Court Roundup

New Mexico Former NM hospital exec sued over missing $3.2M ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- A former executive at a Santa Fe hospital has been accused of bilking the care center out of more than $3 million by funneling the money through corporations that he owned in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas that were controlled by a woman with whom he had a personal relationship, according to a recently filed lawsuit. The Albuquerque Journal reports Great American Insurance Co. filed the lawsuit Friday against Richard Crabtree. It accuses him and other defendants of engaging in a "pervasive scheme" to misappropriate money from Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center by billing and collecting at least $3.2 million for claimed services that either weren't provided or were grossly inflated. Crabtree was fired from the hospital after working there six years in 2008 without explanation and now lives in Castle Rock, Colo. He did not respond to several phone messages at his home. The lawsuit said the scheme began within months of Crabtree's initial hiring. Hospital CEO Alex Valdez said information about the scheme was discovered through an anonymous packet that someone mailed to him in late January 2008. Hospital officials, including its board of directors, moved quickly to investigate the fraud allegations once they learned of them, and that's why Crabtree was fired, he said. The hospital's board also alerted law enforcement authorities about the possible fraud and hopes Crabtree is investigated on criminal charges, Valdez said. He declined to say which agencies were notified. "I don't want to do anything to jeopardize ongoing investigations." Lynn Southard, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Attorney General's Office, said the case was referred to the office's investigations division. "As is the case with any referral, the matter was assigned for further review and inquiry," she said in a statement. "Per our media policy, we cannot comment on the status of that inquiry at this time." Valdez stressed that despite the magnitude of fraudulent billings, the hospital was able to recoup the money through its insurance carrier and, as a result, didn't suffer financially. "From the hospital perspective, we have been made whole," he said. The woman Crabtree had a relationship with and her two brothers billed the hospital for $3.2 million through a number of companies in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas that they controlled, according to the lawsuit. Their names are not included. The companies involved sometimes shared a single bank account. In addition, Crabtree and the others set up a meeting in an effort to convince St. Vincent officials that the companies were legitimate, according to the lawsuit. Crabtree also tried to prevent "knowledgeable St. Vincent Hospital personnel" from interacting with the others involved "in order to minimize the risk of discovery," according to the lawsuit. Ohio Cleveland pays $325K to settle suit over hiring CLEVELAND (AP) -- A lawsuit a union filed in 1994 over Cleveland's hiring practices has been settled for $325,000. The Plain Dealer reports the city paid the money this month to cover legal costs incurred by the Civil Service Employees Association. Cleveland also agreed that all new hires would take a required civil service exam within one year. In its lawsuit, the union had contended that officials hired temporary employees who were permitted to stay on without taking the exam. A judge said the practice exposed the city to allegations of cronyism, corruption and political payback. Cleveland interim Law Director Barbara Langhenry says Mayor Frank Jackson has been aggressive about making sure city employees are tested. Jackson has been mayor since 2006. Rhode Island Ex-stripper sues police chief accused of taking cash PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- A police chief accused of stealing $714 from a former stripper's purse after a car chase is now facing a federal lawsuit that alleges he violated her constitutional rights. The former stripper, Justina Cardoso, filed suit on Dec. 22 claiming Col. John Whiting violated the rights protecting her from illegal searches and granting her due process. The 21-year-old Cardoso, who lives in Pawtucket and performed at the Satin Doll strip club in Providence, is seeking $250,000 in damages from Whiting. Whiting, of North Attleborough, Mass., has been suspended without pay from his job as North Providence police chief since his September arrest. He pleaded not guilty earlier this month to charges he stole the money from Cardoso's Coach pocketbook and then tried to cover it up. His next court date is Feb. 16. Whiting was driving to work in an unmarked police vehicle on Aug. 28 when he activated his police lights and began chasing Cardoso's Ford Explorer in Pawtucket, police say. Whiting, 57, told police someone inside the Explorer threw an object at his vehicle as he was trying to pass it. The SUV, in which Cardoso was a passenger, had slowed down to try to get around a fallen tree, police said. The chase ended when the SUV crashed into a parked car and the people inside fled. Whiting later admitted to a Pawtucket officer that he stole money from a pocketbook "loaded with cash" that he found inside the SUV, investigators wrote in an affidavit. The Pawtucket officer said Whiting gave him the money and told him to spend it in Las Vegas and not discuss it. Cardoso's lawsuit claims Whiting illegally went through her SUV and took her money, which police say she earned at the Satin Doll and from a man who paid her for "her company." She also claims Whiting violated her privacy. Her civil attorney declined to comment on Tuesday. Messages also were left Tuesday for Whiting and his criminal defense attorney. After the car chase, Cardoso was arrested on a warrant for an unrelated criminal matter. She pleaded no contest last month to three charges in an extortion and blackmail case and to one count of marijuana possession. Defense attorney John Grasso has said Cardoso stopped working at the Satin Doll after Whiting's arrest and was unable to find new work as a stripper. Her stolen earnings and SUV were returned, but Cardoso could not afford to keep the vehicle, Grasso has said. Cardoso was given a five-year suspended sentence in the blackmail case and a year of probation in the drug case. Grasso has said she avoided jail time by getting treated for drug abuse. He also said she is pursuing a GED. Grasso said Tuesday that he hasn't spoken with Cardoso since her criminal case wrapped up last month. Published: Thu, Dec 29, 2011