After being told by the NCDHSR that there was no where else we could go, we kept trying anyway. My brother had read an article about the H.E.A.T. task force , a combination of FBI and agents from the Inspector General (OIG). I attempted to contact the FBI from one angle, and my brother from another. My brother was successful at setting up a meeting at the Asheville NC office of the FBI.
The agent we met with was not even aware of the H.E.A.T. taskforce, but was willing to hear our story.
An agent met us in the lobby of the Federal Building in Asheville and escorted us to the waiting area of the FBI office. After several minutes, another agent led us into a small windowless office with his desk and two chairs. There were two cameras in the corners opposite where we sat, and two doors, one to the lobby, and one to another area in the back.
The conversation began with the agent stating that very few people ever get past the lobby, and that our accusations were very serious. My brother had spoken to him on the phone and given him the short story. We proceeded to present the evidence we had collected, medical records, sworn witness statements and other documents we had acquired. At the time of our initial meeting, I had not yet received the copy of the NCDHSR report of their investigation that had been requested through the FOIA ( freedom of information act ). These records were held up by the CMS for over one year, they would have been seriously incriminating at the time.
There were letters from Alfreda Walker of the CMS ( centers for medicare and Medicaid services ) in response to my contact with Congressman Heath Shuler. There was a signed sworn account of Mom's fall from her roommate. My brothers wife presented a spreadsheet of inconsistencies in the medical records and other information we had collected. Letters from the NC Medical Board and the NC Board of Nursing.
The combination of documents presented indicated plenty of indications that there were laws being broken. There was evidence of Medicare fraud, stolen drugs, fraudulent medical records, perjury, kickbacks, racketeering and manslaughter. The meeting lasted for two hours and was very intense.
The agent was extremely certain that there was more than enough to begin an investigation. He indicated that we should avoid contacting Dr. Russell, Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, and the NCDHSR or Gail Maloney!
When we left the FBI office, it seemed like we could finally rest and let the authorities do their job. I remember my brother and I hugging outside the Federal Building in tears.
The agent kept in touch for a year or so, and we met one other time with the initial agent and another agent, Andy Romanello. Agent Romanello treated us in an adversarial fashion, he was also unaware of a Federal law that we alleged was being violated. Although we presented him with documentation, he refused to look at the file. The meeting lasted over an hour and agent Romanello never even looked at the evidence we presented.
The initial agent has been transferred to another division of the DOJ and we have never heard from agent Romanello. That is where things were left with the FBI. It is entirely possible that they are still investigating our allegations. Believe me there is plenty of information to indicate that there are still laws being broken. The problem is that the Federal authorities don't seem to have the time or the staff to thoroughly investigate. If you consider the amount of money taken in by the nursing home industry, it would be hard to get around their influence. There is certainly no chance that a private citizen has a chance.
Mom died in November of 2011, and we have been after truth and justice since then. After all we have been through we have not given up. There is still contact with a Congressman, CMS and the OIG.
More to come, next chapter will be the OIG , (Office of the Inspector General )
No comments:
Post a Comment