Summaries of Regents Actions
On Professional Misconduct and Discipline*
March 2008
Architecture - Clinical Laboratory Practitioner - Dentistry - Engineering and Land Surveying - Massage Therapy - Nursing - Pharmacy - Psychology - Public Accountancy - Social Work - Veterinary Medicine
Architecture
Anthony J. Morali, New York, NY
Profession: Architect; Lic. No. 017683; Cal.
No. 23696
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
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 of willfully
filing a false report in that he falsely reported on a registration
application that he had not practiced as an architect since the
expiration of his registration.
Clinical Laboratory Practitioner
Profession: Clinical Laboratory Technologist;
Lic. No. 008283; Cal. No. 23704
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Annulment of license to practice as a clinical
laboratory technologist.
Summary: Licensee did not contest allegations
that on or about September 14, 2006, with fraudulent intent, she
submitted an application for licensure as a clinical laboratory
technologist to the Division of Professional Licensing Services
of the New York State Education Department in which she certified
that she had at least 5 years (7,200 clock hours) of experience
as a clinical laboratory technologist, and was thereafter granted
a license to practice as a clinical laboratory technologist in
the State of New York on or about February 3, 2007, based upon
the aforesaid experience when, in truth and in fact, and as she
well knew, she did not have said experience as a clinical laboratory
technologist.
Dentistry
Theresa M. Capasso a/k/a Theresa Mello, Middle Village, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 045982; Cal. No.
23834
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
that while employed and on duty as a dentist, she asked a fellow
employee dentist to fill out and sign a prescription for 10 tablets
of Tylenol III and falsely stated to said colleague that the prescription
was for an unnamed patient in the waiting area of the practice.
Said colleague did so and thereafter, without the authorization
of said colleague, licensee filled in her birth name as the patient,
knowing that said colleague had not treated her; changed the number
of prescribed tablets to 16; and thereafter filled said prescription.
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 035521; Cal. No.
23482
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension for not less
than 12 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 of one count of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree.
Engineering and Land Surveying
Profession: Professional Engineer; Lic. No. 054074;
Cal. No. 23748
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Assault in the 3rd Degree and Endangering the
Welfare of a Child.
Massage Therapy
Profession: Massage Therapist; Lic. No. 014576;
Cal. No. 23700
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee pled guilty to charges of
having been convicted of Promoting Prostitution in the 4th Degree
and willfully filing a false report.
Nursing
George Chmielewski, Barnevald, NY and Remsen, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
266199; Cal. No. 23489
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Found guilty of professional misconduct;
Penalty: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension stayed, $2,500
fine.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of having
been convicted of the crime of Endangering the Welfare of a Child,
a misdemeanor.
Jane Helen Cochran, Andover, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 540625; Cal. No. 23280
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
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 2nd Degree.
Claudette Doreen Davis, Oakland, FL
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
151232; Cal. No. 23797
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
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.
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
265031; Cal. No. 23673
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
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 Conspiracy in the 4th Degree, a class E felony.
Rosanne Ficarra, Mastic Beach, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 454613; Cal. No. 23632
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008 (see also March
2003)
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation,
$1,500 fine, 50 hours public service.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated, a class E felony.
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
245257; Cal. No. 23865
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Willful Violation of Health Laws and Falsifying
Business Records in the 2nd Degree.
Jacqueline Jorgensen Fuzessery, Ossining, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
244505; Cal. No. 23714
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension until successfully
participate in course of therapy and treatment and until fit to
practice, upon termination of suspension 2 years probation, $500
fine.
Summary: Licenseeadmitted to charges of having
been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated (two convictions).
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
274479; Cal. No. 23725
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation,
$250 fine.
Summary: Licenseeadmittedto charges of having
been convicted of prostitution and Criminal Trespass in the 3rd
Degree.
Frances B. Hafner, Rochester, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
093983; Cal. No. 23592
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation,
$250 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
of completing pre-signed prescriptions for herself without authorization.
Beris May Ming Harper, Bronx, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 211019; Cal. No. 23272
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 3 month actual suspension, 21 month stayed
suspension, 2 years probation.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
failing to inform a patient's physician, prior to commencement
of a cardiac catheterization procedure in which heparin was routinely
used, that the patient had previously had an allergic reaction
to heparin.
Afia Agyarkwaah Kyei-Anti, Shirley, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 520335; Cal. No. 23638
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 6 month actual suspension, 18 month stayed
suspension, 2 years probation, $1,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
taking large quantities of medications from her place of employment,
without a doctor's order or any other authorization, and sending
said medications to Ghana.
Diane Louise Lamphere, Parish, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
225012; Cal. No. 23708
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation,
$250 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge ofrecord
keeping errors.
Marilyn Frances Lenardon a/k/a Marilyn Muller Lenardon, Bronx, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 069704, 488983; Cal. Nos. 23720,
23721
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
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 writing
an order for Tylenol for a patient.
Keri Lynn Mazzella, Highland, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
273627; Cal. No. 23739
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008 (See also October 2010)
Action: Found guilty of professional misconduct;
Penalty: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension stayed.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of having
been convicted of the crime of Driving While Intoxicated, an unclassified
misdemeanor.
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 318115; Cal. No. 23896
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Rape in the 2nd Degree; Sexual Abuse in the
2nd Degree; and Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent or Physically
Disabled Person.
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
267646; Cal. No. 23256
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Found guilty of professional misconduct;
Penalty: Revocation.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of professional
misconduct in that on numerous occasions with fraudulent intent
she removed controlled substances and did not administer them to
patients.
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
257972; Cal. No. 23805
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 3 month actual suspension, 9 month stayed
suspension, 1 year probation to commence if and when return to
practice in State of New York, $250 fine payable within 6 months.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Attempted Grand Larceny in the 4th Degree.
Jacob Ade Onanuga, Hempstead, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 223339, 540994; Cal. Nos. 23609,
23610
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Found guilty of professional misconduct;
Penalty: Revocation.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of having
been convicted of the crime of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree,
a class B misdemeanor.
Laura A. Peters, Manorvvile, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No.
249038; Cal. No. 23734
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation,
$500 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
diverting the controlled substances Morphine and Dilaudid from
her place of nursing employment for her own use, and substituting
water for the Morphine and Dilaudid which she diverted.
Lavern Angella Pryce, Springfield Gardens, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 248980, 495177; Cal. Nos. 23624,
23625
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
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 changing
a physician’s order for Tylenol for a patient.
Rosann Michele Silvia, Holbrook, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 339203; Cal. No. 23752
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
diverting the controlled substance Dilaudid and Morphine from the
supplies of her nursing employers for her own use.
Sarah Ann Simmons, Millerton, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 500065; Cal. No. 23747
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension until successfully
participate in course of therapy and treatment and until fit to
practice, upon termination of suspension 2 years probation.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
having been convicted ofDriving While Ability Impaired by Drugs.
Gail Diane Tobin a/k/a Gail Grab, LaGrangeville, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 111289, 291281; Cal. Nos. 23716,
23717
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension until successfully
participate in course of therapy and treatment and until fit to
practice, upon termination of suspension 2 years probation, $500
fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
having been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated.
Patricia Bernadette Walegir, Flushing, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 237505; Cal. No. 23634
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
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 did not contest the charge
of diverting controlled substances for her own personal use.
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 515696; Cal. No. 23667
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
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 signing
a health care proxy that she did not actually witness.
Pharmacy
Shahab Uddin Ahmed, Woodbury, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 033930; Cal.
No. 23743
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation,
$10,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of distributing
the prescription-required non-controlled drug Thalidomide without
a prescription and failing to ensure that the pharmacy was under
the supervision of a licensed pharmacist at all times when open.
Robert Allen Horlocher, Jr., Mt. Sinai, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 048209; Cal.
No. 23587
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge
of being dependent on, or a habitual user of, the prescription-required,
controlled narcotic drug hydrocodone.
Vito F. Lavango, Canandaigua, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 042910; Cal.
No. 23249
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 6 month actual suspension, 18 month stayed
suspension, 2 years probation to commence if and when return to
practice, $500 fine payable within 6 months.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Misbranding a Prescription Drug after Shipment
in Interstate Commerce.
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 042413; Cal.
No. 23627
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation,
$1,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
misbranding the contents of a prescription he had dispensed and
failing to counsel.
M. and S. Drugs Inc. d/b/a Long Island City Chemists, 30-12 36th Avenue, Long Island City, NY
Profession: Pharmacy; Reg. No. 018640; Cal. No.
23744
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 2 year stayed suspension, 2 years probation,
$10,000 fine.
Summary: Registrant admitted to charges of engaging
in the wholesale distribution of the prescription-required non-controlled
drug Thalidomide and failing to ensure that the pharmacy was under
the supervision of a licensed pharmacist at all times when open.
Howard Topchik a/k/a Sheldon H. Topchik, Oceanside, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 021317; Cal.
No. 23887
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008 (see also February
1997 and July
2004)
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
practicing the profession of pharmacy fraudently.
Psychology
Profession: Psychologist; Lic. No. 004653; Cal.
No. 23869
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
committing conduct in the practice of psychology evincing moral
unfitness to practice that profession in that he engaged in a sexual
relationship with a patient.
Public Accountancy
Profession: Certified Public Accountant; Lic.
No. 042642; Cal. No. 23645
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: Indefinite actual suspension in certain area
for no less than 1 year and until terminated as set forth in application,
upon termination of suspension 2 years probation, $7,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
having made auditing procedure errors committed during the course
of conductingan audit of the financial statements of an entity,
the results of which were submitted to a federal agency.
David Alan Kaplan, Melville, NY
Profession: Certified Public Accountant; Lic.
No. 064657; Cal. No. 23769
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud and Conspiracy
to Obstruct Justice, both felonies.
Vincent Michael Labbate, Massapequa Park, NY
Profession: Certified Public Accountant; Lic.
No. 082475; Cal. No. 23079
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 3 month actual suspension, 21 month stayed
suspension, 2 years probation, $2,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of having
been convicted of Attempted Disseminating of Indecent Material
to a Minor in the 2nd Degree, a class A misdemeanor.
David Paul Rivard, East Setauket, NY
Profession: Certified Public Accountant; Lic.
No. 067369; Cal. No. 23827
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
having been convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud
and Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice, both felonies.
Lloyd Howard Silverstein, Melville, NY
Profession: Certified Public Accountant; Lic.
No. 055639; Cal. No. 23799
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to the charge of
having been convicted of Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice, a felony.
David J. Zwibel a/k/a Joseph David a/k/a John D. Miller, Lawrence, NY
Profession: Certified Public Accountant; Lic.
No. 046460; Cal. No. 23220
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Attempted Criminal possession of a Forged Instrument
in the 2nd Degree and Scheme to Defraud in the 1st Degree, both
class E felonies.
Social Work
Carrie Lee Virginia Wilson-Rhodes, Amityville, NY
Profession: Licensed Master Social Worker; Lic. No. 057139;
Cal. No. 23710
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Found guilty of professional misconduct; Penalty:
Revocation, $10,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of having
been convicted of the crime of Attempted Grand Larceny in the 3rd
Degree, a class E felony.
Veterinary Medicine
Profession: Veterinarian; Lic. No. 009705; Cal.
No. 23692
Regents Action Date: March 18, 2008
Action: Application for consent order granted;
Penalty agreed upon: 1 year stayed suspension, 1 year probation
to commence if and when return to practice, $500 fine payable within
60 days.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of
administering the FVRCP vaccine with modified live virus to a female
cat prior to determining that said cat was pregnant, and failing
to advise the owner of the increased risk to the health of the
feti exposed to said vaccine.
* Terms under which this information is provided.
For further information: dplsdsu@mail.nysed.gov
