Check your state...

[SEATJERKER]

...did either of these two ever work in your state ? ...

license
Albany-- Paul Kornak allegedly falsified medical credentials in 2 states

By CLAIRE HUGHES, Staff writer
First published: Friday, February 7, 2003

A former local medical researcher under criminal investigation for possibly falsifying patient records had his doctor's license revoked in two states and denied in a third -- in at least two of the cases for fabricating his own credentials.

Paul Kornak, one of two researchers whose activities at the Stratton VA Medical Center are being probed as the possible cause of several patient deaths, was denied a New Jersey medical license in 1990 "because he had falsified many of the documents he had filed with his application," according to a New Jersey order denying him licensure on July 5, 1990.

At the time, Kornak had a license to practice medicine in Iowa. But after New Jersey officials contacted that state, Iowa revoked Kornak's license, on Oct. 7, 1991, "for providing false information on a license application," said Kent Nebel, of legal affairs for the Iowa Board of Medical Examiners. Iowa had granted Kornak a medical license in 1987, he said.

Kornak is also listed on the Pennsylvania Department of State's Web site as having had his medical license revoked there in 1992. Information about the reason for revocation was not immediately available.

Kornak never applied to practice medicine in New York, said Kristine Smith, a spokeswoman for the state Health Department.

"He never applied here, so we have no jurisdiction over him at all," Smith said.

Federal authorities are conducting a criminal investigation of Kornak, a Stratton VA research assistant, and Dr. James Holland, the hospital's top cancer specialist, who may have violated medical standards during experimental drug trials that led to as many as five patients' deaths. The men, who no longer work at the hospital, could face charges of involuntary manslaughter if investigators conclude they were responsible for the deaths.

Investigators from the VA Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney's office are looking into whether the researchers altered medical records to enroll patients who would have been ineligible for the drug trials. To participate in such studies, patients must meet strict medical criteria established to protect them.

The state has never taken any disciplinary action against Holland, who does have a license to practice in New York, Smith said.

Attempts to reach Kornak, his attorney and Holland were unsuccessful.

According to the July 1990 New Jersey order denying Kornak a license, the researcher provided "unreliable and contradictory" testimony to the Board of Medical Examiners and included with his application altered undergraduate transcripts from the Junior College of Albany (now the Sage College of Albany) and the College of Saint Rose.

"He added courses which he had not taken, he raised many if not most of the grades which he had received, and he changed his supposed cumulative averages to reflect those alterations. He dated the transcripts to indicate that they had been issued more recently than was actually the case, and he stamped the word 'official' on both transcripts," the order states.

Kornak also submitted to the board transcripts from a Polish medical school, "which documents he had wholly created himself," according to the order.

A spokeswoman for the Stratton VA referred calls on the investigation to the Office of Inspector General. That office did not return a call from the Times Union Thursday.

Meanwhile, families whose relatives have undergone clinical trials under Holland and Kornak's supervision said they were concerned over Thursday's news reports that the researchers' actions might have harmed patients.

Kathy Daigneault, 42, of Watervliet, said she is wondering now if her father's participation in a trial for a bladder cancer drug with Holland hastened his death. William Daigneault was 74 when he died on Feb. 4, 2002, after about 18 months of participation in the study.

The manufacturer of a bladder cancer drug, Ilex Oncology of San Antonio, was among the first to notice irregularities in the Stratton VA's documentation and reported Holland and Kornak to federal authorities right around the time of Daigneault's death.

On Thursday, Daigneault recalled her father's words about Holland. "My dad always said, 'I feel like he's treating me like a guinea pig,' " she said.

Daigneault and her brother suffered a second loss last year, when their mother died in November, she said.

"We just feel like it's being thrown back in our face," Daigneault said of news reports about the investigation. "You certainly don't want to think your family suffered unnecessarily."


...FYI.................

[SEATJERKER]

...ON THESE TWO....

...these two appear to be the worst blood sucking SOB'S as they were in it for the money,...

...check the sheepskins on the walls of your doctor's office...

...my uncle died at the Stratton VA after fighting cancer a few years back, and I don't know how long these two have been there, and I'm scared to think what I'd do,... if I do some digging, and find out that he was a patient of "theirs"...

...just a heads up, and let's find out their history from way back................
Albany-- Investigators looking into if allegedly altered documents led to any financial gain

By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, February 20, 2003

Federal authorities might seek to analyze handwriting samples of two former cancer researchers at Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center Hospital as they investigate whether the specialists benefited financially by allegedly altering medical records of drug trial patients who later died, law enforcement officials said.

The researchers face possible manslaughter charges if investigators determine they were responsible for the deaths, law enforcement officials said.

The criminal investigation is unfolding as new details emerged Wednesday showing that Food and Drug Administration officials uncovered serious record-keeping flaws last November when investigators conducted a lengthy review of a cancer research program at the Stratton VA hospital. The FDA stepped in after receiving complaints from drug companies that were funding the cancer studies.

The case centers on Dr. James A. Holland, Stratton's top cancer specialist, and his clinical assistant, Paul H. Kornak. Investigators are looking into whether the researchers falsified medical records to get patients in experimental drug trials who should not have been enrolled in those programs. Both men no longer work at the hospital.

The inquiry's focus also has shifted into hiring practices at the VA because Kornak, who was hired in 1999, has a federal criminal record. Kornak was convicted of mail fraud in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania 10 years ago for allegedly forging credentials when he tried to obtain a medical license in Pennsylvania. He was sentenced in 1993 to three years' probation and fined $2,500, records show.

Stratton hospital officials allegedly knew Kornak's medical license had been revoked but did not know that he had been convicted of a crime in connection with the forgery, law enforcement officials said.

On its Web site Wednesday, the Bureau of National Affairs in Washington, D.C., an online trade journal, reported that it had obtained a copy of the FDA's inspection report, which cited serious problems in the hospital's cancer study program, including altering of medical records to conceal serious ailments of patients used in the study.

Cancer bone scans, heart scans, prostate cancer checks and other tests were not done on patients even though study records showed they had been completed, BNA's report said, citing the FDA inspection. Also, drug doses were incorrect for some patients, supervision was lax and patients with hearing problems received medications that may have worsened the condition, the report said.

Carolanne Currier, an official with the FDA's Division of Scientific Investigations, confirmed that the agency inspected Holland's cancer research program last fall. Currier said that because the investigation is still open, the FDA could not release the inspection report.

Federal authorities said proving who may have altered the records could be difficult.

"Yes, records are altered, but that doesn't tell you who altered them," the law enforcement official said. "There might be a dispute about who did it and whether someone was told to do it. ... They might have to do a handwriting analysis and go through each one of these (records), one at a time, and try and determine how it was done and who could have done it."

The criminal investigation, which is being headed by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, also is examining the relationship between the researchers and four drug companies that funded the cancer studies at Stratton. Investigators are trying to determine whether anyone could have benefited financially or professionally as a result of having more patients included in the program, law enforcement officials said.

The drugs were being tested for treatment of prostate, bladder, stomach and colon cancer, according to BNA.

In some cases, many of the patients involved were terminally ill before participating in the drug trials, according to several people familiar with the inquiry.

A year ago, a Texas-based pharmaceutical company, Ilex Oncology, notified federal authorities about a problem detected in the researchers' work, a company spokesman said. Ilex's staff had noticed something wrong in the paperwork for one of four patients testing a new bladder cancer drug, he said.

As the FDA stepped in to investigate the program, federal investigators from Veterans Affairs began their own probe. In early December, a VA investigator based in New Jersey, who is heading the investigation, requested copies of Kornak's criminal files from a federal court in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations recently requested the General Accounting Office conduct its own inquiry into VA hiring procedures as a result of the allegations at Stratton VA.

[SEATJERKER]

...training
Federal memorandum calls for administrators to be more aware of human research programs

By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer
First published: Saturday, April 26, 2003

Top administrators at Veterans Affairs hospitals across the nation will undergo specialized training on human research programs as a result, in part, of alleged violations that occurred in cancer studies at Stratton VA Medical Center, according to a federal memorandum.

The development of an intensive training course was ordered April 15 by Anthony J. Principi, secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, who outlined his concerns in an internal memorandum to Dr. Robert H. Roswell, the VA's undersecretary for health.

"As you know, I am extremely concerned about the violations of research protocol that have recently occurred," Principi wrote in the memorandum, a copy of which was obtained by the Times Union. "Additional action must be taken immediately to strengthen oversight of these programs."

Veterans Affairs officials in Washington, D.C., were not available for comment Friday.

"This comes way too late for Mr. Steubing and the other patients who were harmed at the VA," said Alan Milstein, a Philadelphia attorney representing the family of Carl Steubing -- a former Stratton VA cancer study patient who died last year.

Steubing's family has filed a federal lawsuit against two former cancer specialists at Stratton who no longer work at the VA but are at the center of an ongoing criminal investigation. Federal authorities said they are examining at least five patient deaths at Stratton, including Steubing's.

Principi ordered that the mandatory training program for hospital directors, associate chiefs of staff of research and other top VA hospital officials be created within 90 days. It will include training on informed consent by patients enrolled in research programs, legal issues and compliance regulations, according to the memo.

The directive comes on the heels of the Bush administration ordering a review of medical research at more than 110 veterans' hospitals. In addition to an ongoing criminal investigation of patient deaths at Stratton VA, federal investigators are examining the deaths of patients in research programs at VA hospitals in Detroit and Fargo, N.D.

The sweeping reforms, including the proposed creation of an independent oversight office to keep tabs on medical research programs, are intended to prevent veterans from being used as guinea pigs in the VA's estimated $1 billion-a-year medical research studies, officials said.

The changes come as federal agents are conducting a criminal investigation of two former medical researchers at the Stratton VA -- Dr. James Holland and his chief research assistant, Paul Kornak.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Holland and Kornak falsified medical records to enroll patients in experimental drug trials. In December, Holland and Kornak were both suspended by the hospital.

Other changes being considered include tightening controls on how drug companies notify hospitals of any potential problems in research programs and a requirement that the study programs undergo periodic inspections.

In the Albany case, federal authorities are examining whether patients may have died as a result of having their medical backgrounds forged in order to be enrolled in study programs.

Ilex Oncology, a Texas company that sponsored one of Stratton VA's cancer studies, discovered problems in the program in December 2001 and notified a hospital official about its findings. Despite the warning, cancer patients in the program continued to receive controversial treatments for at least 10 months, according to an official familiar with the case.

VA officials said it took too long for hospital officials at Stratton VA to learn about the alleged discrepancies discovered by Ilex two years ago and even longer for them to do anything about it.

Finally, last fall, the Stratton VA's cancer research program underwent an intensive review by the Food and Drug Administration, which uncovered serious problems that are now the focus of the criminal investigation. Relatives of former cancer patients are questioning whether family members may have died prematurely or suffered intense discomfort because hospital officials were too slow to call for an investigation of the allegations.

[SEATJERKER]

...On the eve of this rememberence, It is sad to think of the manipulation of our comrades that are suffering..

...
Administrators manipulated investigation into cancer research at hospital, ex-staffers claim

By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer
First published: Sunday, May 25, 2003



ALBANY -- Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center Hospital administrators manipulated an internal investigation into a research program in which whistle-blowers warned that cancer patients were unduly suffering and possibly dying prematurely while being used as unwitting guinea pigs, according to former hospital officials.

Hospital workers and former staffers familiar with the 1995 investigation contend the allegations were never appropriately addressed or corrected, and that serious problems in the cancer program persisted until last year, when two researchers were suspended as federal authorities launched a criminal investigation of patient deaths.

Critics contend the handling of the investigation underscores a long-standing systemic problem in the nation's Veterans Affairs' hospital system, where internal investigations are routinely manipulated to shield lucrative research programs and to protect administrators who face intense pressure to control spending.

"Rather than start getting to the truth, they started a coverup," said Dr. Thomas Ferro, a former pulmonary physician at Stratton who was appointed to head the internal investigation eight years ago. "I mean, it was the investigation from hell. I stopped a few months after the fact and I thought: 'What was the purpose of this whole thing?' The purpose of this whole thing was to thwart the truth."

The new allegations by Ferro, which are supported by current and former hospital officials, come as federal agents are intensively scrutinizing the hospital's cancer program. The new probe has included interviews of hospital workers and relatives of deceased patients.

Federal authorities are examining whether a hospital oncologist, Dr. James A. Holland, and his clinical research assistant, Paul H. Kornak, altered the medical backgrounds of patients in order to enroll them in drug study programs.

Some patients may have died or suffered as a result of the alleged forgeries, and federal authorities said they are weighing manslaughter charges.

But VA insiders contend the criminal investigation is the fallout from years of efforts by hospital administrators to ignore accusations of medical violations, including some that predate Holland and Kornak and that may have led to patient deaths in the cancer program.

They contend the problems began with the alleged mishandling of the 1995 internal investigation, which raises questions about whether two pharmacists, Jeffrey Fudin and Anthony Mariano, were punished for warning officials about the way drugs were prescribed to cancer patients. Fudin and Mariano eventually were fired by VA administrators.

"They started going after Fudin and Mariano and making life impossible for them, and not just to make them shut up," Ferro said. "They had to discredit these two guys to make them look like kooks."

In 1999, Mariano was ordered to work at a desk on a vacant wing in the hospital's psychiatric ward. His isolation on the hospital's top floor ended after four months when a U.S. House of Representatives Veterans Affairs subcommittee staffer learned about his plight and ordered hospital officials to "cut the crap," the staffer said.

Fudin's job was later reinstated by a federal whistle-blower court; Mariano's federal lawsuit seeking reinstatement is pending. Both were selected as grand marshals of Monday's Memorial Day parade in Albany by parade organizers who say the pair are being honored because they stood up for veterans.

Ferro, now an attending physician at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, Va., spoke for the first time last week about his role in the 1995 investigation of the whistle-blowers. He said he signed off on changes in his final report at the request of top hospital officials in Albany -- elimination of information that outlined possible violations of medical protocols -- because he thought it might help advance his career.

Ferro said he believes hospital officials preyed on his desire to move up the ladder when they picked him to investigate Fudin's allegations against Dr. William Hrushesky, who was then Stratton's chief cancer researcher. Hrushesky now works at a VA hospital in South Carolina.

Ferro said his friendship with Hrushesky also led hospital administrators to choose him to head the investigation.

Hrushesky, who once held clinical privileges at Albany Medical Center Hospital, was regarded as a brilliant researcher. He received high accolades in his field for his studies on the effectiveness of certain chemotherapy regimes that depend on when they are administered in relation to a person's biological clock.

Still, some of Hrushesky's colleagues considered him a maverick who disregarded medical protocol and strayed across the fuzzy lines that separate research from accepted patient-care standards. Most of the allegations centered on the way he prescribed powerful cancer drugs.

Hrushesky worked for Albany Med when he was recruited to take over of the cancer research program at Stratton VA. Physicians familiar with the move said VA administrators were anxious to have Hrushesky's research dollars and support from drug companies credited to Stratton.

Fudin, a clinical pharmacist at Stratton VA who specializes in pain management, spotted what he believed were some serious problems with Hrushesky's work and wrote a memorandum to VA officials questioning the oncologist's use of Taxol, an FDA-approved cancer drug.

Hospital insiders said Fudin's allegations were so serious the VA was required to investigate. That's when former Stratton VA Director Fred L. Malphurs, now head of a VA hospital in Gainesville, Fla., enlisted Ferro.

Ferro contends his investigation was undermined from the start. He claims Malphurs encouraged him to clear Hrushesky before the investigation began, and that two hospital staffers appointed by Malphurs to assist him in the investigation lacked appropriate medical training.

"They had no background at all in clinical practice or clinical research," Ferro said. "I was bewildered why I got these two people to help me. They really weren't qualified."

Ferro said he complained to Malphurs that he needed people on the investigative board with deeper medical backgrounds.

"Fred said, 'I appreciate the input but that's the way it'll be.' I remember thinking I was stuck with myself," said Ferro, also currently a professor of internal medicine at the Medical College of Virginia. "They certainly weren't going to give me the resources to find anything, if they wanted to find anything. ... There was this manipulating of the investigations."

Ferro said he found evidence of minor patient-care violations and other problems in Hrushesky's program. A handful of patients were being given unusual -- though not unlawful -- dosages of chemotherapy drugs and there was no paperwork showing they had been informed of the risks and consented to the treatments.

Ferro said his investigation was not as deep as it could have been because he stopped it when he found some apparent violations and wrote a report that was forwarded to hospital administrators.

Ferro said he received a call from Dale Morgan, who is now retired but at the time was the chief assistant to Dr. Larry Flesh, the hospital's chief of staff. Flesh is now deputy director of the VA hospital network in upstate New York, which includes Albany.

Morgan, who declined comment, allegedly showed Ferro a version of his report reflecting deletion of certain critical portions. Ferro said he initially refused to sign off on the changes.

"Dale said, 'Tom, it's not me, it's Larry, this is what Larry wants me to do,' " Ferro recalled. "I wanted to know it was the boss who wanted me to do this. I was trying to get Larry to promote me. I wanted Fred (Malphurs) to promote me, so that's when I did it."

Other hospital officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, supported Ferro's version of events. They contend the changes were made before the report was forwarded to the Office of the Inspector General for Veterans Affairs, and as result there was no follow-up investigation.

Later, when Fudin and Mariano reported their concerns to the FBI in Albany, agents there declined to investigate the allegations and referred the case to the VA's Office of Inspector General, according to FBI documents obtained by the Times Union.

Malphurs and Flesh did not respond to written requests for comment.

Ferro said he never kept a copy of his original report because hospital officials told him all records related to the investigation would have to be turned in at the end.

"I was given instructions to wipe off the hard drive of my computer and hand in the only hard copy," Ferro said.

Hrushesky left Stratton VA in 2000 to become head of clinical research at a VA hospital in Dorn, S.C, where he still works. He has declined requests for comment.

"It is unfortunate that veterans were the victims in this terrible tragedy," Mariano said, speaking about the case for the first time. "I have always prayed that justice would prevail and that I would be vindicated. I empathize with Dr. Ferro in the courage it took for him to speak out."

Mariano said sweeping changes are needed because similar alleged cover-ups are taking place at other VA hospitals.

"Congress needs to move internal VA investigations ... to an outside agency, not under VA control so that this type of tragedy will not happen again," he said.

[MORTARDUDE]

have a well-earned reputation for conducting all types of experiments on patients, not all of which are anywhere near worthwhile. My father told my mother shortly after they were married in 1944, when he got out of the Army, to never put him a VA hospital as she was signing his death certificate.....these kinds of stories, and more that will come out, will only serve to reinforce this. It is a damned shame that all the wonderful people that work there will be painted with the same broad strokes....


Larry

[SEATJERKER]

Doctors had urged Dr. Eina Fishman's removal after deadly cancer study

By MATT PACENZA, Staff writer
First published: Saturday, October 9, 2004

ALBANY -- The beleaguered Stratton VA Medical Center, having weathered a cancer researcher's indictment and the opening of an FBI probe in the last year, will now see its top medical officer demoted.
Stratton officials said that Dr. Eina Fishman voluntarily stepped down to take a new job, but staffers said the move came after 22 physicians urged hospital director Mary-Ellen Piche to remove her.


Fishman will leave her post at the end of October, at which point Stratton will begin a search for a new chief of staff.

The chief of staff's job change comes in the aftermath of a deadly cancer study, allegations that doctors have been unfairly demoted and accusations of deficiencies in patient care.

"It was probably something in the best interest of everybody," said Assemblyman Ron Tocci, a Westchester County Democrat who chairs the Veterans Committee. Tocci has been meeting with Stratton officials in recent months.

"I've heard a lot of stories that things aren't quite right there, in terms of the way they deliver services to veterans," he said.

Hospital employees who asked not to be named said that many doctors felt they couldn't trust Fishman after the high-profile controversies at Stratton. During a Sept. 9 staff meeting, 22 physicians voted for a resolution asking Piche to remove Fishman. Three staff doctors abstained.

Stratton was rocked last year by the indictment of a former cancer researcher on federal charges, including homicide and manslaughter, for allegedly falsifying medical records to enroll veterans in experimental drug studies. The charges stem from the death of a 71-year-old patient after he was fraudulently enrolled in a human research drug program.

Fishman fired a pharmacist, Jeffrey Fudin, who spoke out about alleged misuse of research funds, patient abuse, patient deaths and falsification of patient records. The Federal Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation early this year. Its status was unavailable Friday. Fudin was reinstated by a federal whistle-blower court.

More recently, some employees protested when Dr. Roberta Miller, the award-winning director of Stratton's home care patient program, was reassigned after she went public about what she believed was a lack of resources and staff.

Stratton officials said Friday that Fishman's reassignment had nothing to do with those incidents or with the votes that medical staff took to urge her departure.

"She voluntarily stepped down for personal reasons," spokeswoman Linda Blumenstock said.

In November, Fishman will begin work as a "hospitalist," a new position that many institutions are embracing. The sole responsibility of such a doctor is to care for hospitalized patients, from admission through discharge. Unlike most physicians in hospitals, hospitalists don't have their own practices or supervise medical students.

Tocci, who praised Stratton's leadership, said he may soon conduct hearings to air concerns that patients, physicians and others have shared with him. Pacenza can be reached at (518)454-5533 or by e-mail at mpacenza@timesunion.com.

[Chevelle]

...here is a follow up to the story on how this "doctor" phucked many Veterans here at the Stratton Va. here in Albany,...

...

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Ex-VA staffer details scheme
Former researcher awaiting sentencing told feds that others had roles in altering patient records

By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer
First published: Wednesday, August 3, 2005

ALBANY -- A former cancer research specialist at Stratton VA Medical Center has outlined for federal authorities how other hospital officials took part in altering the records of patients to enroll them in lucrative drug studies.
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The allegations were laid out during four meetings earlier this year, when special agents and federal prosecutors sat down with 54-year-old Paul H. Kornak, who explained that the research program thrived financially when more patients were pushed into studies.

"It was discussed that information was altered in order to qualify patients for studies and that others ordered or requested, participated in or knew what alterations were made and were necessary for the participation of certain patients in these research (studies)," said a memorandum filed in U.S. District Court.

The medical records of dozens of veterans were forged to qualify them for studies of new cancer drugs, and many veterans died or suffered unduly as a result of the fraud, authorities said. In addition, three drug companies were defrauded of more than $635,000 in research funds.

Despite allegations that other hospital officials took part in the scheme in order to keep the research program bustling, Kornak has not been asked to testify before a federal grand jury. He is scheduled to be sentenced next week for his role in the crimes, including a single count of criminally negligent homicide for causing the death of an Air Force veteran, James J. DiGeorgio of Brunswick.

Authorities declined to say whether anyone else will be charged in the case, including Kornak's former boss, Dr. James A. Holland, who federal prosecutors identified as a target in the criminal investigation last year.

The meetings between Kornak and federal authorities took place on Jan. 25, a week after he pleaded guilty. Subsequent meetings took place Feb. 8 and 9, and again on April 15. Some of the details of the sessions are outlined in pre-sentence memorandums filed by federal prosecutors and Kornak's attorney, E. Stewart Jones of Troy.

Jones declined to comment Tuesday. But in a memorandum to the court, he argues that Kornak should get consideration for his cooperation and face less time in prison. Federal authorities have filed their own memorandum asking that Kornak serve up to six years in prison. They said his cooperation hasn't yielded any other arrests.

"Kornak generally acknowledged his falsification of patient records and described his discussions with a doctor regarding patients and the doctor's instructions to get patients enrolled in studies," prosecutors wrote. "However, such information has not amounted to substantial assistance to date."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant C. Jaquith would not comment on any grand jury action in the case. However, he said it's not unusual for someone to get credit for testifying before a grand jury after they have been sentenced to prison. He said there are federal "provisions for credit to be afforded for assistance provided within one year of sentence. ... It's even possible later, depending on the circumstances."


...May they rest in peace,...

...

[Chevelle]

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Families revile fate of victims
Sentencing of VA cancer specialist delayed, but loved ones of those who died in testing speak out in federal court session

By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer
First published: Friday, August 12, 2005

ALBANY -- A cancer specialist who masqueraded as a doctor and took part in a massive drug research scandal at Stratton VA Medical Center faced the families of his victims in a federal courtroom Thursday, as he was made to hear their anguished pleas for justice and answers.
It was supposed to be the day that Paul H. Kornak would be sentenced to prison for falsifying patient records in order to enroll dozens of veterans in experimental drug programs.

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Instead, and to the dismay of the families of his victims, a federal judge delayed the sentencing after last-minute arguments between a prosecutor and defense attorney over federal sentencing guidelines, which dictate how much time Kornak should spend behind bars. A judge told the attorneys to put their arguments in writing and rescheduled the sentencing for Sept. 13.

For the victims, it signaled another delay in a case that has been marred by allegations of cover-ups, and in which questions continue to swirl about whether Kornak acted alone or on orders from hospital supervisors.

But because the victims' relatives had traveled to Albany from as far away as Colorado, U.S. District Court Judge Frederick J. Scullin allowed them to speak. Four of them strode to the front of the courtroom one-by-one, some clutching photographs of their father, brother or husband, and whose deaths were hastened and made more excruciating after being infused with powerful experimental drugs.

Kornak, a married father from Clifton Park, had arrived at the courthouse early, sitting in the sprawling fourth-floor courtroom in a blue suit, alone, and without any relatives or friends present.

Mary Snavlin of Colorado spoke first, her hands trembling and voice cracking as she turned to Kornak, who sat straight in his chair with his eyes leveled at the victims who spoke.

Snavlin described her father, James J. DiGeorgio, who lived in Brunswick, as her "friend and protector." Kornak pleaded guilty to causing DiGeorgio's death, although prosecutors have said they believe there may have been more veterans who died as a result of the scandal.

"Mr. Kornak, I want to know why you did this," she said. "My dad deserved to die with dignity and respect and you took that away from him. ... All you have done was treat him like a guinea pig."

Snavlin and her uncle, Joseph, who is DiGeorgio's younger brother, said they had pleaded with Kornak and his former boss, Dr. James A. Holland, to remove DiGeorgio from the toxic drug program as his health deteriorated so rapidly he became unable to swallow the water they dripped into his mouth.

"The images of what this treatment will haunt me forever," Snavlin said, explaining that her father had served "20 years in the Air Force to protect the rights you enjoy."

Joseph DeGeorge, who spells his last name differently than his brother, recalled squaring off with Holland inside his brother's hospital room on the day he died. Holland, who has not been charged with a crime but was identified as a target in the ongoing investigation, asked to put DiGeorgio on life support and continue his treatment, DeGeorge said.

"This guy was going against all my brother's wishes," DeGeorge said. "I didn't know what was going on. He couldn't function. He couldn't walk. He couldn't even sit there and watch a game with me."


...the wheel will turn full circle,...

...