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Almanac
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Business New Haven
10/7/1996
By: BNH
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Quibbling with Siblings: State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on September 10 filed a federal lawsuit against two siblings in what may be the state's largest Medicaid fraud case ever. The suit was filed against Pamela Salerno Overton of Trumbull and her brother, David Salerno of Monroe, on behalf of the state's Department of Social Services (DSS). The action seeks nearly $9 million in treble damages under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) act. The owner/operators of three durable medical goods providers - P&D and Merritt-Orange, both in New Haven, and the Bridgeport-based AllCare - Overton and Salerno each are charged with engaging in a conspiracy and violating racketeering laws through a scheme to bilk DSS out of more than $2.8 million through fraudulent billing. DSS auditors discovered that Overton and Salerno regularly used a miscellaneous code to bill up to $499 per item to avoid detection, it is alleged. The suit says that P&D billed $498 for a box of surgilast dressng that normally costs $17.25, and that Merrit-Orange billed $498 for a $14.93 box of two-inch tape. In all, 65 incidents of mail fraud by sending inlfated bills and false information to the DSS are alleged. Blumenthal called it the “worst case of Medicaid over-billing” uncovered to date in the state.
No Hiding in Plain Cite: Anne Tyler Calabresi will receive the 1996 Community Leadership Award from the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce at the chamber's annual awards breakfast October 16 (see CALENDAR). The wife of former Yale Law School dean Guido Calabresi has been a tireless volunteer and advocate for issues relating to children. She is one of the founders of LEAP (Leadership, Education & Athletics in Partnership) and was a chief instigator behind this summer's International Festival of Arts & Ideas. According to chamber President Matthew Nemerson, Calabresi “has the capacity to see a project that will benefit the region, has the unique ability to gather support of both private and non-profit organizations, and she makes sure the project is seen through to a successful end.” The 1996 chamber award is its 30th annual; last year's honoree was South Central Regional Water Authority president and longtime community volunteer John Crawford.
All That Fits: The News Haven empire grows apace. Arthur and Judy Katz have opened a second location at 3 Whitney Avenue downtown, next to almost-as-new Bruegger's Bagels (the storefront formerly housed Michael's Flowers). Managed by Michael Clinton, the newsstand specializes, as does its Chapel Street parent, in specialty, international and hard-to-get periodicals as well as newspapers from across the U.S. The Whitney-Grove/Audubon Street area had been largely newsless since Elm City News packed it in earlier this summer.
Picture This: A new 30-minute program on the New Haven-based WBNE (Channel 59) will focus on regional business, education, culture, health and medicine, law and tourism. Scheduled to premiere September 21, Dialogue with Laurel Vlock is slotted for Saturdays at 9 a.m. featuring Vlock, who has hosted public-affairs programs on WTNH, WFSB and others for three decades. The second show, September 28, will feature members of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association discussing “Tort or Litigation Reform?” Having begun broadcasting this summer at five million watts from a 1,000-foot tower, WBNE - corporate sibling to WTNH - is the state's most recent full-power broadcast entry.
Not in Our Back Yard: While the Better Business Bureau (BBB) system has voted to allow the nationwide system to charge for inquiry and complaint services for the first time in 84 years, the Connecticut BBB has not adopted such a policy. Based in Wallingford, the state BBB says it has no plans to begin charging the public - even though six of its seven national delegate votes supported giving local bureaus that option. “The local option was the key question in this vote,” explains Bill Hall, chairman of the BBB CT board, “and the majority of the members of the board of directors felt that such an option could help bureaus in various cities meet the challenges that confront them. However, here in Connecticut, we have recently reorganized as one bureau for the state, which has given us the ability to enhance our services and not charge the public.” Last Year the state's BBB handled more than 100,000 inquiries and 30,000 complaints. It can be reached at 203-269-2700 24 hours, or on the Net at http://www.connecticut.bbb.org. BNH
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