Summaries of Regents Actions
on Professional
Misconduct and Discipline
February 2013
Terms under which this information is provided.
- Architecture - Clinical Laboratory Practitioner - Dentistry - Massage Therapy - Nursing - Pharmacy - Podiatry - Public Accountancy -
Architecture
Guy Charles Winig, Hillsdale, NY
Profession: Landscape Architect; Lic. No. 001314; Cal. No. 26499
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation to commence upon return to practice.
Summary: Respondent admitted to the charge of having been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated.
Clinical Laboratory Practitioner
Profession: Clinical Laboratory Technician; Cert. No. 000494; Cal. No. 26494
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 6 month actual suspension, 18 month stayed suspension, 24 months probation, $1,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having been convicted of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree, a class B felony. HereDentistry
Harry Satin, Valley Stream, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 034200; Cal. No. 26521
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
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 Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol, an unclassified misdemeanor.
Gerald A. Zupkoff, Hewlett, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 021704; Cal. No. 26472
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having been convicted of Medical Assistance Provider; Prohibited Practice, a class E felony.Massage Therapy
Profession: Massage Therapist; Lic. No. 017290; Cal. No. 26359
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having been convicted of Petit Larceny.
Nursing
Christine E. Ayres, Stanley, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 513384; Cal. No. 26444
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013 (see also September 2013)
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 Felony Driving While Intoxicated.
Terrence James Berke, Hilton, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No. 297672; Cal. No. 26395
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 1 month actual suspension, 23 month stayed suspension, 2 years probation, $250 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of failing to call a code and failing to commence cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Michael Peter Bernardi, Schenectady, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 630370; Cal. No. 26376
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension until fit to practice, upon termination of suspension, 2 years probation to commence upon return to practice, $500 fine payable within 6 months.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge of withdrawing controlled substances without a physician's order.
Sean Dewey Brown, East Moriches, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 249702, 514117; Cal. Nos. 25816, 25815
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension until successfully complete course of therapy and treatment 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 the charge of diverting Dilaudid from his nursing employer for his own use.
Kellie Eileen Burk, East Islip, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 256216, 564949; Cal. Nos. 26336, 26337
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge of failing to maintain accurate patient records.
Kristin Cerminaro, Farmingville, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No. 298867; Cal. No. 25499
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 1 month actual suspension, 23 month stayed suspension, 2 years probation.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge of charting that she administered various treatments for nine patients, when said treatments had not been administered.
Lisa Jane Cordaro, Valley Cottage, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 518938; Cal. No. 26387
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
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 administering medications to the wrong patient.
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 601635; Cal. No. 26323
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 2 year suspension, 2 years probation to commence upon return to practice, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of moral unfitness in the practice of nursing.
Dana Marie Dougherty, Dumont, NJ
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 551166; Cal. No. 26449
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge that, on several separate occasions, she withdrew the wrong dose from the Pyxis machine for the medication Heparin for use in preparing an IV Saline solution, causing the resulting solutions to be under-dosed for Heparin.
Catherine F. Lugtu, Port Washington, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 513856; Cal. No. 26167
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013 (see also December 2009)
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 1 month actual suspension, 23 month stayed suspension, 2 years probation.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge of filing a false employment application which failed to disclose that she had been terminated from her previous employer for altering the expiration date on a nursing re-registration certificate.
Antoinette L. Maria, Elmira, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 621471; Cal. No. 26403
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge of failing to secure a medication cart when leaving such cart unattended and failing to ensure a safe environment for her patients.
Nancy Nero a/k/a Nancy Newhard, Rensselaer, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 242346, 525615; Cal. Nos. 25985, 25986
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Found guilty of professional misconduct; Penalty: $1,000 fine, 2 year suspension, execution of last year of suspension stayed, probation 2 years to run concurrent with period of suspension.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of failing to maintain a record which accurately reflected the evaluation and treatment of a patient based on her failure to properly identify a patient, and as a result, administered numerous medications to the wrong patient, and documented in the records of the patient that the medications were actually intended for, that they were given to her, when they were not.
Maria Theresa Ogtong-Tynan, Fort Lee, NJ
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 425761; Cal. No. 26508
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge of practicing nursing while her ability to care for her patients was impaired by debilitating pain and limitation of movement arising from her severe degenerative back condition.
Cheryl Lynn Pedone, Burnt Hills, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 444976; Cal. No. 26500
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension until fit to practice, upon termination of suspension, 2 years probation to commence upon return to practice, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of working as a nurse under the influence of drugs.
Shannon L. Pillion, Binghamton, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No. 265569; Cal. No. 26119
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Found guilty of professional misconduct; Penalty: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension stayed, probation 2 years to run concurrent with period of stayed suspension.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of having been convicted of Criminal Diversion of Prescription Medications and Prescriptions in the 4th Degree based on her cutting open sealed pouches of the substances and ingesting a portion of the contents and then resealing the pouches and replacing them in their boxes. She was also convicted of Aggravated Unlicensed Operation in the 2nd Degree stemming from a subsequent separate incident.
Joseph F. Twardowski, Tonawanda, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 386695; Cal. No. 26402
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 1 month actual suspension, 11 month stayed suspension, 1 year probation, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated.
Jamie T. Webster a/k/a Jamie Todd Webster, Elmira, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No. 294908; Cal. No. 26421
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
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 Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, a felony.
Arthur W. Wheeler, East Elmhurst, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 256992; Cal. No. 26138
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Found guilty of professional misconduct; Penalty: Revocation.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of having been convicted of Securities Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Securities and Wire Fraud based on his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of American Healthcare, a publicly traded corporation engaged in the business of dispensing prescription drugs, fraudulently increased the demand for common stock in American Healthcare by issuing false and misleading press releases about the company’s earnings and activities.
Darlene Ann Whitney, Delmar, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic. No. 471028; Cal. No. 26388
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 2 month actual suspension, 10 month stayed suspension, 1 year probation.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge of having been convicted of Petit Larceny.
Pharmacy
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 055379; Cal. No. 26539
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation, $5,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge that in filling a prescription calling for medroxyprogesterone 2.5 mg., he instead dispensed methotrexate 2.5 mg., a powerful and potentially dangerous medication, to the patient.
V. Rao Veeramachaneni, Brooklyn, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 029970; Cal. No. 26530
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the allegations that, between January 1, 2004 and March 30, 2009, he submitted, and caused to be submitted, claims to Medicaid for prescription drugs that were never dispensed; and submitted, and caused to be submitted, claims to Medicaid for prescription drugs that were diverted prescription drugs from lawful distribution.
Podiatry
Thomas Barbaro, New Hyde Park, NY
Profession: Podiatrist; Lic. No. 004360; Cal. No. 24726
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation, $10,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge that, at the request of minor patient's parent, he sutured a four-inch, deep laceration on said patient's left index finger; administered local anesthesia thereto; and prescribed the antibiotic Duricef therefor.
Thomas Barbaro, DPM, PC, 706 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park, NY
Profession: Podiatry; Cal. No. 26282
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: $10,000 fine payable within 6 months.
Summary: Respondent admitted to the charge that, at the request of minor patient's parent, it’s member sutured a four-inch, deep laceration on said patient's left index finger; administered local anesthesia thereto; and prescribed the antibiotic Duricef therefor.
John DeStefano, Whitestone, NY
Profession: Podiatrist; Lic. No. 006355; Cal. No. 26430
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 1 month actual suspension, 23 month stayed suspension, 24 months probation, $3,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge that, not having his own blank prescription forms with him to write a prescription for a narcotic pain medication for a friend, which prescription he was otherwise authorized to issue, he used another podiatrist’s prescription form, forging her signature to the form.
Public Accountancy
James Craig Taylor, Hauppauge, NY
Profession: Certified Public Accountant; Lic. No. 048851; Cal. No. 26461
Regents Action Date: February 11, 2013
Action: Application for consent order granted; Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation, $750 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having been convicted of Reckless Endangerment in the 2nd Degree, a class A misdemeanor.
For further information: dplsdsu@mail.nysed.gov
