Medical board reinstated convicted felons | Thomas Dosumu Johnson
most common reason was negligence, with 282 cases, followed by drug or alcohol abuse (163) and mental illness (133). Sexual misconduct accounted for 113 cases and 68 doctors lost their licenses for conviction of a crime.
Among those who were reinstated, 25 had lost their licenses after they were convicted of a crime, including six for selling drugs or illegally prescribing them, nine for insurance fraud, and three for sexual abuse of patients. In addition to Galluzzi, the dermatologist, another doctor served 20 years in prison for seeking to have his wife killed.
Many of the crimes were fueled by drug or alcohol abuse, including an Apple Valley doctor who was convicted of vehicular manslaughter after he drove the wrong way on the freeway while under the influence of drugs. State law requires doctors to report to the board any felony charges as well as misdemeanor and felony convictions.
The doctors can hit rock-bottom after loss of a license, both emotionally and financially, Osinoff said.
Dr. Nagesh Shetty, a Huntington Beach internist who had his license revoked in 2000 after he was convicted of three counts of tax fraud, worked bagging groceries for .40 an hour before his reinstatement in 2005, board documents show. Other doctors who were eventually allowed to practice again worked at a hamburger stand, in a slaughter house and answering phones at a medical office.
“What’s taken away from them is their identity,” Osinoff said. “It’s more than a license to practice. It’s who they are. It is absolute devastation.”
Dr. Thomas Dosumu-Johnson of Los Alamitos had his license revoked in 1990 after he was caught in a drug sting. According to a temporary restraining order obtained by the board that year, the doctor had repeatedly prescribed large amounts of narcotic drugs and stimulants to undercover agents who told him they planned to re-sell them on the black market.
He sought treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. His charges were reduced to misdemeanors and his conviction was later expunged. He regained his license in 2001 and has been “open with others about his mistakes, and, in so doing has enabled this tragedy to serve as a unique learning experience,” a judge wrote.
Dosumu-Johnson said he’s retiring from medicine to pursue Christian ministry, but is glad he had the opportunity to complete his medical career.
“It’s been a good ride and it’s time to say goodbye,” he said. “It’s been useful. I’m very, very grateful and the medical board has been fair.”
While Dosumu-Johnson appears to demonstrate the law’s goal of rehabilitation, the reinstatement of Tartaro, the doctor accused of sexually abusing multiple patients, raised questions about protection of the public.
Fellmeth, the attorney who audited the medical board’s disciplinary practices, also works at the University of San Diego’s Center for Public Interest Law. The center took the unusual step of filing a brief imploring the board not to allow Tartaro to treat patients again after he got out of jail.
“He’s got a white coat on,” she said. “They trusted him. Many of them testified when he was being sentenced that they’ll never trust a doctor again.”
Fellmeth said doctors typically have the money to hire top attorneys who can immediately steer them toward rehabilitative efforts that are persuasive to judges and board members.
After his election to the state Assembly a year after Tartaro’s reinstatement, former medical board member Bermudez wrote legislation with him in mind.
The 2005 law permanently revokes the license of doctors for as long as they remain registered felony sex offenders. Those convicted before 2005 can be reinstated after five years if a Superior Court judge finds they pose no safety threat to patients, the law says.
“No one is owed a medical license,” Bermudez said. “You earn it. It’s a privilege to be a physician in California.”
After the new law took effect, the board moved to revoke Tartaro’s license again, arguing that he is still required to register as a sex offender.
Tartaro had petitioned the criminal court and had his conviction expunged. The petition to revoke his license remains pending while the board reviews lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the law, said board spokeswoman Candis Cohen.
IN TROUBLE AGAIN
After doctors are reinstated, they are put on probation and may be required to have another doctor monitor their practice, undergo clinical training or be barred from prescribing controlled substances.
Most of the 16 doctors who have faced discipline again after reinstatement were accused of failing to comply with terms of their probation, including failing to pass required exams or failing to have a chaperone when examining female patients. One doctor was caught lying on reports to