Author Archives: Debbie Penson
‘Dime A Dozen,’ Overdose Crisis Rages In South Florida
Delray Beach is at the epicenter of a South Florida overdose epidemic estimated to have claimed 1,000 lives last year. Medical examiners are still counting. Delray Beach Fire Rescue Chief Neal de Jesus brought in a stress management counselor to help his firefighters cope with the overdose deaths. “They’re seeing deaths at a rate… Read More »
UPDATE: Ex-PBSO deputy bonds out of jail on patient-brokering charges
WEST PALM BEACH — A former Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy arrested Tuesday on patient-brokering charges has been released from the county jail. West Palm Beach police say Robert “Bobby” Simeone, 46, posted $45,000 bond late Tuesday, hours after his arrest. He is accused of paying two sober home owners hundreds of dollars a… Read More »
Sober home owner Kenny Chatman pleads guilty, faces life in prison
Notorious drug treatment center owner Kenneth “Kenny” Chatman pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracies to commit money laundering, health care fraud and sex trafficking, charges that could land him in prison for life. Handcuffed and shackled, Chatman listened as a federal prosecutor told how he turned patients into prostitutes: He gave them drugs to induce them…. Read More »
Therapist: 90% of addicts in Chatman sober homes openly used drugs
As many as 90 percent of the addicts who were supposed to be getting treatment while living in sober homes connected to the notorious drug-treatment businesses operated by Kenneth Chatman were openly using drugs, enabling Chatman to continue billing their insurance for millions of dollars in unnecessary drug tests, according to the former clinical… Read More »
POINT OF VIEW: Who’s child has to die before somebody does something?
That was the question my former aide, Johnnie Easton, asked me shortly after I was elected. It was one of what would become many sleepless nights she had to call me to tell me she would be late because she was out searching the streets for her daughter, Tasha. In mid-November of 2016, she… Read More »
BREAKING: Sober home task force conducting raid in West Palm Beach
The Palm Beach County Sober Home Task force conducted a raid on Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at Palm Beach Recovery & Wellness, a drug treatment center at 6600 S. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. It is their 20th arrest, charging Steve Johnson with 48 counts of patient brokering, alleging he paid referral fees to… Read More »
Three more sober home operators arrested in Delray Beach
Two brothers and a tattoo artist surrendered at the Palm Beach County jail on Sunday after learning they were being charged with dozens of counts of patient brokering for allegedly accepting kickbacks from Chapters Recovery, a drug treatment center in Delray Beach. Read more…
If Uber wants to take away its customers rights, It should tell them
It’s bad enough that a ton of corporations require their customers and employees to submit all their legal claims to private arbitration, a secretive system that is rigged against the individual. But to compound the unfairness, a growing number of corporations are hiding their forced arbitration clauses to make them more and more obscure…. Read More »
Doctor Confesses: I Lied To Protect Colleague In Malpractice Suit
Almost two decades ago, Dr. Lars Aanning sat on the witness stand in a medical malpractice trial and faced a dilemma. The South Dakota surgeon had been called to vouch for the expertise of one of his partners whose patient had suffered a stroke and permanent disability after an operation. The problem was that… Read More »
