Summaries of Regents Actions
On Professional Misconduct and Discipline*
September 1995
Architecture - Chiropractic - Dentistry - Nursing - Optometry - Pharmacy - Physical Therapy - Podiatry - Psychology - Public Accountancy
Architecture
Robert H. Barstow, North Tarrytown, NY
Profession: Architect; Lic. No. 016326; Cal. No.
15300
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of last 21
months of said suspension stayed, probation 2 years, 100 hours of
public service.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of charges of
Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a Class E Felony.
Chiropractic
Bernard Tyrka, Watervliet, NY
Profession: Chiropractor; Lic. No. 001030; Cal.
No. 14238
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of failing
to maintain an accurate patient record.
Dentistry
Mark Benes, New York, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 020125; Cal. No. 14198
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 1 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 1 year.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of charges of
failure to inform a patient that her tooth had been perforated and
failure to record the perforation in the chart maintained for the
patient.
Alan Jeffrey Chernick, New City, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 026857; Cal. No. 15249
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of last 21
months of said suspension stayed, probation 2 years, $5,000 fine,
100 hours of public service.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of charges of
having been convicted of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in
the Second Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor.
Carl Edward Cole, Granville, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 035824; Cal. No. 15298
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Five years suspension, execution of last
4 years of said suspension stayed, probation 5 years, 100 hours of
public service.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of charges of
having been convicted of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a Class
D Felony.
Gail Eileen Cave, Dobbs Ferry, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 040549; Cal. No. 14686
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Censure and Reprimand, $2,500 fine, probation
1 year under various terms to be terminated upon proof of successful
completion of certain course work.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of failing
to adequately treat two teeth.
Lance Richard Van Drusen, Lewiston, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 035958; Cal. No. 15215
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years, $2,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of prescribing
controlled drugs for herself and family members for non-dental purposes
and failing to maintain patient records, ordering controlled drugs
at wholesale for non-dental purposes, failing to maintain records
of controlled drugs received, failing to properly dispose of controlled
drugs not dispensed to patient, failing to prepare and maintain biennial
inventories of all controlled drugs possessed by him between 1987
and 1991; preparing and inserting an ill-fitting fixed bridge in
the mouth of one patient and one ill-fitting denture into the mouth
of another patient.
Brent L. Deuink, Clymer, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 035694; Cal. No. 15309
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Revocation, execution of revocation stayed,
probation 2 years, $10,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Petit Larceny, a Class A Misdemeanor.
Samuel Kassal, New York, NY
Profession: Dentist; Lic. No. 014410; Cal. No. 15516
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 3 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 5 years, $2,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of preparing
and inserting an ill-fitting fixed bridge in the mouth of one patient
and one ill-fitting denture into the mouth of another patient.
Nursing
Carol Ann Hammond, Huntington Station, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 131956, 349993; Cal. Nos. 12956, 12957
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of charges of
concealing medication administration errors, including the placement
of medications into a container, the reporting to another nurse that
she had disposed of medication when she had not, and the charting
on the Narcotics Sheets that she had, when she had not and filing
of a false report relating to the charting.
Shirley Ann Metera, Windsor, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 178758, 386024; Cal. Nos. 14636, 14635
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: No penalty be imposed.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of charges of
wilfully altering a physician's order sheet.
Coreen D. Capasso, Miller Place, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 181064, 397853; Cal. Nos. 14282, 14283
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension with leave to apply for
early termination upon satisfactory written proof of certain course
work; Upon termination of suspension, probation 2 years under various
terms, 100 hours of public service.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of committing
medication administration errors.
Candy L. Moulton, Cohoes, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No. 167095;
Cal. No. 14433
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of committing
five medication administration errors.
Andrea Ellen Garcia, Scotia, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No. 191380;
Cal. No. 14755
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995 (see also April
1998)
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years, 50 hours of public service, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of obtaining
a license fraudulently and having been convicted of Driving While
Intoxicated, an Unclassified Misdemeanor.
Theresa G. Harzynski, West Islip, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 065819, 216698; Cal. Nos. 15069, 15070
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of committing
medication errors and not properly assessing a patient.
Mary Dana White, Poughkeepsie, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 447513; Cal. No. 15247
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years, $250 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Assault in the Third Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor.
Robert Hamilton Benn, Boynton Beach, FL
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 423093; Cal. No. 15257
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years under various terms to commence upon return
to practice.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of committing
three medication administration errors and one charting error.
Susan Barbara Valentino, Buffalo, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 447444; Cal. No. 15269
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 1 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 1 year.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of administering
a hyper-alimentation preparation at a rate of 999 cc/hour when the
physician's order called for 80 cc/hour.
Rachelle B. Cambra, Blossvale, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 210671, 453835; Cal. Nos. 15277, 15278
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of committing
nine medication administration and documentation errors.
Louise Hequet Baird, Patterson, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 195529; Cal. No. 15283
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Indefinite suspension until fit to practice
- upon termination of suspension, probation 2 years under various
terms.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of practicing
while her ability to practice was impaired by drugs.
Judith A. Gessner, Lackawanna, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No. 181819;
Cal. No. 15315
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years under various terms, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated and Aggravated Unlicensed
Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the Third Degree.
Doris Fallon Corrigan, East Northport, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 113846; Cal. No. 15318
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Revocation, execution of revocation stayed,
probation 3 years under various terms, 100 hours of public service.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Manslaughter in the Second Degree.
Bebe S. Topping, Port Jefferson, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 271992; Cal. No. 15388
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 24 month suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 24 months under various terms.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of failing
to accurately record the administration of medications to patients.
Patricia Byrk Studd, Olean, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No. 055000;
Cal. No. 15460
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated, an unclassified Misdemeanor.
Patricia H. Fisk, Bennington, VT
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 337309; Cal. No. 15493
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years, 50 hours of public service.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of, on five
different days, signing the name of a co-worker as having witnessed
the wastage of controlled substances, when in fact, the co-worker
had not witnessed the wastage.
Mary Ann Creeron Grostefon, Liverpool, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 150248; Cal. No. 15518
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 1 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 1 year.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of committing
five documentation errors.
Sandra E. B. Cramer a/k/a Sandra Eileen Bernadette Aldrich, Whitesville, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse, Lic. Nos. 168838, 374807; Cal. Nos. 15527, 15528
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years, 25 hours of public service.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of committing
medication administration and documentation errors.
Phyllis B. Rask, Waterloo, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse, Lic. Nos. 056154, 392038; Cal. Nos. 15534, 15535
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 1 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 1 year, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of transcribing
a physician's order incorrectly, applying a splint to the wrong leg
of a patient, and permitting an unlicensed person to do rectal checks.
M. Rose-Margarett Pierre-Louis, Westbury, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 260236; Cal. No. 15536
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 1 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 1 year, 100 hours of public service.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of starting
a transfusion of the wrong blood into a hospital patient.
Susan Cabrillas, Poughkeepsie, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 196079, 406950; Cal. Nos. 15569, 15570
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of committing
four medication administration and documentation errors.
Clarasue Kettenbeil, Southold, NY
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered
Professional Nurse; Lic. Nos. 202328, 416095; Cal. Nos. 15623, 15624
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 1 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 1 year, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of failing
to transcribe a medication order, administering pre-operative medications
after surgery, and not taking action to insure that a patient continued
to receive oxygen after being informed by an aide that the patient's
chest tube bottle was empty.
Rita Davey West, Norfolk, NY
Profession: Registered Professional Nurse; Lic.
No. 128611; Cal. No. 14484
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of falsifying
hospital records and failing to notify a physician regarding a patient's
condition.
Janice R. Dick, Jacksonville, FL
Profession: Licensed Practical Nurse; Lic. No. 140805;
Cal. No. 15637
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Application to surrender license granted.
Summary: Licensee could not successfully defend
against charges of illegally obtaining a controlled substance by
misappropriating a prescription blank and forging a physician's signature.
Optometry
John Bielinski, Hamburg, NY
Profession: Optometrist; Lic. No. 003165; Cal. No.
15364
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years, $10,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second
Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor.
Pharmacy
Steven Brian Berkowitz, Babylon, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 034636; Cal. No.
13899
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Censure and Reprimand, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of dispensing
a prescription which lacked the date on which it was written and
printed name of the prescriber, dispensing the wrong drug pursuant
to the prescription, and mislabelling the container in which the
drug was dispensed.
John Henry Sien, Sound Beach, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 035207; Cal. No.
14671
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Censure and Reprimand, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of committing
dispensing errors and failing to file a prescription for retrieval.
Pharmacy Management Corp. d/b/a Lowen Pharmacy, 541 Sycamore Street, or 279 New Dorp Lane, Staten Island, NY 10312.
Profession: Pharmacy; Reg. No. 020855; Cal. No.
15313
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: $500 fine.
Summary: Retail pharmacy admitted to charges of
having a drug stock containing overfills; failure to identify generic
products dispensed, and having a drug stock containing a misbranded
drug.
Gary Stoltzenberg, Staten Island, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 039113; Cal. No.
15314
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Censure and Reprimand, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of pharmacy
violations on location where he was a supervisory pharmacist.
Owais A. Qureshi, New Hyde Park, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 037671; Cal. No.
15442
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Censure and Reprimand, $1,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
a drug stock containing two misbranded drugs lacking Pharmacopedia
Dispensing Information, the pharmacy's registration not conspicuously
displayed, and dispensing prescriptions which lacked a patient's
age.
Rudy Licul, Whitestone, NY
Profession: Pharmacist; Lic. No. 040314; Cal. No.
15650
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: Censure and Reprimand, $500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of substituting
without authorization the non-controlled substance Fluphenazine 10
mg. Instead of Trifluoperazine 10 mg. as ordered by patient's physicians.
Physical Therapy
Laurence Steve, Bronx, NY
Profession: Physical Therapist; Lic. No. 001753;
Cal. No. 14934
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: $1,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee did not contest charges of making
a lewd remark to a patient.
Podiatry
Peter Hirschhorn, Muttontown, NY
Profession: Podiatrist; Lic. No. 003341; Cal. No.
14132
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years, $3,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges involving
treatment of a diabetic patient in failing to perform proper pre-operative
testing, performing sterile and non-sterile procedures at the same
time, and failing to render proper post-operative care, and using
a consent form which failed to indicate specific procedures to be
performed.
Robert J. McDonald, Jackson Heights, NY
Profession: Podiatrist; Lic. No. 003774; Cal. No.
14819
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 5 year suspension, execution of last 2 years
of suspension stayed, probation 2 years under various terms to commence
upon the stay of execution of the last 2 years of said suspension.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and Offering
a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree.
Richard Steinberg, New York, NY
Profession: Podiatrist; Lic. No. 002898; Cal. No.
15265
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 1 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 1 year, $2,500 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of willfully
failing to register and submitting a false delayed registration application.
Jerard I. Bronfman, Pleasantville, NY
Profession: Podiatrist; Lic. No. 003539; Cal. No.
15465
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of last 18
months of suspension stayed, probation 2 years under various terms,
$1,000 fine.
Summary: Licensee admitted to charges of having
been convicted of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First
Degree, a Felony.
Psychology
Arnold Projansky, New Paltz, NY
Profession: Psychologist; Lic. No. 003574; Cal.
No. 15238
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 2 years, $1,000 fine, 100 hours of public service.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of charges of
having been convicted Petit Larceny, a Class A Misdemeanor.
Public Accountancy
George Mendon Curtis a/k/a George M. Curtis, Roslyn Heights, NY
Profession: Public Accountant; Lic. (Enroll.) No.
002911; Cal. No. 14802
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995
Action: 1 year suspension, execution of suspension
stayed, probation 1 year.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of charges of
having been convicted of Attempt to Commit the Crime of Offering
a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor.
Lewis Andrew Swartz a/k/a Lewis A. Swartz a/k/a Lewis Swartz, Syosset, NY
Profession: Certified Public Accountant; Lic. No.
032384; Cal. No. 15087
Regents Action Date: September 15, 1995 (see also October
2001)
Action: 2 year suspension, execution of last 18
months of suspension stayed, probation for last 18 months, 50 hours
of public service.
Summary: Licensee was found guilty of charges of
having been convicted of Petit Larceny, a Class A Misdemeanor.
* Terms under which this information is provided.
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