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Archive for March, 2016

Dentistry Board members fail to take required state ethics training; board policy attracts unwanted attention of ADA

Posted in Boards, Corruption, Ethics, Finances, Public Records on March 25, 2016| 7 Comments »

Even as the Office of Inspector General conducts its ongoing investigation of the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry, the board’s unorthodox practices have come to the attention of the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Dental Education Association (ADEA).

At the same time, LouisianaVoice has learned that all but two members of the Board of Dentistry, including its executive director, may also have a problem with state ethics.

LouisianaVoice learned last Tuesday (March 21) that the Office of Inspector General was conducting an investigation into substantial fines levied against dentists for minor offenses. https://louisianavoice.com/2016/03/21/louisianavoice-learns-of-simultaneous-federal-and-state-investigations-of-lsta-la-state-board-of-dentistry/

On Friday, we obtained a copy of a Feb. 26, 2016, LETTER letter from the two national associations to State Dentistry Board President Dr. Russell Mayer of Hammond. The letter expressed a “high level of concern” of the ADA, its Licensure Task Force, the Council on Dental Education and Licensure, and the American Dental Education Association (ADEA).

The upshot of the letter appears to be a subtle message for the Louisiana board to cease in its efforts to bar competition from out-of-state dentists.

That concern is “with regard to the status of licensure for dentists in the U.S., particularly for dentists attempting to relocate to other states. The letter said that the Louisiana board engages “in conduct that restricts, rather enhances, that portability.”

The three-page letter was signed by Carol Gomez Summerhays, ADA President; Gary L. Roberts, President-elect; Gary E. Jeffers, Chair, ADA Licensure Task Force; Daniel J. Gesek, Jr., Chair, Council on Dental Education and Licensure; Huw F. Thomas, Dean of Tufts University’s School of Dental Medicine and Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors; Cecile A. Feldman, Dean of Dental Medicine, Rutgers University, Chair-elect of the ADEA Board of Directors, and Lily T. Garcia, University of Iowa College of Dentistry Associate Dean for Education and Immediate Past Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors.

The ADEA Allied Dental Program Directors’ Conference is scheduled to be held in New Orleans June 4-7, which makes the timing of the letter especially significant.

In addition to Dr. Mayer, copies of the letter were sent to Arthur Hickham, Jr., Executive Director of the State Board of Dentistry; Dr. Henry Gremillion, Dean, LSU School of Dentistry; Dr. L. King Scott, President of the Louisiana Dental Association; Ward Blackwell, Executive Director, Louisiana Dental Association; Dr. Raymond A. Cohlmia, 12th District ADA Trustee; Dr. Kathleen O’Loughlin, ADA Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, and Dr. Richard Valachovic, ADEA President and CEO.

The letter pointed out that there are five clinical test administration agencies for dentistry:

  • The Commission on Dental Competency Assessments;
  • Central Regional Dental Testing Service, Inc.;
  • Council of Interstate Testing Agencies, Inc.;
  • The Southern Regional Testing Agency, Inc.;
  • The Western Regional Examining Board.

“The ADA…has come to the conclusion that these examinations adhere to a common set of core design and content requirements that renders them conceptually comparable,” the letter said. “It has been a longstanding policy of the ADA that it represents unnecessary and meaningless duplication to require a candidate seeking licensure in different states to demonstrate his or her theoretical knowledge and clinical skill on separate examinations for each jurisdiction, especially when it is clear that the core requirements, administration, and outcomes are virtually indistinguishable between each examination,” it said.

“It is our understanding that your state affirmatively elects not to accept the examination results from all of these test administration agencies. The decision of your board… to accept the test results of only a select number of clinical test administration agencies appears highly arbitrary. Moreover, those decisions have an arguably anticompetitive effect in restricting the mobility of dentists wishing to move from one state to another.”

“…We respectfully request that your board pursue the necessary steps to accept successful completion of all of the clinical test administration agency examinations for dental licensure in your state,” the letter said. “Recognizing that the dental board’s primary mission is protecting the public in your state, we believe that the board has the authority and autonomy to pursue this change. It will increase portability of dental professionals and access to quality dental care for patients.”

The letter is in addition to the controversy swirling around the board’s policy of forcing dentists to pay the costs of investigating them in addition to absurd monetary penalties that can run into six figures.

The most outrageous example is the board’s forcing a surgeon into bankruptcy because the oral surgeon, who “never filled a tooth, made a denture, made a crown, cleaned teeth, restored a tooth, or anything that anyone would consider a dental practice, did not have an anesthesia permit from the board.

The doctor, Randal Wilk, whose patients were mostly cancer victims, was told by the board that he could sign a consent decree and pay the board $5,000 and the matter would be resolved. When Wilk refused to pay the $5,000, he was told the board could levy fines of more than $100,000—a tactic that can be considered nothing other than extortion.

But a regulation that had been in place since 2012 could be the eventual undoing of board members.

Debora Grier, Executive Secretary of the Louisiana Board of Ethics, said ethics training became a requirement for employees, contractors and board and commission members. Section VII of the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics says, “Each public servant shall receive a minimum of one hour of education and training on the Code of Ethics during each year of his public employment or term of office.”

A public employee “means anyone, whether compensated or not, who is…appointed by elected official to a position to serve the government or government agency” or who is “engaged in the performance of a governmental function.”

The one-hour training consists of an online course accessed through the Ethics Board’s Web page and the Web page also keeps records of those who have taken the course in a timely manner and there is where several board members appear to have a real problem.

Beginning with former board investigator Camp Morrison who was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for drumming up charges against dentists, never took a single ethics course.

Others either on the board or employed by the board for whom there is no record of their ever having taken the ethics course as required include Dr. Isaac House of Haughton, Dr. Leonard Breda, III, of Lake Charles, Board Vice President Dr. Claudia Cavallino of Metairie, Dr. Mohammad Zadeh of Chalmette, Dr. James Hargrove of Baton Rouge, and Dr. Robert Foret of Thibodaux.

Moreover, there were several others who have taken the ethics training only one of the required years. Those include Dr. Wilton Guillory, Jr., of Alexandria (2014), Dr. Ronald Marks of Alexandria (2014), Dr. Jerome Smith of Lafayette (2013), Dr. Richard Willis of Monroe (2014), and the board’s Executive Director, Arthur Hickham (2014).

If that were not enough, Board President Dr. Russell Mayer of Hammond took the course in 2013 and 2014, but did not in 2015

So now we have a rogue board that:

  • Contracted with a private investigator whose sole responsibility was to hang some unsuspecting dentist out to dry for some obscure infraction;
  • Served as accuser, prosecutor, and judge in a special kangaroo court with the outcome of cases already predetermined;
  • Extorted backbreaking fines from dentists who balked at the lower fines by threatening to “find” other offenses;
  • Forced dentists to pay for the board’s and Camp’s investigations against them;
  • Maintained office suites in an expensive office building on Canal Street in the heart of the New Orleans Central Business District—and allowed non-state employee Morrison to enjoy a rent-free office in those suites.

And, while protecting the good citizens of Louisiana from those law breaking dentists who dared use lettering in their advertisements larger than the board permitted, somehow managed to look the other way as eight of its board members to neglect taking the required annual one-hour ethics course and six others, including its executive director to get by with taking the course only once.

Just another example of Louisiana politics at its finest, folks.

As our late friend C.B. Forgotston was so fond of saying, you can’t make this stuff up.

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LouisianaVoice learns of simultaneous federal and state investigations of LSTA, Louisiana State Board of Dentistry

Posted in Uncategorized on March 21, 2016| 11 Comments »

People like John Alario, Scott Angelle, Chris Broadwater, Jay Dardenne, and Bobby Jindal may want to get their checkbooks out and start writing refund checks from their election campaign funds.

LouisianaVoice has learned from sources within State Police headquarters in Baton Rouge that “subpoenas have been served” and the FBI is actively investigating the method in which the Louisiana State Troopers Association funneled money to political candidates, including Gov. John Bel Edwards, through the organization’s executive director David Young.

More than $45,000 in campaign cash is funneled through Executive Director by Louisiana State Troopers Association

At the same time, LouisianaVoice also learned that the State Office of Inspector General is conducting its own investigation into the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry over the way in which it fines dentists for such offenses as too large lettering in its advertisements to bankrupting a surgeon who treated diseases of the head and neck but who had the misfortune of also having a dental license but no anesthesia permit from the dental board—even though he has “never filled a tooth, made a denture, made a crown, cleaned teeth, restored a tooth, or anything that one would consider a dental practice.” https://louisianavoice.com/2015/04/16/13976/

Both investigations come after LouisianaVoice published numerous stories about both LSTA’s campaign contributions and the dental board’s harsh investigatory and punishment methods.

Edwards, who received six separate contributions totaling $10,000 from the LSTA, refunded his contributions when he deemed the method in which the money found its way into his campaign was questionable.

The method used to transfer LSTA money into the various political campaigns saw Young make the actual contributions with the LSTA, with its board’s approval, reimbursing Young for “expenses.”

The Code of Governmental Ethics, Section VIII of R.S. 18:1505.2 (B) also lists the making of contributions or loans “through or in the name of another” as a prohibited practice.

http://ethics.la.gov/Pub/Laws/cfdasum.pdf

Young even admitted the maneuver was an attempt by LSTA to attempt to circumvent civil service and commission rules when he told the commission he made the contributions as a non-state employee so “there could never be a question later that a state employee made a contribution.”https://louisianavoice.com/2016/01/15/louisianavoice-exclusive-at-long-last-it-can-be-disclosed-that-the-reason-for-all-the-problems-at-state-police-is-us/

So why would the FBI concern itself over violation of state laws, something that would appear to fall under the purview of the local district attorney?

Simply this: The LSTA is organized under section 501(c) (5) of the Internal Revenue Code and the Louisiana Troopers Charities run by LSTA is a 501(c) (3) charitable organization. https://www.latroopers.org/about

All 501(c) (3) organizations are strictly prohibited from any type of political activity, including endorsing candidates or contributing to political campaigns. LSTA, in addition to contributing to 28 different political candidates and two political organizations, also officially endorsed John Bel Edwards for governor in his runoff election against U.S. Sen. David Vitter.

And while 501(c) (5) organizations may participate in political campaigns, there are strict limitations as to what type of activities are approved. For example, any expenditures it makes for political activities may be subject to tax under section 527(f). https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopicl03.pdf

The feds probably have a lot of questions about why the contributions were made in the manner they were. Like why send Young to make the contributions and then reimburse him? Even LSTA legal counsel Floyd Falcon said he did not know why the checks to various political candidates were made in Young’s name. And they probably want to see if any of the charity’s funds were co-mingled with the money that went to political candidates.

Lloyd Grafton of Ruston, vice chairman of the State Police Commission, said the way the contributions were made “almost makes me think there was something suspect here because of the check writing. Why wouldn’t the association have made the contribution? It looks like someone was trying to circumvent something,” he said

“LSTA wasn’t set up for this kind of activity,” one retired trooper said. “Its main purpose is to provide support for trooper who have suffered misfortune, such as when a child has a major illness or when a trooper’s home burns down. We’re not supposed to get all involved in politics.”

Another source said it was not Young’s idea for the LSTA endorsement of Edwards or to make the political contributions and that in fact, he advised against the endorsement. “He (Young) has tried his best to keep Edmonson out of the LSTA’s operations. He and Frank (former President Frank Besson) butted heads constantly over that issue (the endorsement). But when it came down to it, Frank was President and David did as instructed.”

Promoted to the rank of captain several months ago, Besson was named commander of Troop C in Gray in Terrebonne Parish earlier this month. Troop C covers all of the parishes of Assumption, Terrebonne and Lafourche and the west banks of St. James and St. John the Baptist.

LouisianaVoice has also learned that the “punishment” meted out to former Troop D Commander Capt. Chris Guillory apparently was more for appearance sake than for any actual punishment.

We originally reported that he had been relieved of his command after lying that he had not refused a complaint from a Lake Charles citizen. Internal Affairs initially found Guillory had not violated any state police regulations and ruled the complaint by Dwight Gerst but LouisianaVoice published a recording of Guillory telling Gerst he would not accept Gerst’s complaint. https://louisianavoice.com/2015/08/17/state-police-headquarters-sat-on-complaint-against-troop-d-trooper-for-harassment-captain-for-turning-a-blind-eye-to-it/

But shortly after being relieved of command and transferred to Baton Rouge, Guillory was quietly given statewide control of the State Police Transportation and Environmental Safety Section (TESS) which, in the final analysis, appears to be more of a lateral transfer than a demotion.

That, of course, raises the obvious question that must be asked of State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson: What does it take for an officer already found guilty of prescription drug addiction, who allowed a suspended officer to keep working during his suspension and who lies to his superiors about a citizen’s complaint to be terminated?

And what does it take to rein in rogue regulatory boards like the Board of Dentistry? The board has been accused of operating like a crime syndicate, responsible for harassment, extortion, money laundering, and fraud of its agents. https://louisianavoice.com/2015/11/16/dentistry-board-facing-difficult-future-because-of-policies-contracts-with-attorney-private-investigator-are-cancelled/

LouisianaVoice said last November that state and federal criminal charges are expected and at least one legal expert said he expected federal racketeering laws to be used to prosecute former dentistry board agents.

While it is not a federal investigation, at least three separate sources told LouisianaVoice on Monday that the Louisiana Office of Inspector General is actively investigating the board.

Inspector General Stephen Street would not confirm or deny those reports when contacted.

LouisianaVoice will continue to follow developments concerning the LSTA, the dentistry board and the emerging issues surrounding the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners.

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Blair, Thompson terrific LSU baseball announcers; should polish their on-air grammar in proper usage of ‘I’ and ‘me’

Posted in Uncategorized on March 20, 2016| 25 Comments »

Every now and then I invoke personal privilege in order to get something—usually some insignificant something important only to me—off my chest. I can do this because I pay for this Web site and we all have our pet peeves and this is my way of airing mine. (Sometimes, I write these for me.)

My gripe is with the otherwise splendid team of LSU play-by-play announcer Chris Blair and analyst Doug Thompson. They add a whole new dimension to listening to LSU baseball with Blair’s professional and descriptive play-by-play and Thompson’s insightful running analysis of the many subtleties of the game (and make no mistake, baseball is many games within a game, all going on simultaneously and it takes a student of the game like Thompson to convey that).

Having said that, please understand that I have had a lifelong passion for baseball, going all the way back to when Ted Williams and Stan Musial were in the twilights of their careers.

I thought I would never live to see the Red Sox win a World Series after seeing them take the Cardinals (1967), the Reds (1975) and the Mets (1986) to the seventh game each time only to lose the deciding game. Then came 2004 when the Red Sox looked like they had a real chance.

When the hated Yankees won the first three games of the League Championship Series, I fell into despair only to see the Sox rally and tie the series at three games each. Great, I thought. They’ve come all the way back just so they can break my heart again by losing the seventh game. But they didn’t and they swept the Cardinals to win the World Series for the first time since 1918. They won again in 2007, sweeping the Rockies in four straight. Then they won a third time this century when they again dispatched the Cardinals, this time in six games in 2013. Life is good.

I also am a huge fan of LSU baseball and I attend every game I can and I listen whether I’m at the game or at home. (Yes, I’m one of those who watches the game live with a headset on so I can hear the radio broadcast to pick up statistics, sidebar stories, and scores of other games.)

I cherish all six LSU College World Series titles. Framed copies of commemorative Baton Rouge Advocate sports pages heralding the victories, including the one with the photo of pitcher Doug Thompson (yes, the current analyst on the radio broadcasts) after the last out is recorded in the LSU win over Alabama in the championship game, on my home office wall are testament of my devotion. The 1996 College World Series, however, was especially magical and anyone who has ever set foot in Alex Box Stadium on the LSU campus knows all about Warren Morris’s first-pitch, two-out, two-run, home run in the bottom of the ninth that converted a potential 8-7 loss into a 9-7 championship. (Has it really been almost 20 years?) An enlarged framed photo of Morris circling the bases at the old Rosenblatt Stadium as Miami Hurricanes shortstop Alex Cora lies face down in the infield grass also adorns the wall of my home office.

So you see, I love baseball. I always have, always will. To me, it’s the purest sport of them all. Ken Harrelson said it’s the only sport that when you’re on offense, the other team has the ball. It’s also one of only two sports I know (tennis is the other) when the ball hits the white line, it’s not out of bounds (except on serves in tennis). And it was either Joe Schultz or Jim Bouton who said, “It’s a round bat and a round ball and you gotta hit it square.”

But I have a real aversion to sports announcers who violate the most basic of the rules of English grammar. One of the most prevalent errors among sports announcers is the improper usage of the personal pronoun “I.” This is where my one and only complaint about Blair and Thompson comes into play. It seems that they are worse than most in the misuse of “I” in lieu of the correct pronoun “me.”

Just today (Sunday), it was Chris, I believe, who said Ben McDonald “tells Doug and I” that Mississippi State has a strong bullpen.

Only 18 games into the season, I have already lost count of the times I have heard one or the other say (and I’m paraphrasing all but the “I” part), someone “tweeted Chris and I,” or “they cooked up some good ribs for Doug and I,” or “tag Chris and I about your favorite memory” of the former player being featured during a particular game.

Any time one makes a personal pronoun the object of a verb or preposition, it requires the objective form. “I” is subjective; “me” is objective. If you’re confused, try dropping the first name and saying something like “He told I,” or, “If you ask I,” or “Tweet I,” it starts to sound pretty stupid, right? It should be “He told Chris and me,” or “Tweet Chris and me,” or “They cooked up some good ribs for Doug and me.” The same goes for sentences like, “She told Robert and he.” It should be, “She told Robert and him.”

There is a handy Web page that addresses nearly every conceivable question of proper language usage. It’s called Common Errors in English. http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html#p

For the proper use of “I” and “me,” you can go to this link: http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/myself.html

E-mails to LSU sports and LSU radio have been ignored, so I am using this medium to plead with Chris and Doug to address that bothersome little habit.

Yes, I know, in the overall scheme of things, this really isn’t very important.

Except it is.

School kids listen to the games. Chris and Doug are not only the voices of LSU baseball (and Chris, of course, will next move on to football and basketball with the retirement of Jim Hawthorne), they are, in a very real sense, the voice of higher education; and not just higher education, but Louisiana’s flagship university….and LSU is still an educational institute.

Unlike the massive budget deficit facing the legislature, this is a simple issue to correct.

So, a final word to Chris and Doug: Please try a little harder to sound as though you represent an institution of learning and quit embarrassing your high school English teachers.

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Citizen input? We don’t need no stinkin’ citizen input. We have LABI, the chemical association and campaign cash

Posted in Budget, Business, Corruption, Ethics, Exemptions, Incentives, Finances, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Lobbyist, Louisiana Purchase, Media, Politicians, Revenue, Taxes on March 18, 2016| 12 Comments »

Regular readers of this site know our disdain for the undue influence of lobbyists and special interests over lawmakers to the exclusion of the very voters who elected those same lawmakers to represent them and their best interests.

Our opposition to political decisions made with priority given to campaign contributions over what is best for the state is well-known—and uncompromising. Money should have no place—repeat, no place—in political decisions.

Unfortunately, we know that is not the case. Politicians for the most part, are basically prostitutes for campaign funds and those who choose to remain chaste usually find themselves at a serious disadvantage come election time.

To that end, you can probably look for State Rep. Jay Morris (R-Monroe) to attract strong opposition when he comes up for re-election in 2019. And that opposition, whoever it might be, is likely to have a campaign well-lubricated by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI), the Louisiana Chemical Association, and the oil and gas industry.

At the risk of belaboring the obvious, we have gone on record on numerous occasions as saying the voters are merely pawns to be moved about at will by big business in general and the banks, pharmaceutical companies, Wall Street and oil companies in particular. It is their money that inundates us with mind-numbing political ads that invade our living rooms every election year telling us why Candidate A is superior to Candidate B because B voted this way or that way and besides, good old Candidate A has always had the welfare of voters uppermost in mind.

The presence of that influence was never more clearly illustrated than in Tyler Bridges’ insightful story in Friday’s Baton Rouge Advocate. http://theadvocate.com/news/15225624-78/la-legislative-staffers-sort-out-changes-added-at-the-last-minute

In the very first paragraph of his story, Bridges wrote that a secret deal between Senate President John Alario (R-Westwego), House Speaker Taylor Barras (R-New Iberia) and lobbyists for LABI and the Louisiana Chemical Association.

We won’t bother to re-hash the details of that meeting and the agreement finally reached just before the closing minutes of the recent special session. You can read the details in the link to the Bridges story that we provided above.

But suffice it to say had it not been for Morris digging his heels in and threatening to kill his own bill when he learned of a manufacturing tax break that had been added to his bill, HB 61 that aimed at eliminating exemptions and exclusions on numerous sales tax breaks. Though a Republican, Morris feels that big business isn’t paying its fair share of taxes.

“I was not aware of the deal,” Bridges quoted Morris as saying. “I was not invited.”

Neither, apparently, were any spokespersons for consumers, organized labor, teachers, or the citizens of Louisiana.

Oh, but you can bet LABI President Steve Waguespack was invited to a meeting in Alario’s office earlier in the day, as was Louisiana Chemical Association chief lobbyist Greg Bowser.

Given that, we would like to ask Sen. Alario and Rep Barras why no one representing the people were invited to that little conclave. And don’t try to tell us that the Senate President and House Speaker were representing the people. You were not. You were representing the vested interests of the chemical industry and big business. Period.

Sen. Alario, Rep. Barras: the people of Louisiana are far more deserving of a place at the table in some furtive backroom meeting than LABI and the chemical association.

Either all factions are invited in or no one is. The playing field should be level.

By not excluding lobbyists or by not inviting those on whose shoulders are placed the greatest burden, the ones who placed you in office, you have not just failed at your job; you have failed miserably.

Our late friend C.B. Forgotston would have said of the meeting which produced that secret deal: “You can’t make this stuff up.”

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Like Dental Board, LSBME survives on licensing fees, incentive for fining doctors for perceived violations

Posted in Boards, Corruption, Ethics, Finances, Lawsuits, Public Records, Revenue on March 18, 2016| 8 Comments »

First it was the State Dental Board exposed by LouisianaVoice as serving in the multiple capacity of prosecutor, judge and jury in investigating complaints against dentists, filing charges and then judging on their guilt or innocence. https://louisianavoice.com/2014/03/07/state-board-employs-intimidation-harassment-to-generate-funds-to-pay-for-lucrative-contracts-worth-millions-of-dollars/

Then there was the Auctioneer Licensing Board and the manner in which it failed to defend an 84-year-old widow against a case of shill bidding (efforts to drive prices up by a  plant) or to protect her from unscrupulous actions by an auctioneer.

Now we have another board, the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners (LSBME) which, through its executive director, is being accused of tactics similar to those of the dental board. The result has been a spate of lawsuits, ethics complaints, and court hearings, all revolving around charges brought against a Baton Rouge doctor and encouraged, he says, by his competitor who sits on the board that brought the charges against him.

The one common thread running through each of the regulatory boards is that they receive no state funding. And with the dental and medical examiners boards, at least, there are expenses: staff, including attorneys, investigators and executive directors, and rent of nice, upscale offices in New Orleans central business district.

The lack of state funding coupled with the aforementioned high costs means the boards must necessarily generate funding—lots of it—through licensing fees and disciplinary actions against dentists and physicians. No dentist or physician in the state wants make waves because the boards literally hold the fate of their livelihoods, indeed their licenses to practice, in their hands.

In the legal profession, rainmakers are those within a firm who generate business by enlisting well-heeled clients who can afford expensive legal representation. Legal fees, after all, are the lifeblood of a law firm and the bigger the firm, the greater the pressure to bring clients through the door.

Taking the comparisons between the dental and the medical examiners board even further, the board acts in the capacity of investigator, accuser, and judge in disciplinary cases and, again like its counterpart, depends to a certain extent on penalties imposed on doctors for its operating revenue. Consequently, there is an undeniable incentive to generate revenue to ensure the boards’ survival.

So when it comes down to adding needed revenue to the coffers, it matters little whether the dentist or physician is guilty; if the need for revenue is present, as it usually is, then the boards, to paraphrase British politician and businessman Sir Eric Campbell-Geddes, “will squeeze the lemon until the pips squeak.” https://richardlangworth.com/pips

LouisianaVoice has previously documented strong-arm tactics by the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry whereby a dentist may first be assessed a modest fine for some supposed transgression. Should the dentist resist, he may quickly learn that that modest fine of a few thousand dollars somehow has run into six figures because he is also assessed the costs of the investigation of his practice—and because the board can. https://louisianavoice.com/2015/04/16/13976/

Sitting members of the dental board are allowed to initiate charges against a competing dentist in the same town—and often do just that.

And while physicians may not actually initiate charges against one of their peers, LouisianaVoice has learned that a board member who was a direct competitor with a doctor under investigation may have participated in the investigation, board discussions and votes affecting his competitor.

Baton Rouge pain management physician Dr. Michael Burdine, an LSBME member, has emerged as a key figure in the board’s investigation of Dr. Arnold Feldman, also of Baton Rouge because of his apparent reluctance to recuse himself from discussing Dr. Feldman’s case pending before the board.

The board’s legal counsel did produce somewhat belatedly a document that purported to recuse Dr. Burdine from participating in proceedings relative to Dr. Feldman’s case but board minutes indicate “unanimous” votes on matters pertaining to Dr. Feldman even as Dr. Burdine was supposedly recused. Moreover, Dr. Burdine repeatedly participated in executive session discussions when the subject of the closed session was Dr. Feldman’s case. Board member Dr. Mark Dawson, however, insists that Dr. Burdine did, in fact, recuse himself. “The pain management doctor’s attorneys are playing you for a fool,” he told LouisianaVoice.

The Dental Board until recently brought charges at the recommendation of a private investigator retained by the board whose offices were housed in the dental board’s suite on Canal Street in New Orleans. LSBME, on the other hand, employed its investigator as a full time employee. Following Dr. Burdine’s selection as vice president of the board, investigator Cecilia Mouton, a physician also, was appointed executive director of the board and immediately requested—and received—a 10 percent pay increase to $211,600.

Mouton, while still employed in 2010 as an investigator who looked into complaints about doctors, married attorney Jack Stolier who at the time represented physicians who were subjects of investigations and who had disciplinary action pending before the board and Mouton. Stolier ceased representing physicians before the board following his marriage to Mouton, Dawson said.

Taking the comparisons between the dental and the medical examiners board even further, LSBME acts in the capacity of investigator, accuser, and judge in disciplinary cases and, again like its counterpart, depends entirely on penalties imposed on doctors for its operating revenue.

Dr. Burdine’s Spine Diagnostics of Baton Rouge, one of the largest pain management clinics in the state, had annual receipts of slightly less than $9 million compared to Dr. Feldman’s $6 million in 2012. The two clinics are only about five miles apart. Dr. Feldman maintains that closure of his facility would necessarily mean that Dr. Burdine would inherit much of his caseload, thus enhancing the size of his clinic and providing an economic windfall for him.

The federal Healthcare Quality Improvement Act of 1986 provides that physicians are entitled to a professional review action “before a panel of individuals who are appointed by the entity and (who) are not indirect economic competition with the physician involved.”

Not only has the board, with the active participation of Dr. Burdine claimed by Dr. Feldman, plowed ahead with its prosecution of Dr. Feldman, Mouton, first as board investigator and later as executive director, denied Dr. Feldman access to his investigative file in order that he might formulate a defense, said Dr. Feldman in a 42-page complaint filed with the State Board of Ethics.

The specifics of the board’s complaint against Dr. Feldman have never been revealed but appear to stem from the death of a patient while in Dr. Feldman’s clinic even though the death was determined to be from natural causes and not connected to pain treatments being administered to the patient by Dr. Feldman.

The Ethics Board found no ethics violation in a decision that has become all too familiar since the ethics laws were amended in 2008, effectively gutting the ethics board. But that hasn’t stopped Feldman from seeking justice from what he feels is malicious prosecution, abuse of due process and violation of Louisiana commerce statutes.

He filed suit against Dr. Burdine in Civil District Court in New Orleans last August and the children of one of his patients has filed a separate suit in CDC naming LSBME, Mouton and board investigator Leslie Rye as defendants.

That lawsuit, filed by Alexia Senee James and Albert Lewis James of Baton Rouge, claims that Mouton and Rye intervened in Dr. Feldman’s treatment of their mother, Tonja Guitreau James.

After Tonja James was convinced by Mouton and Rye to leave the care of Dr. Feldman, she subsequently died from a prescription drug overdose, the petition says, adding that Mouton and Rye “violated the doctor-patient privilege, confidentiality and sacrosanct relationship between Tonja James and her physician.”

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