Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today the indictment of CARLOS PEREZ, former Executive Director of Bellevue Hospital from 1997 to 2005, on charges of bribe receiving.

PEREZ has been charged with two counts of Bribe Receiving in the Second Degree and two counts of Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree.   He will be arraigned later today in New York State Supreme Court. 

The charges arise from PEREZ’s efforts to assist the Professional Transcription Company obtain a contract with Bellevue Hospital.  The Professional Transcription Company specializes in the transcription of medical records. 

In 2000, the owner of the Professional Transcription Company met with the defendant to promote the transcription company and obtain work.  PEREZ, the company’s owner and PEREZ’s girlfriend (they are now married) met for dinner at a restaurant.  Shortly after the dinner, which the company’s owner paid for, Professional Transcription hired PEREZ’s girlfriend, at PEREZ’s suggestion, ostensibly to perform marketing work.  Aside from creating a two page brochure and a two page marketing plan for the Professional Transcription Company, the friend performed no marketing work for the company and was paid by Professional Transcription $25,000, $5,000 of it in cash. 
           
Some time after, Professional Transcription paid PEREZ’s girlfriend, Bellevue Hospital began a competitive bidding process to choose a medical transcription service.  During the competitive bidding process, PEREZ spoke with his subordinates at Bellevue Hospital about retaining the Professional Transcription Company to perform medical transcription services.  The defendant arranged for a meeting, which he attended, with a representative from Professional Transcription and Bellevue Hospital officials involved in choosing medical transcription providers.  Following this meeting, the defendant placed several phone calls to those subordinates to determine the status of Professional Transcription Company’s bid and expressing his interest in that bid. 

During the time that Bellevue Hospital was considering the bids, the defendant solicited two purported loans from Professional Transcription’s owner, one for $1,500 and another for $1,000.  The defendant did not repay either of the alleged loans.  Professional Transcription did not get the contract.

The investigation began as a result of a tip from a Bellevue hospital employee.

Assistant District Attorney Polly Greenberg presented the case to the grand jury and will be in charge of the prosecution under the supervision of Patrick J. Dugan, Chief of the District Attorney’s Rackets Bureau and Daniel G. Cort and Eric Seidel, Deputy Bureau Chiefs.

For their participation in the investigation, Mr. Morgenthau thanked the New York City Health and Hospital’s Corporation Inspector General Norman Dion, Deputy Inspector Generals James Liptak and Lisa Lee, and New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn. 

Bribe Receiving in the Second Degree is a class C felony which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.  Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree is a class D felony which is punishable by up to 7 years in prison.

Defendant Info: Carlos Perez, DOB: 3/4/52, 107 West 86th Street, NY, NY 10024

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