Sometime in 2009, I had a regularly scheduled 3-month checkup with Perry Patel at Staw’s office. On arrival, no Perry in evidence, and ended up seeing Staw himself. I was told at that time that Perry had taken a leave of absence to “care for a sick father”, and that he’d be back. A year later, he had not returned. I had no reason at this time to doubt Staw’s veracity. On inquiry, I was told that Perry had indeed returned and was working out of the Fairfield office. I didn’t check this, but do not believe this to be the case.
In September of 2010, upon going to Staw’s office for another regularly scheduled diabetic checkup, I was told that the ‘good doctor’ could no longer accept insurance, and that I’d have to pay cash and submit out-of-network paperwork to my insurance company to get reimbursed at a reduced rate. I was told that this was so because there was ‘a minor mixup’ and that the “good doctor” was in court trying to get it resolved. He also stated that his office would submit the out-of-network forms for me. Since this was very short notice, I opted to pay cash and go the out-of-network route, rather than put off a necessary diabetes checkup.
Throughout much of 2010, I had been seeing Dr. Altman for a torn right rotator cuff; by mid-January of 2011, he had determined the condition would require surgery, and instructed me to schedule a pre-op physical with my primary care physician, which I did. I had not had time to seek a new physician with all the inherent inconvenience of doing so, and needed the physical for a surgery tentatively scheduled for February 16, 2011; I scheduled an appointment with Staw for February 7, 2011.
On February 7, 2011, I went to Staw’s office in the afternoon (around 2:00). Staw’s office did an EKG and several blood tests ordered by Dr. Altman, and was physically examined by Staw. He stated at that time that if we added a few more tests, my insurance would cover the physical in full, and stated that we should also run the Hemoglobin A1C and cholesterol tests, since it had been several months since my last ones. With all I had been dealing with, it didn’t at that time occur to me that I had not been fasting, so I allowed his technician to draw the specimens. Essentially, what this amounted to was Staw’s attempt to “up-sell” me.
During the course of conversation, Staw casually moved my hat aside and saw my holstered weapon beneath it. He made some innocuous remark, whereupon I reminded him that this was not the first time he had seen it, since I had been carrying it since late 2007, and that I had a permit to carry it. This was an entirely friendly exchange. The appointment ended and I left the office.
• On the afternoon of February 9, 2011, working at home, I received a call from Staw’s office. The caller stated that some of the tests were far out of bounds and I would need to repeat them. Something just felt wrong, and I asked the receptionist to have Staw call me.
While waiting for Staw to return my call, I began browsing the web to see if there had been any complaints about Staw, and came across a newspaper article stating that Staw had been convicted in Federal court of Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance fraud! On digging further, I found a PDF of the decision of the Department of Health and Human Services Department Appeals Board. It turned out that he had been billing for physical therapist and physician assistant services as though they had been physician services. Because of this, he had been forbidden to participate in Medicare/Medicaid for a period of 10 years. My private insurance plan (through my wife’s employment) and others removed him from participation in their group plans as well.
By this point, it became very clear that I had been lied to and mislead regarding a number of things, notably the absence of Perry Patel from Staw’s practice and his inability to accept insurance anymore. This explained why Staw’s Norwalk office waiting room was always empty; it’s a rare thing these days that people can afford to pay cash for physician office visits and services, so clearly most of his other patients sought care elsewhere, as I would have done had I been aware of his conviction.
By the time Staw returned my call in the early evening, I knew I could no longer trust him as my primary care physician. I told him that I had found out about his conviction, that I now understood why Perry had disappeared from his practice, and that he had drawn blood specimens for tests his staff had always led me to believe needed to be done after fasting, when I had not in fact been fasting. I told him that as of that moment, he was no longer my physician, that he should forward the results of the physical to Dr. Altman, and that Dr. Altman would make the determination as to surgery. I hung up the phone.
• On the afternoon of Tuesday, February 15, 2011, still without a firm time for the surgery the next day, I called Dr. Altman’s assistant, and was told at time that they were still not in receipt of the needed results of the physical, and that as a result, the surgery could not be placed on the firm schedule and would have to be postponed until they received the results.
• In the evening of Tuesday, February 15, 2011, still hoping to shift the surgery a few days rather than cancel it entirely, I called Staw’s office and left a voicemail message insisting that he forward the results of the physical to Dr. Altman immediately, that he had been paid for them out-of-pocket, and that he would provide them, or I would come to his office and demand them personally, and that a public argument “would not be pretty”. At no time did I imply in any way that I would harm him or his staff.
• On Wednesday, February 16, at approximately 12:20 PM, my phone rings. The caller ID says Norwalk Police Dept. Accustomed to receiving fundraising calls from them , I think nothing of picking up the phone, in spite of the fact that I was deeply involved in a programming project. An officer informs me that he wants me to come into the PD to discuss a voicemail I left with Staw’s office. I was absolutely stunned; I’ve never done anything in my life that the police would be remotely interested in, and could not conceive of anything I might have said in this case that would have warranted any attention. I said no, I would not come to the PD, whereupon the officer asked if he could come out and talk to me. At first, I said he could; but as he goes on to warn me about not being armed when he comes out, I am getting more upset about this, and reverse myself. I told him specifically not to come to my house unless had some reason to arrest me, and not to come without a warrant, still thinking he’s really just rousting me. The officer then said he would come out and arrest me. The conversation ended.
• Shortly before 1:00 PM of the same day, I receive another phone call from Norwalk PD, instructing me to walk out of my house unarmed and with my hands in plain sight. At this point, I informed my wife on instant messaging that I was being arrested, and followed PD instructions. On exiting my house, I observe several cops looking in the windows of the house in front of mine, and call out to them to tell them they’re at the wrong house. I was instructed to raise my hands, walk toward them and turn around, whereupon I was handcuffed and searched. At this point, I was told ‘you’re under arrest’. No Miranda warnings were given me, nor was I shown any arrest or search warrant. Three of the cops proceeded to walk into my house without asking permission, claiming they had to ‘clear the premises’. A couple of minutes later, I was led into my house, to find the cops already in the process of searching my house. They had already taken two .22 caliber rifles which belong to my wife, and one was in the process of attempting to empty the magazine of the Mossberg Model 500 shotgun we kept by the bedside. This is a pump-action, side-ejection port firearm; the officer was holding it upside-down, fishing one round out at a time, where he could simply have held it right-side up and worked the pump until it was empty. I remember thinking at the time how strange this was.
They had a list of weapons they were referring to, apparently, but asked where all the weapons were. They were apparently not aware that my wife has a valid carry permit, and showed no regard whatsoever for the fact that several of the weapons they were seizing were not on their list of weapons registered to me. They took them anyway.
I was driven to the PD and booked. While there, I asked a female officer why my Miranda rights had not been read to me, and was told ‘Oh, that’s only on TV; we only have to do that if we question you.’
Supporting Documents:
This page as a PDF file
DHHS Board of Appeals Decision Against Staw