WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR FBI WIRE. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. March 25, 2014:

A criminal complaint was unsealed Tuesday  morning in Brooklyn federal court charging Dr. Syed Imran Ahmed, 49, with health care fraud in connection with his submission of millions of dollars in false Medicare billings.

Seizure warrants seeking millions of dollars of the defendant’s alleged ill-gotten gains, including the contents of seven bank accounts, were also unsealed.

In addition, a civil forfeiture complaint was also filed today against the defendant’s residence located in Muttontown, New York, valued at approximately $4 million

Further, earlier today search warrants were executed at six locations in New York, Michigan, and Nevada.

The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; David O’Neil, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office; and Thomas O’Donnell, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).

As alleged in the complaint, Ahmed engaged in a scheme to submit claims to Medicare for surgical procedures that were not in fact performed.

The complaint cites multiple instances in which either patients told law enforcement officers that they never had the procedures that were billed, or hospital medical records did not contain any evidence that the procedures were actually performed. From January 2011 through mid-December 2013, Medicare was billed at least $85 million for surgical procedures by Ahmed, a sole practitioner.

“As alleged, Ahmed created phantom medical procedures to steal very real taxpayer money. The defendant sought to enrich himself and fund his lifestyle through billing Medicare for services he never performed,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We are committed to protecting these taxpayer-funded programs and prosecuting those who steal from them.”

“The Medicare system entrusts doctors to provide patients with the care and services they need,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General O’Neil. “The charges unsealed today allege that Dr. Ahmed billed millions of dollars to Medicare for surgical procedures that he did not actually perform. These charges are yet another example of the Department of Justice’s determination to hold accountable those who abuse the trust placed in them and steal from the system for personal gain.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos stated, “Fraudulently billing the government defrauds every American taxpayer. We will investigate cases of graft and greed to protect important programs for those who need them.”

“For a single physician, the alleged conduct in this case is among the most serious I’ve seen in my law enforcement career,” said SAC for HHS-OIG O’Donnell. “Being a Medicare provider is a privilege, not a right. When Dr. Ahmed allegedly billed Medicare for procedures he never performed, he violated the basic trust that taxpayers extend to health care providers.”

The investigation has been conducted by the FBI and HHS-OIG, brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, and supervised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Turner Buford of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant United States Attorneys William Campos and Erin Argo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

The charges in the complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS- OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

The Defendant:
SYED IMRAN AHMED
Age: 49
Glen Head, New York

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Board of Legislators. March 25, 2014:

Members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) raised important questions today during a review of the Traffic and Parking Report for the revitalization of Playland at a meeting of the BOL Labor/Parks/Planning/Housing Committee (LPPH), chaired by Legislator Pete Harckham (D-North Salem).

Executives from Sustainable Playland, Inc. (SPI) attended the BOL committee meeting and imparted further details of their Playland Improvement Plan (PIP), which included several major changes to the traffic flow and parking capacity at Playland made necessary with the opening of a new, 82,000 square-foot Field House planned for Westchester’s iconic 280-acre recreation area and amusement park.

“The goal here is to ensure, through a collaborative and open process, that Playland is a financial success for all the stakeholders, especially the county’s taxpayers,” said Harckham. “The proposed changes to the park need to be made in consideration of a number of questions and different factors. We’re on the right track toward getting the answers we need so the Committee’s analysis can go forward.”

During today’s presentation the legislators learned that some peak attendance dates at Playland would bring in more vehicular traffic than could be handled by the parking areas proposed in the PIP. Construction and planned use of the Field House and Playing Fields will take up some of the existing parking spaces. Also, a new traffic ingress to the part of the Playland property where the Field House will be situated is planned.

“Today, we were given a lot of new information about getting patrons in and out of Playland safely and comfortably, and the impact some of the changes will have on parking availability,” said BOL Majority Leader Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining). “There are now more questions, however, about whether the effort to make Playland a popular year-round destination meshes with SPI’s desire to keep attendance at a certain limit. I am eager to receive more information about how this will be resolved.”

SPI announced today that satellite parking areas will be developed as well, to deal with parking overflow on busy days and nights at Playland.

Also, a private enforcement agency will be hired to keep patrons from parking on neighboring streets and walking over to Playland.

“It was good to have a discussion with SPI to address parking issues at Playland,” said BOL Chairman Michael Kaplowitz (D-Somers). “Parking remains one of the primary issues of concern for the Board of Legislators, as it is for the residents who live near the park.  Legislator Harckham’s committee continues to work through the review process for SPI’s plans, and I’m confident that our oversight here at the Board of Legislators will make the Playland Improvement Plan the best it can be.”

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. By John F. Bailey. March 24, 2014:

Several persons asked WPCNR today about our gun buy back coverage of Saturday’s White Plains Gun Buy Back, if guns could be still be turned in.

Yes, because there is a gun buy back in Poughkeepsie.

Persons in the tri-county area can bring guns, rifles, assault weapons to the Poughkeepsie Gun Buy Back the New York Attorney General’s Office is sponsoring Saturday March 29 at 505 Main Street Poughkeepsie, the municipal building and police and fire headquarters there  from 9:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. You will be reimbursed by debit card for your gun (s) no questions asked, no names taken. The gun will be compared against the national ballistics database. For info, call  the Attorney General’s Office (914) 422-8731 ask about the Poughkeepsie Gun Buy Back.

White Plains Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong (above) said that you can turn in a gun to the White Plains  Department of Public Safety, but you will not be paid for it. Under the following conditions:

The Commissioner told WPCNR how a citizen wishing to turn in a gun to the police can do that:

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New design for “Boulevard” not final Grid Properties spokesperson says.describes the “mall” as featuring home furnishings retail, fitness/health establishments, and restaurants. Boulevard will have free parking and 800 indoor and outdoor parking spaces. When last WPCNR heard from the Grid legal counsel, the national developer was developing zoning-compliant design of the project. The Boulevard is reported by Grid as comprising 250,000 square feet. More to come. The location is on West Post Road just down the street from Winbrook and the new Post Road School

WPCNR WEST SIDE STORY. By John F. Bailey. March 24, 2014:

The new design found on the Grid Properties website is not final no final decisions have been made, Mark Weingarten, of DelBello, Donnelan & Weingarten, attorneys for Grid on this developing project issue told WPCNR today in a statement, writing:

Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately, we are not In a position to share with you final plans for an application. Our client continues to explore various concepts, but no final decisions have been made. When our client finishes its planning process we will provide plans to the public for review.

As to your specific question, our client who was in the process of updating its entire website, inadvertently uploaded some concept drawings for this project which are in no way final. These images are being removed from the site today. 

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WPCNR SOUTH END TIMES. Statement from the French American School of New York. March 21, 2014:

The French American School of New York issued this statement, unsolicited by WPCNR, in observation of the filing of a lawsuit by the Gedney Association asking the New York Supreme Court to require the city to reexamine issues the Gedney Association charges in its suit that were not thorougly vetted before the Common Council voted a favorable Environmental Impact Statement on the school plans to build a campus on the former Ridgeway Country Club.

The Statement:

The study and scope of the environmental review of our school’s planned campus on the defunct Ridgeway Country Club property was the most thorough ever conducted by the City of White Plains. This multi-year, multi-million dollar review constitutes thousands of pages and encompasses virtually every conceivable aspect of the plan and its potential impacts. The Findings Statement alone is 129 single-spaced pages, involved more than two years of public review and environmental analysis and was adopted by a 6-1 vote.

The plan approved under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA):  significantly reduces traffic overall; shifts school traffic to a main arterial roadway (North Street); requires mandatory busing for eligible students; limits the total number of students; approves 75-plus acres for a permanent publicly accessible conservancy with pedestrian and open space linkages; extensively incorporates green technology and building practices; and incorporates a myriad of other positive features and designs minimizing the impact of the school.

While we are disturbed to see the personal attacks against individual Common Council members that are contained in the lawsuit, we are confident in the process that has been followed in the review of the plan. We are proceeding in advancing all of our applications and plans. The lawsuit will not delay the City’s review of the Site Plan or Special Permit. Few if any environmental reviews of this kind have ever been overturned by the courts.

As we respond to the lawsuit, we will continue to reach out and work with the many supporters of the school both in the Gedney neighborhood and across the city, and we look forward to joining the many high-quality educational entities that are privileged to call White Plains home.