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Claudio Dicovsky, who had a practice in Paterson, was one of several people arrested, some of whom pleaded guilty last year to violating the Federal Travel Act, following an FBI investigation of Parsippany-based BLS.
Federal agents ended up arresting BLS president and part owner, David Nicoll of Mountain Lakes, along with Scott Nicoll — a senior BLS employee and David Nicoll’s brother — and Craig Nordman of Whippany, a BLS employee and the CEO of Advantech Sales LLC, an entity that authorities said was used by BLS to make illegal payments.
They were charged with bribery conspiracy, as was physician Frank Santangelo of Boonton. Also arrested were Dennis Aponte of Cedar Grove and Franklin Dana Fortunato of Montville.
According to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman:
“Dicovsky admitted he agreed with David Nicoll to accept bribes from BLS in exchange for his referral of blood specimens. To disguise those bribes, Dicovsky and BLS entered into a sham lease agreement and a sham service agreement in which the monthly bribe payments of more than $5,000 were characterized as ‘lease’ and ‘service’ payments.
“While the lease agreement purported to be for 1,000 square feet of space, little or no space was allocated to BLS in Dicovsky’s medical office in Paterson….Between November 2006 and August 2009, Dicovsky received more than $224,000 in bribe payments from BLS, and BLS made more than $800,000 through testing on blood specimens referred by Dicovsky.”
Dicovsky agreed to forfeit more than $220,000 as part of his plea bargain.
Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for the investigation leading to the pleas. Representing the government is Senior Litigation Counsel Andrew Leven, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Minish, and Jacob T. Elberg, chief of Fishman’s Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
“Decisions about medical care should not be influenced by doctors and providers who are more interested in lining their pockets than in providing quality healthcare,” Fishman said.
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