registered professional
nurse at the John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson,
New York, she submitted fraudulent timesheets claiming to have
been on call on 66 separate occasions, when in fact, she had not
been.
Laura Beth Ward, Verplanck, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 237018, 524935; Cal. Nos. 23502,
23503
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension for not less
than 6 months and until fit to practice, upon termination of suspension
2 years probation to commence if and when return to practice.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
having been convicted ofCriminal Possession of a Forged Instrument
in the 3rd Degree; Petit Larceny (two convictions); Criminal Impersonation
in the 2nd Degree and Aggravated Unlicensed Operator in the 3rd
Degree.
Patricia M. Wright, Rochester, NY
Profession:Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
104247; Cal. No. 23611
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation
to commence if and when return to practice, $250 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges that
she failed to properly document a patient record, failed to properly
follow infection control practices, and drew two forms of insulin
in the same syringe.
Pharmacy
Bruce Benishake, Ellenville, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 028626; Cal.
No. 21810
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Found guilty of professional misconduct;
Penalty: Censure and Reprimand, probation 1 year, $2,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of professional
misconduct in that he willfully failed to register and continued
practicing the profession of pharmacy.
Javed Farooqui, Jackson Heights, NY
Profession:Pharmacist; Lic. No. 037669; Cal.
No. 23508
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Censure and Reprimand, 1 year probation, $1,000
fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of filling
a high-dose prescription for Visicol 5 mg. with Vesicare 5 mg.,
as a result of which the patient was instructed to take the Vesicare
at twenty times its maximum recommended therapeutic dose.
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 020826; Cal.
No. 23492
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation,
$3,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee could not successfully defend
against charges of dispensing medication on two separate occasions
without conducting a prospective drug review to screen for potential
drug therapy problems.
K Mart Corporation #3415, 1001 Hertel Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14216
Profession:Pharmacy; Reg. No. 016205; Cal. No.
23479
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation,
$7,500 fine.
Summary: Registrant did not contest the charge
of having failed to notify the New York State Board of Pharmacy
within 7 days of any change in the identity of the supervising
pharmacist of the registered establishment.
Profession:Pharmacist; Lic. No. 042566; Cal.
No. 23535
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation,
$2,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
of allowing the pharmacy in which she was employed as the supervising
pharmacist to remain open without a pharmacist on duty Monday to
Friday between 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on or about and between
October 1, 2005 and June 9, 2006.
Kantilal Tulshibhai Vadsola, Brentwood, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 037833; Cal.
No. 23524
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Censure and Reprimand, 1 year probation, $1,000
fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge that
on or about November 3, 2006, at Neema Pharmacy Inc. d/b/a/ Picker
Pharmacy, he dispensed a quantity of the non-controlled drug Zoloft
100 mg. in a vial misbranded as containing Zoloft 50 mg.
Physical Therapy
Profession: Physical Therapist; Lic. No. 011243;
Cal. No. 23500
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 month actual suspension, 22 month stayed
suspension, 2 years probation to commence if and when return to
practice.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
submitted documentation regarding patient home care that had not
been performed.
Noel Santos Digan, New York, NY
Profession: Physical Therapist; Lic. No. 020000;
Cal. No. 23573
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation,
$1,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of failing
to timely provide documentation of the physical therapy care and
treatment which he rendered to two home-bound patients on eleven
separate occasions to the home health care agency which employed
him to provide that care and treatment.
Timothy Ekezie Okeke, Port Washington, NY
Profession: Physical Therapist Assistant; Cert.
No. 005781; Cal. No. 23586
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Found guilty of professional misconduct;
Penalty: 12 month suspension, execution of suspension stayed, probation
12 months.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of having
been convicted of the crime of Possession of a Forged Instrument
in the 3rd Degree, a class A misdemeanor.
Ahmed Mohamed-Elsayed Omran, Brooklyn, NY
Profession: Physical Therapist; Lic. No. 021049;
Cal. No. 23510
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 month actual suspension, 23 month stayed
suspension, 24 months probation, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Theft or Embezzlement in Connection with Health
Care, a misdemeanor.
Podiatry
Steven F. Gass, Long Beach, NY
Profession: Podiatrist; Lic. No. 002943; Cal.
No. 23128
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 12 month actual suspension, 1 year stayed
suspension, 2 years probation to commence if and when return to
practice, $10,000 fine payable within 90 days.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of 1 count of Income Tax Evasion and 4 counts of
Preparation of Fraudulent Tax Returns.
Psychology
Richard W. Firestone, New York, NY
Profession: Psychologist; Lic. No. 002011; Cal.
No. 23670
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
of engaging in physical contact of a sexual nature with a patient.
Jennifer Ann Hastings, Sand Lake, NY
Profession:Psychologist; Lic. No. 016867; Cal.
No. 23750
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007 (see also April 2009)
Action: Application for summary suspension granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
of engaging in physical contact of a sexual nature with a patient
who was a minor.
Respiratory Therapy
Kenneth J. Nugent, Wynantskill, NY
Profession: Respiratory Therapist; Lic. No. 000175;
Cal. No. 23594
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Criminal Attempt and Sexual Abuse to Children.
Social Work
John R. Prezioso, New York, NY
Profession: Licensed Clinical Social Worker;
Lic. No. 019790; Cal. No. 23250
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension for not less
than 2 years and until fit to practice, upon termination of suspension
2 years probation.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
committing several boundary violations with a patient in his social
work practice, including engaging in physical contact of a sexual
nature and revealing personal information to said patient.
Cathleen Marie Singleton a/k/a Cathleen Singleton a/k/a Cathleen Prior, Port Washington, NY
Profession: Licensed Master Social Worker; Lic.
No. 033768; Cal. No. 23471
Regents Action Date: December 14, 2007
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension for no less than
3 months and until fit to practice, upon termination of suspension
2 years probation to commence if and when return to practice.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of Driving
While Intoxicated, an unclassified misdemeanor, and Attempted Criminal
Contempt in the 2nd Degree, a class B misdemeanor.
* Terms under which this information is provided.
For further information: dplsdsu@mail.nysed.gov
